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Flower Horn Fish in General

by FlowerFish.com
Breeder and wholesaler, in Penang, Malaysia
Aquarticles

The Flower Horn Fish, or Luo Han as it is popularly known, has taken the aquatic world by storm within the last two years, particularly in South-East Asia. Its popularity is gaining momentum day by day, and it is set to become an internationally known fish compared with the likes of the Discus Fish and Arowana.

The Flower Horn Fish is basically from the Cichlid family, of the genus Cichlasoma, which is commonly found in South America. This beautiful hybrid is thought to be the end product of cross breeding between the Cichlasoma Trimaculatus, Cichlasoma Festae, Jingang Blood Parrot, and others. Nowadays, a lot of better quality Flower Horns are being produced due to the intensified eagerness of breeders to produce the best show quality fish for the market.

Some reports claim that the Flower Horn Fish is a "mutated" breed of fish. Rest assured that this is just a claim. Flower Horn Fish have gone through a lot of selective cross breeding in order to have the best characteristics of the respective strains of the Cichlid family. For instance, most breeders are striving to produce Flower Horns with a bigger nuchal hump on the forehead, better colouration, bolder black markings on the body (which at times resemble Chinese characters), more elegant fins, and wider bodies. No chemicals, or biogenetic engineering have been incorporated to improve on the traits/characteristics of the Flower Horn. Thus, the claim that this is a mutated fish is unfounded.

This fish is very hardy, and can endure water conditions that are not suitable for most breeds of aquarium fish. This is also part of the reason why the Flower Horn is well received by many tropical fish hobbyists. But the ideal pH level in the water should be around pH 7 to 7.8, with water temperature ranging between 27 °C to 32°C. For temperate/colder climate regions, just use a conventional water heater. With regards to aquarium size, try to have at least 4 feet (length) by 2 feet (width).

As the Flower Horn is from the South American Cichlid family, the fish are very territorial. Thus, they are very aggressive in nature. Keeping them with other fish is not advisable, especially smaller fish. Some parties have claimed that they can "play" with the Flower Horn. In actual fact, the Flower Horn is actually trying to get rid of the "intruder" (be it a stick or a person's hand). Therefore, it is advisable that we keep our hands to ourselves as the fish have quite a nasty bite depending on their size.

Flower Horns are not selective with food and their consumption is high. Worms, small shrimps and pelletted fish food will do fine. What type of food or whether their stomach is fully filled are not a major issue, but types of food which do not pollute the water should be taken into consideration. You can underfeed but not overfeed Flower Horns, thus it is advisable to feed them two to three times daily.

Flower Horns may grow up to approximately12 inches in length depending on the breed, and may live for eight to ten years. I have seen Flower Horns that were 16 inches long, bred by a skillful fish breeder.

You can visit www.FlowerFish.com, which have lots of other interesting photos and information on Flower Horn Fish.

Not everyone agrees that these hybrids are a good idea.
See also: Flowerhorns, alias Nightmares, by Madhu Soodhanan