Flower horn - beauty, ferocity and unusual shape. Flower horn - beauty and unusual shape Aquarium fish flower horn

Flower horn, flower horn, or Thai silk is a hybrid fish, the result of crossing different types of cichlids in Malaysia. Which cichlids took part in the crossing is unknown to this day, but the result satisfied the breeders. It turned out bright, healthy and prolific offspring. As you know, after crossing, a sterile brood is obtained, and with a flower horn, the opposite is true - these are unusual, wayward representatives of the aquatic world, combining a pompous appearance and active behavior.

They almost do not get sick and change color during their life, if you have already decided to buy a fish, get an adult one so that everything is clear with the color of the scales. The flower horn is acceptable to keep alone, they are quite aggressive territorial fish. Unless at exhibitions with 900-liter aquariums they are settled together with other fish. Otherwise, conflicts with neighbors cannot be avoided, as well as injuries.

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Does it live in nature?

In 1996 of the last century, the first flower horns were bred, they quickly ended up in aquariums in different countries. The breeders used cichlids from South America, perhaps it was the cichlid cichlid. There is a large outgrowth on the frontal part of the head, for which the fish was nicknamed the “warship”.

To this day, there are discussions about who the true ancestors of these fish are. It is known for sure that any cichlazoma living in the wild is a potential relative of this large "mutant". In the natural environment, you definitely will not meet a flower horn; they live in private aquariums. Modern aquarists do not deny that such beauties bring good luck and prosperity. Some copies are expensive - up to tens of thousands of dollars. But for our latitudes, it is also affordable, and much cheaper.

Appearance

The flower horn is a large fish whose scales can range from bluish metallic to shades of red or crimson. Of course, there is a large growth on the forehead, which the cichlazoma of another species will envy. Differs in large sizes, in captivity grows up to 30-40 cm in length. On the body there is a wide strip that forms irregularly shaped spots, sometimes they resemble a heart. They have elongated dorsal fins, pointed anal fins, and a rounded tail. Flower horn live for about 10 years.

Admire the horn flower with a bluish-metallic hue.

There are many species and variations, so it is very difficult to describe this representative of cichlids in a few words. Before embarking on this business, you need to examine the shape of the body, the size of the scales, the absence or presence of a strip along the body, the size of the fatty growth on the head, the eyes and the shape of the fins. It is difficult to distinguish male from female.

Conditions of detention

Keeping a flower horn does not require special training, this fish gets used to the conditions from which other representatives of the aquatic fauna could suffer. They are omnivorous and live under strict water conditions. Unlike other cichlids, Thai silk, malau, campha and other species even attack the owner, although there have been cases when the fish allowed themselves to be stroked and even picked up for a while. Keeping with other fish and a large number of plants is not recommended, rather, it is a solitary fish. She will definitely eat neighbors and plants in the aquarium.



One massive individual requires an aquarium with a volume of 150 cubic liters. Male flower horns show their temper more aggressively. When you populate fish of different sexes, monitor their behavior so that fights and territorial disputes do not occur.

Flower horns prefer water of high temperature, 24-30 o C, with an acidity of 6.5-7.8 pH, dH 10-20. They prefer slow flow and clean water, it is recommended to refresh 1/3 of the water once a week, siphon the bottom, because during the meal they clog the water. The external filter must be with strong power. He does not like plants, he can eat them, but there should be enough soil at the bottom where the fish will flounder. Gravel, stones are suitable for soil and will also look good, but they must be firmly pressed to the bottom. Her character is open and active, she is unlikely to hide.

Look at the titled representative of the flower horn.

Breeding

Flowerhorns are fertile fish despite their hybrid origin. To get the offspring of the same color as the parents, you need to study their pedigree well. You can breed in the same aquarium where they live, just keep in mind that sometimes the female can be the object of attacks by the male. Experienced aquarists supply the aquarium with a net that divides the space into two parts, or temporarily plant shelters where the female will hide from pestering.

Spawning stimulation is possible at a water temperature of 28 o C and an acidity of 7.0 pH. It is necessary to feed the parents abundantly, not forgetting to renew the water. After spawning, the parents will protect her, sometimes the male will consider that the female is superfluous here and will attack her. Again, you will have to evict the female flower horn, or divide the territory of the aquarium.



The female lays about 1000 eggs on a small stone. In order to avoid conflicts, it is recommended to substitute a stone with caviar on the territory of the male. On the third day, larvae are born, after two days they already swim and feed on live dust. Dry egg white and brine shrimp can be added to the diet of young animals. Parents take care of the offspring for about a month; at the age of six months, the color of a young flower horn is visible.

Such an impressive flower horn will become a real property of the aquarium, bringing good luck, love and prosperity to its owner!

Flowerhorn and red dragon - aquarium devils!

There are already very worthy works with beautiful photographs in the competition - the so-called scapes, I do not keep herbalists, because. I am fond of large fish and, unfortunately, they are simply not compatible with plants. There will be no plant aquarium in my story, I keep and deal directly with fish, because the aquarium is primarily associated with them, so I will tell you about my fish.

Let's start from the very beginning. Hybrids, I got carried away by chance. A few years ago, after visiting a bird market to buy a couple of African cichlids, in one of the pavilions I saw a hefty fish swimming vigorously throughout the aquarium. It was a large, knobby red dragon, with a very bright color. At that time, I was mainly fond of African cichlids, namely the Cyrtocars of Mura. The flower horn immediately struck me with its bright, rich red color, and I decided to purchase just such a fish in my aquarium! The price on the bird was fun - 500 euros for an adult male! I did not plan to spend such an amount on a fish, and I had to look for an alternative - horn flower fry. It turned out that finding horns is not so easy, strange, because our city is not small, and the fish I need are nowhere to be found! This made it clear that there are not many flower horn lovers, apparently because the prices for these fish were not very budgetary, and the character, as it turned out later, was not the most peaceful. It took a long time before it was possible to find at least one flower horn. All in the same bird market, the first flower horn 25-27 cm in size was purchased at an affordable price.

After some time of keeping this fish, I realized that this is a majestic fish that knows its own worth! In a shared aquarium with other large fish, the male will come out of his skin to take a dominant position in the aquarium if he lives surrounded by other fish. He has a very capricious and fighting character, he can fight with other fish to the last! Therefore, it is recommended to keep this fish in a separate aquarium, where you can see the Horn flower in all its glory. At home in Malaysia, where they were bred, and even in Thailand, where they are bred in the same way, they do just that, setting up several aquariums, each of which has one such fish! An adult flower horn always swims calmly and proudly, it rarely hides in shelters, you still need to try to scare such a person, he will scare anyone you want by spreading his gills and making faces to his potential enemy, even if it will be his own reflection in the mirror. The fish loves a lot of space, and always swims in plain sight, a large aquarium with a flower horn will not seem empty.

If you keep it alone, then the minimum volume is from 200 liters. If you keep a couple, then this is already 500 liters, and if with other cichlids, then 1000 liters. They love a moderate current and clean water, be sure to use a powerful external filter. Weekly water changes and a bottom siphon are also important, as the flower horn is very littering during meals.

As for the decor, it is difficult to create it - the fish likes to dig, does not like plants. There is no point in planting plants in an aquarium at all, they will be destroyed.

It is better to use gravel as a soil, and large stones and snags as shelters, however, the fish does not like to hide and is quite active. Make sure that the stones, decor and equipment are firmly set and will not fall, as the flower horn is quite capable of tipping them over.

The temperature for keeping the flower horn should be high - 26-30C, ph: 6.5-7.8, 9 - 20 dGH.

Despite his bad temper, he will never miss a chance to once again beg for a portion of the treasured pellets or bloodworms:winked:. These beggars eat absolutely everything, from dry food to seafood, it’s hard to call them fussy, on the contrary, they are big gluttons and I feed my horns once a day with dry granules and quite a bit, the fish are well-fed, but not fat. Flower horns, if fed frequently or in large portions, gain weight very quickly and excessive obesity not only prevents them from swimming normally, but it also adversely affects the health of the fish and the condition of their organs, plus the fat horn greatly reduces life expectancy. Therefore, it is always better to underfeed than to overfeed. Then the horn will delight for many years.


The aggressiveness of flower horns.

Later, having learned their character better, there was a desire to breed a horn flower, I really wanted to see the fry and observe their development, and I decided that it was time to pick up a girlfriend for my horn. For a long time, attempts to find a mate for him did not give results, and those females that could be found were so aggressive that they simply could not live with the male, and attempts to get spawning from flower horns came down to failure. The aggression of these fish became an insurmountable obstacle, which was the decisive factor in the decision to get rid of them!

After getting rid of a couple of aggressive flower horns, after some time, by chance, I had a very beautiful female red dragon, who had a very calm and gentle disposition.

The fish always made contact and, begging for granules, did not react at all to the touch of a human hand, it was tame. These fish are also very smart. It was interesting to watch how the fish lures forage fish out of a small grotto, in which they themselves did not physically fit. Fish can also recognize their owner, and, seeing the usual food packaging, they immediately begin to beg for food, briskly shaking their heads from side to side near the front wall of the aquarium, as if saying “I'm here!”.

Video Horn in all its glory!

A little about the hybrid red diamond cichlazoma or "red texas".

This is an amazingly beautiful fish! Very bright, agile and of course very smart, but also known for their complex nature. These are extremely aggressive fish, and when keeping these fish you may encounter certain difficulties, for example: how to clean the walls of the aquarium if the fish attacks and bites violently? Get a brocade catfish, which is also very doubtful. My pair of red texas cichlases attacked a huge 35 cm catfish, they grabbed it by the most vulnerable places - the eyes. Soma had to be transferred to another aquarium. He did not receive any injuries, but I was not going to wait until he was crippled. If the aquarium is well stocked and there are many shelters, you can take adult ancistrus. These catfish are very nimble and can hide from cichlases. At night, cichlomas sleep and catfish will calmly clean all the walls of the aquarium. The problem of dirty walls of the aquarium is solved. For a pair of such cichlases, an aquarium of 250 liters or more is desirable. Decorated with stones and snags, a grotto in which the female can hide from the evil male if he tries to offend her, this usually happens before the start of spawning or at its end, the rest of the time the couple lives soul to soul. Otherwise, the fish are wonderful, they are always waiting for feeding near the front glass of the aquarium. The stunning color of these fish should be admired in a beautifully designed aquarium with high-quality lighting so that you can see these spectacular fish in all their glory.

Unfortunately, keeping them with plants is unlikely to succeed! Everything will be dug up and destroyed, even hard-leaved plants such as anubias, attached to a heavy snag or stone, will not survive. These cichlomas are quite powerful and have a row of needle-sharp teeth in a tightly compressed mouth. And despite its harmless appearance, the male bites noticeably! And his reaction is lightning fast!

Video Red Texas

I would like to add that these fish are designers of the underwater world, they love to drag the ground, move the scenery. It is useless to fight for the location of this or that aquarium element with them, the fish will still redo everything to their taste)) Therefore, you should choose heavy decor elements, such as stones or hefty snags, so that the fish cannot drag them, but watch their construction and design activities also interesting.


In conclusion, I would like to add that flower horn and red texas are unique fish! Of course, each type of aquarium fish has its own disadvantages and advantages, both in content and in their behavior, health. The biggest drawback of these hybrids is aggression! But they are also very smart and have interesting behavior, and most importantly, being hybrids, they have not only an original color, but also a huge supply of vitality and powerful health - these are their main advantages. These fish should be appreciated for all their merits!

At the moment I live: a couple of red texas, flower horn tie silk, flower horn red fader.

Video Flower Horn and Red Texas

Solt, 20 years old, Kazan

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The Flower Horn is a unique fish for those who love bright and large cichlids. She has a very interesting behavior, character and a completely unusual appearance. Those who decided to get themselves a flower horn never regretted it.

Flower Horn Information

Cichlids, as a rule, are not picky in partners, and can create pairs not only with their own kind, but also with completely different types of cichlids. This feature made it possible to obtain many completely unimaginable hybrids from different types of fish.

Not all of them turn out to be successful, some do not shine with color, others after such crossing become sterile themselves.

But, there are exceptions...

One of the well-known and popular fish in the aquarium is the fruit of artificial crossing. So is the flower horn, a child of the genetics and perseverance of Malaysian aquarists.

It was in Malaysia that careful selection and crossing of various cichlids (which ones are still not clear for sure) was carried out in order to obtain healthy and reproductive offspring. The flower horn is a hybrid, but at the same time it is not prone to disease, beautiful and prolific.

An interesting feature of the flower horn is that it changes its color throughout life, before reaching puberty. So, if you are interested in buying a bright fish of a certain color, then you need to choose an adult fish, or grown up enough.

Otherwise, you may be in for a surprise, not always a pleasant one. On the other hand, if you buy flower horn fry, then a whole series of magical transformations will pass before your eyes, and who knows, maybe you will have a fish of rare beauty?

Caring for the flower horn is very simple, it is an unpretentious and hardy fish. It is worth noting that it grows very large, about 30-40 cm, and requires a spacious aquarium for keeping, especially if you keep it with other fish.

Flower horns love to dig and eat plants, so you are unlikely to create a beautiful aquascape with plants. Because of this hobby, and also due to the fact that the fish itself is large, it is recommended to install stones, driftwood and other decor on the bottom of the aquarium, and not on the ground.

Otherwise, they can move them as they please.

It is best to keep flower horns alone as a rare show fish. They are very territorial, aggressive and do not get along well with other fish (except in very large aquariums, from 800 liters).

In other volumes, neighbors will be traumatized, or under stress.

Habitat in nature

Flower horn is a hybrid that is artificially bred and, accordingly, does not occur in nature at all. The first individual was bred in Malaysia in the 90s of the XX century, by crossing several species of fish, mainly South American cichlids.

They admired his appearance, especially the fat bump on his forehead, and they named him "Karoi" - which means warship.

There is still debate about which fish the flower horn originated from. The true combination is known only to those who brought this fish. Aquarists agree that the fish is descended from Cichlasoma trimaculatum, Cichlasoma Festae, Cichlasoma citrinellum, Cichlasoma labiatum, Vieja synspila.

The first line of flower horn cichlids to hit the market was called Hua Luo Han. Hua Luo Han were bred around 1998. But, since then, it has become very popular, and an incredible number of different variations and hybrids have appeared.

With huge fat cones (which increase with the help of chemistry), with a shortened body, or curved and other options.

The most popular at the moment are: flower horn campha (KamFa), Malau or Kamalau (KML), Zhen Zhu (ZZ) and Thai Silk (Thai silk).

The flower horn has gained a special, elite status among aquarists. In Asia, along with arowana, it is considered as one of the lucky fish by adherents of the Feng Shui movement. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese tradition that normalizes the arrangement of objects and things in the house in order to achieve maximum harmony with the outside world. And the aquarium in this current is one of the key topics for achieving wealth and success.

Accordingly, a flower horn, the pattern on the scales of which looks like a heart or a hieroglyph, can cost thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars.

Even a particularly large fatty lump on the head of a fish can bring a tidy sum to the owner. It is believed that it is a symbol of the Chinese god of longevity, and the larger it is, the more luck it will bring.

True, the more modest fish sell at a reasonable price and are now widely available to aquarists.

Thai silk - young:

Description

The flower horn has a very dense, oval body with a huge fat bump on the forehead. Large individuals reach 30-40 s in length. The scales can be either metallic, gray, or pink or red.

In most species, there is a wide, dark stripe along the midline of the body, breaking up into separate spots. But, some variations may not have it. The dorsal and anal fins are elongated and pointed, while the caudal fin, on the contrary, is rounded.

Life expectancy is about 8-10 years.

In general, it is rather difficult to describe the appearance of horns. Many aquarists breed their own unique fish. If you buy juveniles, there is a risk that their coloration will change dramatically as they mature. And, instead of an attractive individual, you will get a rather gray one.

Adult fish are classified according to 7 features: body shape, color, scale size, presence of a horizontal stripe, fat cone size, eyes, and straightened fins.

Difficulty in content


Flower horns are easy to care for and tolerate water conditions that would be a problem for other fish.

They are also unpretentious in nutrition, and eat any protein feed, from artificial to live.

It's worth saying that although it seems like a suitable fish for beginners, it's still not possible, for several significant reasons.

Firstly, this is a very large fish, for the maintenance of which you need a spacious and large aquarium. Secondly, the flower horn is very aggressive and territorial, it is desirable to keep it alone, without neighbors and even plants. Beginners can quite find a smaller and more peaceful cichlid.

And finally, the flower horn is so aggressive that it attacks the hand that feeds it, inflicting rather painful bites on the owner while he maintains the aquarium.

However, if you are absolutely sure that you want this fish, then no circumstances should stop you. Despite the obstacles listed above, this fish is suitable for beginner aquarists, as long as they study their fish and are willing to take on some challenges.

Feeding

It is an omnivorous fish with a huge appetite that is difficult to feed. They eat all kinds of live, frozen or artificial foods, as long as they contain a high amount of protein.

Food variety is just as important as nutrition and quality, so it is best to give: high quality food for large cichlids, shrimp meat, bloodworms, worms, crickets, flies, grasshoppers, small fish, fish fillets, gammarus.

You need to feed two to three times a day, especially if you are feeding food that leaves a lot of waste.

It is important to know that feeding on the meat of mammals, so popular in past years, is now considered harmful.

Such meat contains a large amount of proteins and fats, which the gastrointestinal tract of fish does not digest well. As a result, the fish grows fat, the work of internal organs is disrupted. You can give such food, but infrequently, about once a week.

Feeding crayfish:

Like other large Central American cichlids, the flower horn needs a very spacious aquarium. If you keep it alone, then the minimum volume is 200 liters, but even more is better.

Weekly water changes and a bottom siphon are also important, as the flower horn is very littering during meals.

As for the decor, it is difficult to create it - the fish likes to dig, does not like plants. There is no point in planting plants in an aquarium at all, they will be destroyed.

It is better to use gravel as a soil, and large stones and snags as shelters, however, the fish does not like to hide and is quite active.

Make sure that the stones, decor and equipment are firmly set and will not fall, as the flower horn is quite capable of tipping them over.

The temperature for keeping should be quite high - 26-30C, ph: 6.5-7.8, 9 - 20 dGH.

Compatibility

Flower horns are not well suited for keeping with other fish, as they are very large, aggressive and territorial.

It is best to keep one fish separately or in pairs, and if you still want neighbors, then only in a very spacious aquarium. The flower horn will even attack you while maintaining the aquarium, and the bites will be painful.

To reduce aggression, you need an aquarium with plenty of free space, lots of hiding places and large neighbors.

Such fish will be:,

It is believed that the female has a black dot on the dorsal fin, which is absent from the male, but other aquarists refute this. When sexually mature individuals are ready for spawning, a thick ovipositor is visible in the female, and the papilla in the male.

The only technique that can be considered real in sexing a flower horn is that used by tilapia breeders. Take the teenager, put it on the palm of your left hand, and gently run the right hand along the abdomen towards the caudal fin with the palm of your right hand.

If this is a male, then you will see splashes of a clear liquid from his anus, the female does not have this. An adult male is easy to distinguish by a fatty cone and size.

Breeding

Very often, such hybrids are fertile, that is, they cannot produce offspring. But not a flower horn. To get fry the same color as the parents, you need to have a good idea of ​​how clean the line is, otherwise the fry can be very different from their parents in color.

Breeding flower horns is similar to breeding other large South American cichlids. As a rule, they are bred in the same aquarium in which they are kept and the biggest problem is to save the female from the constant attacks of the male.

You need to equip the aquarium so that she has a place to hide, so that the male does not see her. Very often, the female is not yet ready, and the male is already starting to chase her and kill her.

Or, you can divide the aquarium into two parts using a net, so both the female is intact and the species of fish stimulates the start of spawning.

You can even use this technique, a large flat stone is placed near the net, and all other objects on which she could spawn are removed from the side of the female.

When the female lays her eggs on this stone, it is transferred to the male (or the net is moved so that he is on his territory) and a stream of water is directed onto the stone, helping the male to fertilize it.

In any of the options, even with a grid, even without, you will need to create conditions that stimulate the start of reproduction. Water should be about 28 ° C, neutral water - pH 7.0 You need to feed plentifully and good food, you can also replace most of the water with fresh water.

Parents will guard the eggs very jealously. Even if the couple is kept separately, and there is no threat, the male may decide that the female is superfluous here and start beating her. In this case, it is better to deposit it, or send it back to the dividing grid.

Caviar and fry are large and easy to care for. You can feed the fry of the flower horn with brine shrimp nauplii, crushed food for large cichlids.

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Flower Horn is an aquarium fish of the cichlid or cichlid family (Cichlidae).
Other names: Luo Han, Flower Horn.

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The Flower Horn cichlid is a species of fish that appeared in the 90s of the XX century as a result of hybridization. This species is believed to be the offspring of Amphilophus citrinellus, Cichlasoma trimaculatum and probably Vieja synspila and Cichlasoma festae.

Appearance and gender differences

Cichlazoma Flower Horn, having passed a thorough selection selection, has acquired the best features characteristic of fish of the Tsikhlov family. Breeders are constantly striving to ensure that as a result of hybridization this species will receive a more saturated color and a wide body, dark spots of an unusual shape resembling hieroglyphs, fins with more elegant outlines and a large hump on the forehead in males. It is safe to say that any claims that the Flower Horn is a mutant are unfounded, since no biogenetic developments and chemicals were used in the crossing process.
In one generation, it is impossible to find individuals that are absolutely similar to each other. As a result, several types of Flower Horn are classified today, namely: KamFa (KF for short), Malau or Kamalau (KML), Zhen Zhu (ZZ) and Thai Silk (Titanium Flower Horn).
Cichlazoma Flower Horn are quite beautiful fish, in which there are anatomical differences between the male and female. The male, unlike the female, has a more saturated color. He has a high hump on his forehead, and his dorsal and anal fins have long braids. During the spawning period or as a result of stress, dark transverse stripes become visible on the body of the fish, which are most clearly expressed in females. In an aquarium, fish can grow up to 30 cm, and sometimes up to 40 cm in length. The average size of the female is 15-20 cm, and the male is 20-40 cm. The fish live up to 8-10 years.





For keeping the Flower Horn, a spacious aquarium with a volume of 200 liters or more is suitable, in which the fish can have enough space for swimming. Driftwood and stones are placed at the bottom of the aquarium. Since the fish are constantly digging, you can do without live aquarium plants, which will still be uprooted. Flower Horn, like other representatives of South American cichlids, is a rather aggressive fish that needs a personal territory. When keeping Flower Horn together with other species of fish or several pairs of cichlases of the same species, sufficient shelters should be provided, and the territory should be divided into several zones using aquarium decorations or stones. They should not be kept together with small fish. But in a fairly spacious aquarium, cichlazoma may well get along with large representatives of other species. Arowanas, managuas, labiatums, diamond cichlomas, astronotus, chainmail and armored catfish are suitable for joint maintenance. When carrying out any work in the aquarium, you should take care of your hands, as the fish can inflict a rather painful bite.
Cichlazoma Flower Horn can be called an unpretentious fish, as it is able to endure conditions that are completely unsuitable for keeping most fish of other species. Optimal water parameters: temperature - 27-30 ° C, pH - 7.5-8.0. For keeping one pair of adults, an aquarium with a capacity of 150 liters or more is suitable. It is advisable to add a small amount of coral chips to the soil, thanks to which the pH level in the aquarium will remain stable. Care should be taken to change 30% of the water in the aquarium weekly. Do not allow sudden changes in the pH level, as this can be detrimental to the fish.
Cichlazoma Flower Horn is not picky about food. Shrimps, granular dry food and bloodworms are quite suitable as feed. It is advisable to provide the fish with two or three meals a day. In this case, portions should be small. Important advice: it’s better for the fish to not eat a little than to overeat. A varied, balanced diet contributes to the formation of a more intense color.





Breeding

By twelve months cichlazoma Flower Horn reaches puberty. For spawning, care should be taken to have an aquarium with a volume of 100 liters or more, in which the optimum water temperature is 27-28 ° C. The female lays up to a thousand eggs on a smooth surface. Pinkish caviar is quite large, about 2 mm in diameter. The incubation period lasts about 72 hours. Then, after two days, the fry begin to swim and actively eat. As a starter food, a special dry food for fry in the form of a powder, egg yolk and brine shrimp is suitable. The fry can stay with the producers for about 3-4 weeks, during which the male and female conscientiously care for the offspring, after which the young should be placed in a separate aquarium. In order to ensure intensive and uniform growth of fry, they are sorted by size as they grow. At the age of five or six months, the young begin to acquire the color characteristic of adults.

Flowerhorn and red dragon - aquarium devils!

There are already very worthy works with beautiful photographs in the competition - the so-called scapes, I do not keep herbalists, because. I am fond of large fish and, unfortunately, they are simply not compatible with plants. There will be no plant aquarium in my story, I keep and deal directly with fish, because the aquarium is primarily associated with them, so I will tell you about my fish.

Let's start from the very beginning. Hybrids, I got carried away by chance. A few years ago, after visiting a bird market to buy a couple of African cichlids, in one of the pavilions I saw a hefty fish swimming vigorously throughout the aquarium. It was a large, knobby red dragon, with a very bright color. At that time, I was mainly fond of African cichlids, namely the Cyrtocars of Mura. The flower horn immediately struck me with its bright, rich red color, and I decided to purchase just such a fish in my aquarium! The price on the bird was fun - 500 euros for an adult male! I did not plan to spend such an amount on a fish, and I had to look for an alternative - horn flower fry. It turned out that finding horns is not so easy, strange, because our city is not small, and the fish I need are nowhere to be found! This made it clear that there are not many flower horn lovers, apparently because the prices for these fish were not very budgetary, and the character, as it turned out later, was not the most peaceful. It took a long time before it was possible to find at least one flower horn. All in the same bird market, the first flower horn 25-27 cm in size was purchased at an affordable price.

After some time of keeping this fish, I realized that this is a majestic fish that knows its own worth! In a shared aquarium with other large fish, the male will come out of his skin to take a dominant position in the aquarium if he lives surrounded by other fish. He has a very capricious and fighting character, he can fight with other fish to the last! Therefore, it is recommended to keep this fish in a separate aquarium, where you can see the Horn flower in all its glory. At home in Malaysia, where they were bred, and even in Thailand, where they are bred in the same way, they do just that, setting up several aquariums, each of which has one such fish! An adult flower horn always swims calmly and proudly, it rarely hides in shelters, you still need to try to scare such a person, he will scare anyone you want by spreading his gills and making faces to his potential enemy, even if it will be his own reflection in the mirror. The fish loves a lot of space, and always swims in plain sight, a large aquarium with a flower horn will not seem empty.

If you keep it alone, then the minimum volume is from 200 liters. If you keep a couple, then this is already 500 liters, and if with other cichlids, then 1000 liters. They love a moderate current and clean water, be sure to use a powerful external filter. Weekly water changes and a bottom siphon are also important, as the flower horn is very littering during meals.

As for the decor, it is difficult to create it - the fish likes to dig, does not like plants. There is no point in planting plants in an aquarium at all, they will be destroyed.

It is better to use gravel as a soil, and large stones and snags as shelters, however, the fish does not like to hide and is quite active. Make sure that the stones, decor and equipment are firmly set and will not fall, as the flower horn is quite capable of tipping them over.

The temperature for keeping the flower horn should be high - 26-30C, ph: 6.5-7.8, 9 - 20 dGH.

Despite his bad temper, he will never miss a chance to once again beg for a portion of the treasured pellets or bloodworms:winked:. These beggars eat absolutely everything, from dry food to seafood, it’s hard to call them fussy, on the contrary, they are big gluttons and I feed my horns once a day with dry granules and quite a bit, the fish are well-fed, but not fat. Flower horns, if fed frequently or in large portions, gain weight very quickly and excessive obesity not only prevents them from swimming normally, but it also adversely affects the health of the fish and the condition of their organs, plus the fat horn greatly reduces life expectancy. Therefore, it is always better to underfeed than to overfeed. Then the horn will delight for many years.


The aggressiveness of flower horns.

Later, having learned their character better, there was a desire to breed a horn flower, I really wanted to see the fry and observe their development, and I decided that it was time to pick up a girlfriend for my horn. For a long time, attempts to find a mate for him did not give results, and those females that could be found were so aggressive that they simply could not live with the male, and attempts to get spawning from flower horns came down to failure. The aggression of these fish became an insurmountable obstacle, which was the decisive factor in the decision to get rid of them!

After getting rid of a couple of aggressive flower horns, after some time, by chance, I had a very beautiful female red dragon, who had a very calm and gentle disposition.

The fish always made contact and, begging for granules, did not react at all to the touch of a human hand, it was tame. These fish are also very smart. It was interesting to watch how the fish lures forage fish out of a small grotto, in which they themselves did not physically fit. Fish can also recognize their owner, and, seeing the usual food packaging, they immediately begin to beg for food, briskly shaking their heads from side to side near the front wall of the aquarium, as if saying “I'm here!”.

Video Horn in all its glory!

A little about the hybrid red diamond cichlazoma or "red texas".

This is an amazingly beautiful fish! Very bright, agile and of course very smart, but also known for their complex nature. These are extremely aggressive fish, and when keeping these fish you may encounter certain difficulties, for example: how to clean the walls of the aquarium if the fish attacks and bites violently? Get a brocade catfish, which is also very doubtful. My pair of red texas cichlases attacked a huge 35 cm catfish, they grabbed it by the most vulnerable places - the eyes. Soma had to be transferred to another aquarium. He did not receive any injuries, but I was not going to wait until he was crippled. If the aquarium is well stocked and there are many shelters, you can take adult ancistrus. These catfish are very nimble and can hide from cichlases. At night, cichlomas sleep and catfish will calmly clean all the walls of the aquarium. The problem of dirty walls of the aquarium is solved. For a pair of such cichlases, an aquarium of 250 liters or more is desirable. Decorated with stones and snags, a grotto in which the female can hide from the evil male if he tries to offend her, this usually happens before the start of spawning or at its end, the rest of the time the couple lives soul to soul. Otherwise, the fish are wonderful, they are always waiting for feeding near the front glass of the aquarium. The stunning color of these fish should be admired in a beautifully designed aquarium with high-quality lighting so that you can see these spectacular fish in all their glory.

Unfortunately, keeping them with plants is unlikely to succeed! Everything will be dug up and destroyed, even hard-leaved plants such as anubias, attached to a heavy snag or stone, will not survive. These cichlomas are quite powerful and have a row of needle-sharp teeth in a tightly compressed mouth. And despite its harmless appearance, the male bites noticeably! And his reaction is lightning fast!

Video Red Texas

I would like to add that these fish are designers of the underwater world, they love to drag the ground, move the scenery. It is useless to fight for the location of this or that aquarium element with them, the fish will still redo everything to their taste)) Therefore, you should choose heavy decor elements, such as stones or hefty snags, so that the fish cannot drag them, but watch their construction and design activities also interesting.


In conclusion, I would like to add that flower horn and red texas are unique fish! Of course, each type of aquarium fish has its own disadvantages and advantages, both in content and in their behavior, health. The biggest drawback of these hybrids is aggression! But they are also very smart and have interesting behavior, and most importantly, being hybrids, they have not only an original color, but also a huge supply of vitality and powerful health - these are their main advantages. These fish should be appreciated for all their merits!

At the moment I live: a couple of red texas, flower horn tie silk, flower horn red fader.

Video Flower Horn and Red Texas

Solt, 20 years old, Kazan

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