Basic Flowerhorn Set-Up

Flower Horn Fish are very territorial and very aggressive. They usually will not tolerate other fish, and will often eat smaller fish that fit into their mouths. Some aquarists have said that they can play with their Flower Horn Fish, but instead of playing the Flower Horn is probably trying to get rid of what it sees an intruder, your hand.This fish is very hardy, and can endure water conditions that are not suitable for some types of aquarium fish. Their hardiness is one of the big reasons that the Flower Horn is enjoyed by many tropical fish hobbyists.

Due the big size they can reach, Flowerhorn need big aquarium with a lot of free space for swimming; a 200 litres tank is the minimum you can offer to an adult fish to let it live healthily. It is a really strong fish and can live in different water conditions without having problems, anyway it is important to provide a temperature between 28°C and 32°C; pH value is also important, because acid water can tone down fish colours and make it sick, the ideal condition is a light alkaline water, with a pH between 7 and 7.8. Moreover it is necessary to avoid sudden condition changes of temperature and chemical values, because they can make Flowerhorn being more sensible to sickness like bacteria attacks.

Water filtration is really important because this big fish produces lots of refuses that end increasing nitrite and nitrate levels in the water. You can choose both internal and external filtration, even if the second one is preferred to leave more free space to the fish. The biological part must work properly, so be sure to have a well activated aquarium before to house a Flowerhorn cichlid.

Take also a look to the water current, an excessively strong one can damage the fish, anyway it is important that a slow movement is present, because it oxygenates the water, and avoids that the water heats only near heater.

Tank decorations are important to make the fish feel quieter. Use a layer of fine gravel and be sure that rocks and woods are stable and do not risk to fall easily on the fish; be sure, as well, that all the decorations do not make the tank cleaning too much difficult. You may also use a substrate to equalize the ph of the water, this can help shane the pearl of your fish and look healthy. Live plants are important for filtration and oxygenation, anyway choose strong plants like big anubias, because any Flowerhorn cichlid use to dig a lot; you can also use plastic plants, even if they are not useful and you can risk that the fish accidentally eat them. But some of the hobbyist don't pud plans because they want to play there fish. Space will be a great elp to make your fish grow big and more decorations can affect them. Make sure that your decoration must not be eaten by your fish.

Being big and aggressive is better not to house it with other fish species, specially if they are smaller. While if you plan to house more than one Flowerhorn, provide a big tank and divide it with accessories to let fish divide the territory; to avoid fights it is recommended not to keep more than two or three fish together in the same tank.

The success of your flowerhorn will be in the cleanliness of your aquarium.

Tips to maintain your Arowana

Well here are some tips to maintain your Arowana and the Aquarium; the Arowana’s eating habits produce a lot of waste and you should therefore, pay extra attention to water conditions in your aquarium. Changing 25% to 35% of the water weekly is advisable, or better yet, 20% twice a week. You should maintain the pH neutral. Pay particular attention to the temperature and pH ranges suggested below on the various species, since if you have it too warm, it might cause them to age faster, look less Arowana, and even shorten their life. A to cold temperature might on the other hand kill them.

Generally, a good healthy Arowana Fish will grow to be at least 24 to 30 inches (60-75cm). Some varieties can become 48 inches (120 cm) in the wild. They may be aggressive (definitely not good community fish), and Arowana fish can sometimes be best kept alone in an aquarium. Remember that other smaller fish in the tank may become their dinner.

Arowana fish will often swim in the top of the aquarium, and are capable of jumping from the aquarium. Keep the aquarium well covered to avoid coming home to a dead pet. Silver Arowana Fish in the wild have been known to jump at insects in trees as read in a comic J.

Arowana Fish may live for many years, and if well cared for Arowana fish may live longer than 20 years in captivity. If you keep the aquarium temperature towards the lower end, they may look young longer than they would in a higher temperature. Please pay particular attention to each Arowana Fish’s needs below.

The Asian Arowana or Golden Arowana (Scleropages formosus) is considered an endangered species. Care should be taken to follow the law in purchasing and transporting them. Asian Arowana fish generally can grow to about 36 inches, and are often much more expensive then the other Arowana species. These are well known and popular South East Asia where they are believed to bring luck. Feeding them healthy Guppies, Gold Fish, Frogs, or Shrimp makes a good stable diet. The temperature is best kept between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 C), and a pH level between 7.0 and 7.5 are advisable.
Well about their Vastu value:
Generally people say that by growing these kind of fishes, we get mental relaxation, by and large its true because When we watch the movements of these colour fishes our mind gets relaxed.
When we try to attach the Vastu element to these fishes, they are seen as a balancing element, When these live colourful fishes are grown in houses, it brings prosperity and happiness in one’s life and I have been experiencing it too...

How to set up an aquarium for a quality FH?

You should have at least

1. 25 to 40 gall tank with cover to prevent the fish from jumping out. (yes they do jump out so just cover the tank)

2. Lights(optional)

3. Heater(optional) if you are somewhere near Thailand, Philippines, Singapore or Malaysia you don’t need a heater, but if you are outside this Asian continent region, you got to buy a heater, any ways heater prevents sickness to the flower horn itself so better to buy one.

4. 2 Power head filter not an under gravel filter

5. Decoration notes – if you like decorating the aquarium... you can put a small layer of gravel, just be sure you can clean the tank easily, but from my opinion just stick to a bare tank don’t put gravel because flower horns like to dig pit of wholes on the gravel using their mouths, the mouth can get wounded and if they get chocked which really happens… say bye2x to your quality flower horn. Putting plastic or solid structure in the aquarium is not advisable, putting plastic plants can harm the fish, flower horns like biting things that are in their territory (what’s their territory? It’s the whole tank!!) And if they bite sharp objects, they can be harmed so please stick with the bare tank, just put a nice back ground wallpaper in the back of the aquarium, that’s what I did.