# Flower Horn



## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

Can someone educate me about flowerhorns?? I don't know anything about them.

I Have seen one at the store. It looked really nice. Can i have two of them (The store said no) can i have them with other types? if so with what kind? I wan to have them in a 50G tank.

Howmany different types of FH Are there

I already have a 120g with RBP

Thanks In Advance


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## Puma (Jan 27, 2004)

where is poseidon when you need him?









flowerhorns are a hybrid cichlid with a large popularity in the asian realm, as well as basically anywhere else these days. i dont *think anyone really knows what the cross is, but it seems apparent that a trimac is definately one of the species.

they are very aggressive, and need a large tank to themselves......much much different than piranhas.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

practically speaking there's two types of flowerhorns: lou hans and fancy flowerhorns.

Lou hans are essentially essentiallyTrimac cichlid mutts, interbred with other large aggressive cichlids like Red Devils, Texas and such. They get 12"-14" long. Lou hans are the cheap FHs, like what you saw in your store for $3-$100. They need a 75g minimum sized tank for life. They are big mean carnivorous cichlids.

here's one member's lou han
http://www.piranha-fury.com/forum/pfury/in...showtopic=35385

.

Then there's fancy flowerhorns. Fancy flowerhorns cost $250 EACH and up, and can only be bought from online dealers. There's many different types of fancy flowerhorn, but basically they all get about 8-10" long and have splendid coloring, large nuchal humps (those big water-sacks on their head), and are very thick
http://www.piranha-fury.com/forum/pfury/in...showtopic=35084

Anyway, what you were looking at was a lou han flowerhorn though. I'd suggest you stay away from them though, since you're tank is too small.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

I'd suggest that you take a look at the Malawi Mbuna profiles here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/species_profiles.php (scroll down a bit)

Mbuna would fit your tank size and you could have up to 4-6 in your tank, depending on the dimensions of your tank. They are active, stay about 4-5" long, and are feisty. You can't feed them feeders though, as they are more on the herbivorous/omnivorous side, and food like blood worms, feeders, etc can give them intestinal blockage which results in death. A jewel cichlid or convict could also be supplanted instead of an mbuna if you wanted.


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## Poseidon X (Jan 31, 2003)

good despciption.. i should add there are actually some very gourgeous old breed lou hans around but from the most part what you see in an lfs is descendants from very nice lou han imported in the early days that have lost of their good genetics and reverted back to a trimacish state... or they are F1 crosses alot of times. The fish that contain trimac are become less and less popular and more people are intrested in getting Kamfa strain flowerhorn. They have sunken eyes with exotic eye colors and different grading scheme.. also get much broader and need big tanks. If your 50 gallon is wider then a 55 is may actuall serve better then the 55. They grow very fast but they dont all reach the same size.. some flowerhorn will be 8" while others grow 15" depending on the strain it is.

The price on ZZ type of flowerhorn is way down, a very nice starter fish can be purchase for 100-150.


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

Thanks Guys!!

What i Will do is go back to the store and take a picture of the Flowerhorn in question and post it. It had bluish markings on it. When you say aggressive, What do you mean.

If the tank is much larger can i keep two in it??


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## Poseidon X (Jan 31, 2003)

no.. when i say aggressive.. i mean as in there is nothing you will find that is more aggressive then this fish... Its not like an "aggressive" piranha that sits there. The minute you lift the lid he will be trying to jump out of the water and bite your hands. I normally need to people to do a water change beucause they will rip my palms up. The only fish that go good as tankmates are good sized pim cats and polypterus


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

No way!!! Sounds really cool. Am i Correct when i said it had bluish markings? do they come in this colour


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

Davo said:


> No way!!! Sounds really cool. Am i Correct when i said it had bluish markings? do they come in this colour


 yes


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

Do they have teeth like the P's?

What do they eat? (Sorry if I'm being a pain but I'm really exited about this) Can they be fed meat and beef heart. Are they found in the Amazo as well???


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## crazyklown89 (Aug 28, 2003)

Flowerhorn's do have teeth just not large ones like piranhas.

Flowerhorns are carnviorous and are voracious feeders. They'll pretty gulp down whatever you toss in there. Use pellets and sticks with a protein level of at LEAST 40% for best color. Beef heart is also good.

Flowerhorns are a hybrid fish and therefore are not found in the wild.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

flowerhorns are a hybrid man-made fish, and do not exist in the wild. The CA (Central American) cichlids that when interbred result in flowerhorn, though, come from swamps/bogs/estuaries/rivers/lakes in Central America. None if them live in south america.

They live on fish/insects/plant matter. Omnivorous with a tendency toward meat, basically. It is not a good idea to feed them beef heart, the mammal flesh has compounds in it that are indigestible/harmful to fish when fed regularly. Cichlid pellets/bloodworms/krill are best for their diet.

They do not have teeth anything like piranhas. About the only other fish in the world that have slicing razor-sharp teeth like piranha are sharks. CA cichlids have small, cone-shaped teeth that are geared towards gripping, not slicing. They are nowhere near as big/deadly as a piranha's teeth are.


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

You guys have been great. Thanks for the info! I will get the fish. I'm convinced!! Will keep him in my 50 g for now and upgrade soon.

Thanks Again.


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## Poseidon X (Jan 31, 2003)

i should mention that the flowerhorn bites are like a serious of deep paper cuts typically.. If you know how much a damn single paper cut can hurt... it can be a bitch. imagine like 50+ paper cuts like what happened to my brothers hand.. it latched on and was biting several times.


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## OiNkY (Oct 23, 2003)

piranha45 said:


> practically speaking there's two types of flowerhorns: lou hans and fancy flowerhorns.


luohan= Flowerhown. flower in chinese =luohan. in the asian countries, it is only known as luohon and not flowerhorns.

flowerhorns are flowerhorns, they just contain different strain in their blood. indicating that they belong in different groups of FH's. such as the ZZ, kamfa, pearls, Jk, etc. since Fh's are hybrds, they contain many different genetics. that is y they are so unique and colorful. there are many generation of FH's and each generation is an improvement from the last.

if u compare a F1 FH with a newer FH today. they will look totally different.


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

i got one!







this is a picture of the guy. he is not that bid, but a nasty little bugger at that.

what do the experts think???


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

i aint an expert, but you dont need to be one to ID that. Typical lou han. I imagine you bought it for somewhere between $3-$20


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

can you get a better pic of it? looks like he has some nice pearl scales







but i cant really tell w/ the photo.


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

lemmywinks said:


> can you get a better pic of it? looks like he has some nice pearl scales
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 I will post a better picture latter on in the day when i get back home.


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## Davo (Jan 29, 2004)

piranha45 said:


> i aint an expert, but you dont need to be one to ID that. Typical lou han. I imagine you bought it for somewhere between $3-$20


  Spot on with the price. As it is a small guy i spent only around US$ 5.00

The larger ones were selling for about 75 -100


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