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Flower Horns are handsome dogs with complex personalities. Flower Horn - beauty and unusual shape Requirements for an aquarium

Horn belongs to the cichlids - it is a decorative and very bright aquarium fish. She has interesting character And unusual look. No aquarist will regret having one. Cichlids do not pick and choose partners, which is why many hybrids have been bred. True, not all offspring are successful. Most become infertile after crossing. However, there are exceptions.

The Flower Horn fish from the Cichlid family has interesting view and character.

Hybrid Flower Horn

Flower Horn is the result of an artificial cross. The species was bred by aquarists in Malaysia in order to obtain offspring capable of further reproduction. The result is a hybrid that resists diseases well and is also very beautiful.

The Flower Horn has a peculiarity: it changes color throughout its life, so if you want to get a pet of a certain color, you need to choose an adult that has already reached sexual maturity. It is until this time that the horn changes its color. Otherwise, you may not be very pleasantly surprised. But there is another side - if you buy fry, you will have the opportunity to observe a series of interesting transformations of the fish. And perhaps it will be possible to raise a pet of the rarest beauty.

main feature Horn's flower - it changes color throughout its life.

Horn is unpretentious and quite hardy. It is worth considering that the pet will reach large sizes, from 30 to 40 centimeters. Therefore, you need to prepare an appropriate reservoir in advance, especially if it will be kept with other fish. The hybrid loves to feast on plants and dig up soil, so a beautiful aquascape is out of the question. There should be stones and various driftwood at the bottom of the aquarium. The fish will drag them as it wants.

It is recommended to keep the Flower Horn cichlid alone in the aquarium, as it is very aggressive against other inhabitants. The exception is aquariums from 1 thousand liters. In small spaces, the hybrid will injure neighbors, or they will be under constant stress.
Habitat in nature
The horn fish was obtained by artificial crossing, so it is impossible to find it in nature. The first fish was bred back in the nineties of the last century by crossing South American cichlids. Until now, it is not known which fish participated in the crossing. Experienced aquarists believe that the hybrid became a descendant of Cichlasoma trimaculatum, Vieja synspila, Cichlasoma Festae and Cichlasoma labiatum.
The most popular hybrids nowadays are Thai silk, campha, malau and zenzu.
Flower Horn is considered an elite species that brings good luck and is loved by Feng Shui practitioners. Therefore, if there is a pattern on the pet’s scales that resembles a hieroglyph or a heart, the fish can bring quite a large sum to the owner. Fish with a more modest color will cost the new owner an affordable price.
Description of the cichlid
The body of Cichlazoma Flower Horna is oval and dense, there is a fatty bump on the forehead. The color of the scales is varied: red, gray, metal color. Many species have a stripe down the middle of their body. dark color, which blurs into spots. The fins on the back are sharp and elongated, and the fin on the tail is round. On average, fish live about 9 years.
Aquarists are constantly breeding their unique pets.
Adults are classified according to the following characteristics:
by scale color;
according to body shape;
by scale size;
according to eye size;
by the size of the fatty lump on the forehead;
along a horizontal stripe on the body (present or not);
along straightened fins.

Difficulties of maintenance
On the one hand, caring for a horn is easy. The fish is immune to small changes in water temperature, which are considered a problem for other species. Cichlazoma Flower Horn is not picky; it can be fed with artificial protein food, as well as live food.

Flower Horn is immune to small changes in water temperature, which are considered a problem for other species.
However, a hybrid is by no means a choice for beginner aquarists, since keeping a Flower Horn has its own difficulties. The following reasons contribute to this:
The fish is quite large in size, so it needs a spacious pond.
Horn is a territorial fish, it is worth keeping alone, this applies not only to neighbors, but also to plants. Inexperienced aquarists can acquire a more peaceful cichlizoma.
The disc horn can even bite the hand that feeds it, leaving a painful bite while a person is tending the pond.

But this should not be a reason to abandon this fierce but beautiful fish, you just need to study it well and be prepared for difficulties.
Horn feeding
This species is omnivorous and has a large appetite. Fish are not that easy to feed. Her diet includes a variety of foods (frozen, live, and artificial). It is important that they are rich in protein and nutritious. It is better to give flies, fish fillets, worms, shrimp meat, gammarus and bloodworms. The Horn should be fed three times a day.
Previously, cichlids were fed mammalian meat. Now such feeding is considered harmful, since meat contains a lot of fats that have a bad effect on gastrointestinal tract fish, it is difficult to digest. As a result, the fish becomes swollen with fat, and its internal organs begin to work poorly. It is acceptable to give such complementary foods once a week.

Flower Horn's diet should include a variety of foods (frozen, live, and artificial).
Life in an aquarium
For one individual, a reservoir of 200 liters is required, but preferably larger. If you keep two fish, you will need a 500 liter aquarium. If there are three or more of them, then you will need at least 1 thousand liters. Cichlids are clean animals, so they need clean water with a moderate current. It is recommended to purchase a powerful filter. It is important to change the water in the aquarium by ¼ part every day. But it is also necessary to change the siphon every day, because the fish litters a lot.
Plants should not be planted; they will still be destroyed by fish. Gravel is perfect as a soil. The stones at the bottom must be firmly fixed so that they do not fall on the fish, which will try to turn them over. The required water acidity is from 6.5 to 8. Water temperature is from 25 to 30 degrees.
Compatibility with neighbors
Horns treat others poorly aquarium fish. He always attacks everyone - such is his ferocious character. You can reduce his aggression if you provide him with a spacious body of water, add only large neighbors and equip him with a sufficient number of shelters.
Fish that are suitable for living together include plecostomus, giant gourami, black pacu, astronotus, pterygoplicht.
But all aquarists sooner or later come to the conclusion that flower horn should be kept alone. Do not forget that aggressive behavior also extends to relatives. If a couple lives in an aquarium, then you need to carefully monitor them, they can kill each other.
Sex differences
There is still no known method by which to distinguish a female from a male. Some believe that there is a black dot on the dorsal fin of females, which is not found in the opposite sex. However, other aquarists deny this fact.
When the fish are sexually mature and ready to spawn, you can see a papilla in males, and a large ovipositor in females. There is only one technique for differentiating the sexes of horn fish, and that is for tilapia. The essence of the method comes down to the following: a young individual is placed on the palm of one hand, the other is carried along the body from head to tail. If at the same time liquid splashes from the anus, it is a male. This is not typical for females. An adult male is distinguished by large sizes and a bump on the head.
Breeding aggressive fish
Often hybrids cannot have offspring. But Horn is an exception. In order for the fry to turn out the same color as the parents, you need to be sure of the purity of the line. Otherwise, the fry will inherit an unpredictable color.
Horntail breeding is similar to that of other South American cichlids. They are bred in the pond in which they live. The difficulty is to save the female from aggression from the male. There must be a hiding place for her in the aquarium, in which the male will not notice her. You can divide the aquarium into two parts with a net, the fish will see each other, and this stimulates spawning.
This method is also effective: in the female’s area, they remove all objects and leave only one stone near the net so that she spawns eggs on it. Then the stone with the eggs is moved towards the male and a stream of water is directed at him to make it easier for the male to fertilize her.
In addition, favorable conditions for reproduction should be created in the reservoir: water temperature is 28 degrees and acidity is 7. You should also change the water to clean water and feed your pets well.

After fertilization of the eggs, it is better to transplant the female, since the male will protect the future offspring and can attack her.

Flower Horn and the Red Dragon - aquarium devils!

There are already some very worthy works in the competition beautiful photos- so-called scapes, I don’t keep herbals, 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 we primarily associate an aquarium with them, so I will tell you about my fish.

Let's start from the very beginning. I became interested in hybrids due to chance. A few years ago, having visited a bird market with the aim of purchasing a couple of African cichlids, in one of the pavilions I saw a huge fish swimming vigorously throughout the aquarium. It was a large, bushy red dragon, with a very bright color. At that time, I was mainly interested in African cichlids, namely Moore's Cirtocars. Flower Horn immediately struck me with its bright, rich red color, and I decided to purchase just such a fish for my aquarium! The price for the bird was funny - 500 euros for an adult male! I didn’t plan to spend that amount on fish, and I had to look for an alternative - flowerhorn fry. It turned out that finding horns is not so easy, it’s strange, because our city is not small, but the fish I need are nowhere to be found! This made it clear that there were not many lovers of Flower Horn, apparently because the prices for these fish were not very budget-friendly, and, as it turned out later, their character was not the most peaceful. It took a long time before even one flowerhorn could be found. At the same poultry market, the first flower horn, measuring 25-27 cm, was purchased at an affordable price.

After keeping this fish for some time, I realized that this is a majestic fish that knows its worth! In a shared aquarium with others big fish The male will go out of his way to dominate 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. In their homeland in Malaysia, where they were bred, and even in Thailand, where they are also bred, this is exactly what they do, installing several aquariums, each of which houses one such fish! An adult Flower Horn always swims calmly and proudly, it rarely hides in shelters, you still need to try to scare one, he will scare anyone he wants, spreading his gills and making faces at his potential enemy, even if it is 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 200 liters. If you keep a pair, then this is already 500 liters, and if with other cichlids, then 1000 liters. They love moderate currents and clean water, be sure to use a powerful external filter. Weekly water changes and a bottom siphon are also important, as the Flowerhorn is very littery when eating.

As for the decor, it’s difficult to create - fish like to dig and don’t 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 substrate, and large stones and snags as shelters, however, the fish does not like to hide and is quite active. Make sure that stones, decor and equipment are firmly installed and will not fall, as the flower horn is quite capable of knocking them over.

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

Despite his bad character, 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 picky, on the contrary, they are big gluttons and I feed my horns once a day with dry granules and just a little bit at a time, the fish are well-fed, but not fatty. Flower horns, if you feed them frequently or in large portions, gain weight very quickly and excessive obesity not only prevents them from swimming normally, but it also has a bad effect on the health of the fish and the condition of their organs, plus, a fat horn has a greatly reduced life expectancy. Therefore, it is always better to underfeed than to overfeed. Then the Horn will delight you for many years.

Aggressiveness of Flower Horns.

Later, having learned their character better, I had a desire to breed a Flower Horn, I really wanted to see the fry and watch their development, and I decided that it was time to find a mate for my Horn. For a long time attempts to find a mate for him did not yield results, and those females that could be found were so aggressive that they simply could not live with the male and attempts to get Flower Horns to spawn were a 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 flowerhorns, some time later, thanks to chance, I got a very beautiful female red dragon, who had a very calm and gentle disposition.

The fish always made contact and, begging for pellets, 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 lured the food fish out of a small grotto, into which it physically did not fit. Fish can also recognize their owner, and, seeing the usual packaging of food, they immediately begin to beg for food, animatedly shaking their heads from side to side near the front wall of the aquarium, as if saying “I’m here!”

Video of Horn in all its glory!

A little about the hybrid Red Diamond Cichlazoma or “Red Texas”.

This is extraordinary beautiful fish! Very bright, agile and of course very smart, but Red Texans are also known for their complex character. These are extremely aggressive fish; when keeping these fish, you may encounter certain difficulties, for example: how to clean the walls of the aquarium if the fish violently attacks and bites? Get a brocade catfish, which is also very doubtful. My pair of red texas cichlases attacked a huge 35cm catfish, they grabbed it by the very vulnerabilities- eyes. The catfish had to be transferred to another aquarium. He didn’t receive any injuries, but I wasn’t going to wait until he was maimed. If the aquarium is well stocked and there are a lot of shelters, you can take adult ancistrus. These catfish are very nimble and can hide from cichlases. At night, cichlids sleep and the catfish will calmly clean all the walls of the aquarium. The problem of dirty aquarium walls has been solved. For a pair of such cichlases, an aquarium of 250 liters is desirable, no less. Decorated with stones and snags, a grotto in which the female can hide from the evil male if he tries to offend her, usually this happens before the start of spawning or at its end, the rest of the time the couple lives in perfect harmony. Otherwise the fish are wonderful, they are always waiting for feeding near the front glass of the aquarium. The stunning colors of these fish need to 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 be successful! Everything will be dug up and destroyed, even hard-leaved plants such as anubias, grown to heavy snags or stones, will not survive. These cichlids are quite powerful and have a row of needle-sharp teeth in a tightly closed 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 underwater world, they love to drag the ground and move the decorations. It is useless to fight for the location of this or that aquarium element with them, the fish will still change everything to their taste)) Therefore, it is worth choosing heavy decorative elements, such as stones or hefty driftwood, so that the fish cannot drag them, but watch their construction and design activities interesting too.

In conclusion, I would like to add that Flower Horn and Red Texas are unique fish! Of course, for each species aquarium fish There are advantages and disadvantages, both in content and in their behavior and 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!

On this moment I live with: a couple of Red Texas, Flower Horn Thai Silk, Flower Horn Red Fader.

Video of Flower Horn and Red Texas

Solt, 20 years old, Kazan

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Forum discussion competition works - .

Flower Horn, or as the creators call it, Hua Luo Han, is a fish of impressive size and bewitching appearance. Characteristic feature is the protruding forehead and the presence of hieroglyphs on the body of the fish. The hieroglyphs do not appear immediately, but as the fish grows and matures. Although some fish may show very little or none at all. At first our Horn was not particularly beautiful, monochromatic, without hieroglyphs at all and not big-headed. And as the fish grew, it simply blossomed like a flower.

It is simply impossible not to notice it in an aquarium. Firstly the size. So far it’s 28 cm, but it looks like it’s still growing (take this into account if you decide to get such a fish and don’t do it if your aquarium is less than 150 liters. My aquarium is 800 liters, but there are many other fish.)

Secondly, Horn is very active and manages to be everywhere at once. Thirdly, he is simply incredibly handsome. Fourthly, he is smart and cunning.

The fish undoubtedly has intelligence and on this point its only competitor in our aquarium is the smart Oscar (Astronotus).

The rest of the fish don't even bother with this couple. It is believed that Horns are quite aggressive, but this is probably individual. Ours doesn’t bother or bite anyone.

No bitten off fins or torn off tails. The truth helps the astronotus regulate the number of cichlids in the aquarium, otherwise we would have had an overpopulation long ago.

Cichlids breed constantly. And a friend from an aquarium correspondence had a tragedy: Horn ate all the fish he could over the weekend. But this happened due to the wrong selection of fish to live together.

If you want to get yourself a Horn, you should also know some interesting facts: according to Feng Shui, it is believed that Horns bring wealth and good luck, and the larger the frontal growth, the better.

The hieroglyphs on the sides eventually form words. Fish with auspicious hieroglyphs it costs very little. These fish are kept by billionaires in Asian countries, sincerely and probably not without reason, believing that they bring them good luck. The fish was bred relatively recently in 1996. The popularity of the fish is growing very quickly and in America they are already holding a beauty contest among Horns with a large prize fund.

Our Horn has grown into an extraordinary handsome and smart man. It’s just that I haven’t had the opportunity to read the hieroglyphs that have appeared yet... But I want to!

If you don’t know what to feed him, then I advise you to look

An unusual combination of beautiful appearance, distinctive shape and ferocity can be found in the Flower Horn. She also has interesting behavior and character, so you always want to watch her. It is known that those people who got it for themselves never regretted it. But you need to know a little about how to properly keep such fish and how to breed it correctly.

Origin

Cichlids and Flower Horns, photos of which are in this article, are indiscriminate in their choice of partners. So they pair up with different types fish, and this feature of them led to the formation of a large number of hybrids. But not all of them look great, and there are some species that can no longer have offspring.

Such hybrids, which were obtained through artificial crossing, include the trihybrid parrot and flower horn. The parrot trihybrid is considered the most famous aquarium fish. But the Flower Horn cichlid was the result of genetics and the persistence of Malaysian aquarists. To obtain this type of hybrids, careful selection and competent crossing were carried out various types. The main goal of such experiments was to obtain healthy offspring that would be able to reproduce in the future. And the result really turned out to be successful, since the Flower Horn fish is a hybrid that is beautiful, easy to reproduce and not at all prone to any diseases.

Peculiarities

Each buyer, before purchasing this type of fish, must study not only its appearance, conditions of keeping, rules of care, but also those features that the cichlid may have. For example, flower horns often change their colors. This happens until they reach sexual maturity. Therefore, if the buyer needs a fish of a certain color, then he should purchase an adult fish.

But if you acquire a very young individual, then it is the Flower Horn fry that will show the real art of transformation when they change their color throughout their life. It is believed that this fish is a show fish, so it is better to keep it alone. She rarely gets along with other fish, as she is very aggressive.

Availability for purchase

IN natural environment Flower Horns are not found at all, as they were bred artificially. The first individual of this species appeared at the end of the twentieth century in Malaysia. To obtain it, they tried to cross several species of cichlids that were brought from South America. Scientists really liked the appearance of the resulting specimen. Their attention was especially attracted by the fatty lump on the forehead, for which they initially nicknamed the fish a warship.

But the combination of which individuals gave rise to the Flower Horn is still unknown, as scientists keep this information secret. This hybrid specimen first appeared on the market in 1998. Much time has passed since then, this individual has become popular and widespread. Currently, there are already several varieties that differ either in the size of the fatty bump, or in the shortened or curved body.

This fish is considered elite among aquarists. Today, several of its varieties are in special demand. For example, the type of Thai silk, which is simply beautiful in appearance. In Asia, this elite fish is seen as a fish that brings good luck. According to Feng Shui, an aquarium with such beautiful fish should be placed correctly in the house in order to achieve harmony with the outside world. If the aquarium is positioned correctly, the Flower Horn fish will bring success and wealth to the owner of the home.

Price

Such an elite individual has a pattern on its scales. Most often it resembles either a heart or some interesting hieroglyph. Such fish can cost tens of thousands of dollars, but there are species that can be purchased for several thousand dollars. Often the price of a Flower Horn directly depends on the size of the fatty bump on its head. So, the larger it is, the higher the price.

This bump on the head of an elite fish is believed to be a symbol of the god of longevity in China. The bigger the bump, the more luck she will bring it to her owner.

Appearance

The body of the Flower Horn hybrid is dense and oval. There is a large fatty lump on my forehead. Adults can reach forty centimeters in length. The color of the scales is usually metallic, gray, but there are individuals whose color can be red or pink. Some elite fish also have a dark wide stripe in the middle of the body, which can be interrupted and even appear as separate spots. But not all species have this.

Flowerhorn fins, the maintenance of which requires some knowledge, are dorsal, anal and caudal. The dorsal and anal fins are usually elongated and pointed, but the caudal fin is round. Such hybrid elite individuals live no more than ten years. But few of them live to this age. IN Lately with the emergence of many different subspecies, appearance may vary.

All varieties of such fish are unique, and they are recognized by seven characteristics. This is the shape and color of the fish, the size of its scales and fatty bumps, whether there is a horizontal line and how the fins are straightened, and also by the eyes.

Conditions

Flowerhorns, whose maintenance is quite simple, easily tolerate any water parameters, especially compared to other types of fish. They are also unpretentious in nutrition, as they love any protein food, regardless of whether it is of artificial or live origin. But still, inexperienced aquarists should not start with breeding this particular individual, since its maintenance has its own characteristics.

The first feature is the need to have a large aquarium, since this is a fairly large fish. Another important nuance of the content is the determination of who the flower hori can live with. Since this is an aggressive fish, it is better that it does not have neighbors in the aquarium. This individual will quickly destroy even plants, so you shouldn’t place them in an aquarium.

It is known that it is so aggressive that it is capable of biting its owner's hand when he feeds it or maintains the aquarium. Flowerhorn bites are quite painful. If aquarists are ready for difficulties, then they can purchase it for their aquarium.

Nutrition

Flowerhorns, whose feeding has its own characteristics, feed on both live and artificial food. The main thing is that such food contains a large amount of protein. She has a big appetite. Therefore, it is worth alternating food and making sure that the food is varied.

The main condition for the feed used is that it be nutritious and of high quality. The higher its quality, the better this fish will develop. So, you can give Flower Horn shrimp meat, various worms and crickets, bloodworms and flies, grasshoppers and fish fillets, gammarus and small fish.

Usually this hybrid individual is fed no more than three times a day, but twice is possible. Everything will depend on what kind of food to feed, and how much waste is left afterwards. Even in the last century, such fish were fed with mammalian meat, but it has now been proven that this is very harmful, since such food contains too much fat and protein. It is known that aquarium fish do not digest such food well. As a result of eating such food, problems begin: the fish gets fat, and work internal organs is violated. Therefore, you should give them no more than once a week.

Requirements for an aquarium

An aquarium for keeping a Flower Horn requires a large and voluminous one, for example, at least 200 liters. But if on the condition that he lives alone. If you breed a pair, then you will need an aquarium with a volume of at least 400 liters. And if there are other hybrid species, then at least 800 liters.

You should not create any special decor in such an aquarium, since this fish does not like plants at all, but it loves to dig, so any plants will quickly disappear. It is better to fill the bottom of the aquarium with gravel, as well as large stones and driftwood. This elite fish does not like to hide at all, and it leads active image life. But even when installing stones or driftwood, you should always check the reliability of the installation, since the hybrid can easily turn everything over.

Rules of care

It is known that the Flower Horn, the care of which has its own rules, prefers clean water and a small moderate current. Therefore, such an aquarium always requires a powerful filter and water change every week. At the same time, you should definitely clean the bottom, as a lot of debris remains after eating.

To keep this elite hybrid fish species, you should install high temperature, not less than 26 degrees. And you should always monitor the behavior of the fish to understand what may be bothering it.

Compatible with others

Flowerhorns are almost impossible to keep with other fish, as they are always aggressive and their large body can easily cope with any other fish in the aquarium. They always defend their territory. It is best to keep a pair of identical fish then, so that other individuals do not suffer. But for such a neighborhood you always need a large aquarium, which slightly reduces the aggression of the Flower Horn.

If, nevertheless, neighbors are inevitable, then the aquarium should be filled with fish that also have large shapes. You can add black paku, pterygoplicht, plecostomus, giant gourami and others to a huge aquarium with Flower Horn. If the aquarium contains a pair of hybrids, then you should definitely monitor them, as they can kill each other.

How to distinguish a female from a male

There is no correct way to distinguish between a female and a male in the hybrid flowerhorn fish species. Today it is believed that the black dot on the back behind the fin indicates a female. The male does not have this point. But many aquarists refute this assumption.

It is easier to identify the female during the spawning period. When an adult is ready to spawn, a thick ovipositor becomes visible in the female, and a papilla in the male. Breeders adhere to one technique that allows them to distinguish the sex of an individual. But it can only be used on a person - a teenager. To determine the sex, you should place such a fish in the palm of your left hand, and then right hand lightly and gently sweep along the abdomen from the head to the caudal fin. If splashes of clear liquid appear from the anus, then it is a male. If nothing happens, then it's a female.

Breeding

Flower Horns, the breeding of which has its own characteristics, differ from other hybrids in that they can have healthy offspring. It is difficult to obtain fry of the same color as the parents. To do this, you need to have a clean line, otherwise the color will be different. It can be very difficult for a female to defend herself from the constant attacks of males, so breeding these fish is quite difficult. The owner of such a couple, which is specially purchased for divorce, must equip his aquarium in such a way that the female has secluded places where she can hide from the male, and he would not see her.

You can use another method to slightly protect the female from the pursuit of the male. For example, divide the aquarium into two parts using a net. You can act a little differently. So, place a flat stone near the mesh, but it must be large. In this case, all other objects on the side where the female will be must be removed. This will ensure that she will throw. Then you need to either move the stone to the male, or rearrange the net so that this stone ends up on his territory. After this, it is recommended to direct a stream of water there, thus helping the male to fertilize the female.

In any method, it is the owner who needs to create the conditions under which reproduction will begin. This requires certain conditions that should be created. So, the water should be approximately 28 °C. The food must be of high quality. Elite fish should be fed well during this period. It is imperative to monitor the freshness of the water.

Both the female and the male will carefully and jealously guard the eggs, and as soon as the male decides that the female is superfluous, he will immediately begin to beat her. And then a grid will be needed again.

Such fish always have large eggs and fry, so they are easy to care for. It is better to feed the fry the same food as adults, but they should be thoroughly crushed.

Flower Horn and the Red Dragon - aquarium devils!

There are already very worthy works in the competition with beautiful photographs - so-called scapes, I don’t 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 we primarily associate an aquarium with them, so I will tell you about my fish.

After keeping this fish for some time, I realized that this is a majestic fish that knows its worth! In a community aquarium with other large fish, the male will go out of his way 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. In their homeland in Malaysia, where they were bred, and even in Thailand, where they are also bred, this is exactly what they do, installing several aquariums, each of which houses one such fish! An adult Flower Horn always swims calmly and proudly, it rarely hides in shelters, you still need to try to scare one, he will scare anyone he wants, spreading his gills and making faces at his potential enemy, even if it is 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 200 liters. If you keep a pair, then this is already 500 liters, and if with other cichlids, then 1000 liters. They love moderate currents and clean water; be sure to use a powerful external filter. Weekly water changes and a bottom siphon are also important, as the Flowerhorn is very littery when eating.

As for the decor, it’s difficult to create - fish like to dig and don’t like plants. There is no point in planting plants in an aquarium at all, they will be destroyed.

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

Aggressiveness of Flower Horns.

Later, having learned their character better, I had a desire to breed a Flower Horn, I really wanted to see the fry and watch their development, and I decided that it was time to find a mate for my Horn. For a long time, attempts to find a mate for him did not yield results, and those females that could be found were so aggressive that they simply could not live with the male and attempts to get the Flower Horns to spawn resulted in 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 flowerhorns, some time later, thanks to chance, I got a very beautiful female red dragon, who had a very calm and gentle disposition.

Video of Horn in all its glory!

A little about the hybrid Red Diamond Cichlazoma or “Red Texas”.

This is an incredibly beautiful fish! Very bright, lively and of course very smart, but Red Texans are also known for their complex character. These are extremely aggressive fish; when keeping these fish, you may encounter certain difficulties, for example: how to clean the walls of the aquarium if the fish violently attacks and bites? Get a brocade catfish, which is also very doubtful. My pair of red texas cichlases attacked a huge 35cm catfish, they grabbed it by the most vulnerable places - the eyes. The catfish had to be transferred to another aquarium. He didn’t receive any injuries, but I wasn’t going to wait until he was maimed. If the aquarium is well stocked and there are a lot of shelters, you can take adult ancistrus. These catfish are very nimble and can hide from cichlases. At night, cichlids sleep and the catfish will calmly clean all the walls of the aquarium. The problem of dirty aquarium walls has been solved. For a pair of such cichlases, an aquarium of 250 liters is desirable, no less. Decorated with stones and snags, a grotto in which the female can hide from the evil male if he tries to offend her, usually this happens before the start of spawning or at its end, the rest of the time the couple lives in perfect harmony. Otherwise the fish are wonderful, they are always waiting for feeding near the front glass of the aquarium. The stunning colors of these fish need to be admired in a beautifully designed aquarium with high-quality lighting so that you can see these spectacular fish in all their glory

Video Red Texas

I would like to add that these fish are designers of the underwater world; they love to drag the soil and move the scenery. It is useless to fight for the location of this or that aquarium element with them, the fish will still change everything to their taste)) Therefore, it is worth choosing heavy decorative elements, such as stones or hefty driftwood, so that the fish cannot drag them, but watch their construction and design activities interesting too.

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 and 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!

Currently living with me: a pair of red Texas, Flower Horn tie silk, Flower Horn red fader.

Video of Flower Horn and Red Texas

Solt, 20 years old, Kazan

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