# Flowerhorn breeding signs???



## sheetmetal

what signs can i look for that my flowerhorns are going to breed soon??the female has majorly changed in color and almost looks like a tilapia cuz her stripes are so dark. and the male is getting much brighter. Also the male is eating half of what he used to and the female is eating almost nothing. here are a few pics of them now and i will post a link of how they were before...
View attachment 123137
View attachment 123138


and here is a pic from like a week ago ish


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## kenlperry

Yeah, those signs are about right. I had a pair breed, and the female got almost black and the male got a little brighter.. Can you see little tubes just in front of the anal fin yet?


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## sheetmetal

Piranhas and Cichlids said:


> Yeah, those signs are about right. I had a pair breed, and the female got almost black and the male got a little brighter.. Can you see little tubes just in front of the anal fin yet?


they both have little thingys sticking out... they are tiny though... how big should they be??


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## kenlperry

They should be small at first. The males will remain small, but the females should be condiserably larger than his just before she is ready to lay the eggs.. You'll see..... What temp is your water at right now? I would have it at about 80-82 degrees right now if I were you...


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## sheetmetal

that is about the temp it is sitting at.... for the egg laying will they lay them on top of a flat rock or do they like to do it on the underside?? when i had convicts they would always lay them on the underside of a rock... but i would have to make a serious rock structure for either of my FH's to get under cuz they are both a pretty good size


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## packrat

Why does your water look so dirty?


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## flaredevil4

I don't think its his water, I believe its his cameras effect with the lighting. Might be a webcam pic. Still nice pictures though


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## sheetmetal

it actually was a bit of both.... the pics are kinda shitty cuz it is just with my cammera phone and the water is dirty lookin cuz i had mela/prima fix in the water for a couple of bad scales on my big guy. but things cleared up once i threw the carbon back in and stopped the meds


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## packrat

sheetmetal said:


> it actually was a bit of both.... the pics are kinda shitty cuz it is just with my cammera phone and the water is dirty lookin cuz i had mela/prima fix in the water for a couple of bad scales on my big guy. but things cleared up once i threw the carbon back in and stopped the meds


You know that mela/prima fix are not really medication right, they're just a tonic that aids in healing. Either of those treatments should not cloud your water the way your is. Maybe you need better filteration?? Just a guess.


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## kenlperry

sheetmetal said:


> that is about the temp it is sitting at.... for the egg laying will they lay them on top of a flat rock or do they like to do it on the underside?? when i had convicts they would always lay them on the underside of a rock... but i would have to make a serious rock structure for either of my FH's to get under cuz they are both a pretty good size


Actually, when I had flowerhorns breed, I didn't even realize they were paired up(they were somewhat juvenile). I had a flat rock in the tank, but they chose to lay the eggs directly on the gravel, so I'm not sure what yours will do. Typically they will clear an area though. I have a dovii pair that just laid eggs in a tank with sand as the substrate and they cleared the sand, but laid eggs up against a treasure chest decoration I have in the tank(after tipping it over sideways). Keep us posted on what your FH's do....


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## sheetmetal

my bitch laid eggs today.... how long do they normally take to hatch???


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## kenlperry

Congrats!!! Hopefully they're fertilized. Are they both acting really protective of the eggs? Depending on the temp of your water, they may hatch anywhere from 3 to 5 days.. My dovii pair laid eggs last week(like Wednesday) and they hatched over the weekend. Just keep an eye on your eggs. Some might turn white, those will be the unfertilized eggs. If they all turn white then no babies. But if most stay almost clear and develop a black dot inside, then babies will follow.


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## sheetmetal

cool, how soon after they hatch can i remove them??? the daddy will probably eat them if i leave them inside wont he??


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## kenlperry

It all depends. Usually you can leave the babies with the parents for a month or more. I usually don't move mine until they have been in there for atleast that long. You just have to keep an eye on the behavior of the parents... They should be fine though.


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## sheetmetal

she ate all the eggs... grr


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## sheetmetal

oops maybe she didn't... she picked em all up and spit them inbetween the glass and a big rock.. i can see them all wiggling. should i put something over the filter intake so they dont get sucked up or will they stay away from there???


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## kenlperry

Congrats!! It's your call.. Some will probably get sucked up in the filter if you don't, but most of them will survive. I have about 300 dovii fry swimming around now and I didn't cover my filters. They do seem to keep their distance though, most of the time.


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