How to Care Flowerhorn

The Flowerhorn Cichlid is a carnivore with a large appetite and can be easily underfed. So be sure they are getting enough food. Food that will be exact to his diet. In some point if you overfeed your fish they can have negative effect to in your pet. This fish can eat all kinds of live, fresh, and frozen foods of high quality. Feed high quality cichlid pellets, krill, frozen bloodworms, earthworms, night crawlers, crickets, and carotene enhanced supplements. Feed 2 to 3 times a day. It helps with maintenance if you avoid foods that pollute the tank's water. Their looks can be altered by the type of foods they are fed as well. All fish benefit from vitamins and supplements added to their foods.
Like all larger South American Cichlids they need a lot of room. A minimum of 55 gallons for one will be needed, though a tank 4' long and 2' wide would be ideal. If you are keeping them with other large fish, 200 gallons or more may be required. They do fine with moderate water movement and good efficient filtration. They appreciate a gravel substrate and some rocks to hide behind, but will spend most of the time out in the open. It is a digger and plants don't fare so well as they will be shredded. Make sure rocks are well bedded on the actual glass bottom of the tank to prevent toppling. Be sure to have plenty of open space for swimming.
The Flowerhorn Cichlid is a rewarding specimen for the aquarist as it is very hardy and easy to keep as long as the aquarium is large enough. These fish eat a lot putting a heavy bio load in the aquarium, so do water changes of 20% biweekly or 25% weekly. They are subject to infections as well as other diseases that ail all freshwater fish. One common problem is Ich. Ich is easily treated with an elevated temperature of 86 ° F for a few days. Intestinal disease can be treated with metronidazol.
The Flowerhorn Cichlid will grow to a length of 12-16" (31 - 41 cm), depending on its ancestral breeding.The Flowerhorn Cichlid is not a community cichlid, it is territorial and aggressive. This fish is best kept alone. Even your hands are fair game and its bite can hurt. It can only be kept with other fish if the tank is very large, 200 gallons or more may be required. Keeping other fish out of its 'line of sight' will help to lower aggression, so decorate in a way that provides natural borders for its territory.
If breeding you may have to take steps to prevent a pair from killing each other. They are aggressive toward those of the same species. They will will not tolerate those of a different genus.