0D's SRD Flowerhorn (Contest Thread)

[0Dgreen]

I would have loved to enter this contest with discus..but unfortunately mine wont be arriving until the 19th which is after the entry cut-off.
Anyways, a few days ago, I ordered more discus than I had planned on (about twice as many to be exact). I originally had a 75 gallon cycled and waiting for my discus, but due to the bigger than anticipated order I am going to pick up something a bit bigger to house them...at least twice as big.

With that being said, the 75g was open for business. I have kept many CA/SA cichlids since I was a youngster, but there was one fish I have been intrigued by that I had never kept (Some purists might not like it). Anyway, I went out an got that something I had always wanted to keep, a decent to high quality SRD Pearl Flowerhorn. These pics we're taken during acclimation in-bag (hence the bubbles), he has been pretty cranky since i dropped him in, he ate a bit, but is super skittish (he is not a fan of the light, if this continues, I will have to revisit the lighting I have for him and go with something less intense). I'm hoping once he settles in a bit I can get some good photos of him swimming around.

This is yesterday 6-10-18 when I brought him home, he's about 3".
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115900&d=1528722100
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115899&d=1528722100

The top tank is where he is housed.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115898&d=1528722100

[Gabriel13]

Nice Flowerhorn. Nice shape and a good size hump on him already.

[Pices]

Show us a pic of him out of the bag please. I like bump headed cichlids. I had a couple steatocranus casuarius or buffalo cichlids once that I liked because they looked like they had little weird beige human faces with blue eyes. Your fish is really cool looking. How big is this guy gonna get? What else are you going to put in there with him?

[0Dgreen]

Show us a pic of him out of the bag please. I like bump headed cichlids. I had a couple steatocranus casuarius or buffalo cichlids once that I liked because they looked like they had little weird beige human faces with blue eyes. Your fish is really cool looking. How big is this guy gonna get? What else are you going to put in there with him?

Typically they get about 10-12 inches, he is going to live alone...they are highly aggressive and it's a roll of the dice whether another fish will survive when you put them together....maybe someday I will get him a female. I have no immediate plans to have anything with him at this time.

I was able to get a few photos of him when I got home from work today, he has settled in a bit and regained some of his color, he's eating...but still a bit skittish.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115911&d=1528755872
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115913&d=1528755888
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115914&d=1528755894

[0Dgreen]

As I stated above, this flowerhorn's tank was originally going to be for discus, but, I ordered too many to keep them all in 75. I picked this up after work today, 135 gallon setup (brand new). I haven't unpacked it yet, but its exciting nevertheless =)

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115915&d=1528755904

[Gabriel13]

I have mine in a 75 gallon by itself too. Yours colored up real nice out of the bag. He's a nice one.

[Pices]

That flowerhorn is really beautiful-the colors, shape and fins. I also like the size and color of your 135 gal.
It’ll be perfect once you get some “finage” in there. I bet you can hardly wait.
Patty

[0Dgreen]

That flowerhorn is really beautiful-the colors, shape and fins. I also like the size and color of your 135 gal.
It’ll be perfect once you get some “finage” in there. I bet you can hardly wait.
Patty

Thanks Patty, waiting is not my strong suit, I have the patience of a dog....I'll be a ball of anxiety until the discus are in the water.

[0Dgreen]

There's been a vast improvement in his personality over the past day, he is still skittish with fast movements, but he will actually eat with me sitting in front of his tank. I've been feeding him a varied diet of Frozen Blood Worms, Hikari Blood-Red Parrot, Al's FDBW, and Frozen Brine Shrimp. The pics I took today aren't the best, but his pearling is really starting to come through, he looks better every day.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116036&d=1528939011
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116037&d=1528939017
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116035&d=1528939001

[Pices]

Looks like he could glow at night! Nice!

[0Dgreen]

Looks like he could glow at night! Nice!

The red is really starting to pop more and more every day. I ordered some Sumo Red food (specifically for flowerhorns) from Thailand, it should be here sometime next week and I'm going to add that to his regiment of feedings as well.

[Pices]

Hey Mike,
Any new pics of your fish? How’s he doing?
Patty

[0Dgreen]

Hey Mike,
Any new pics of your fish? How’s he doing?
Patty

Well I have good and bad news. The good news is, he is a glutton, he loves to eat and seems to be super healthy. His hump is growing from what I can tell, and he already looks to be growing imo. I recently got him some pellets specifically for Flowerhorns and made that the main staple of his diet (Sumo Red Flowerhorn Pellets).
The bad news, he is a complete wimp when it comes to lighting, he is ultra skittish with too much light..as soon as I turn it off, he is ready to eat my hand and following me from side to side of the tank. So, a few days ago I decided to try a smaller light that I had from a 5 gallon fluval nano tank, he seems to be much happier in low light....the downside, his tank is darker and we can't enjoy a decent look at him. I'm thinking of buying a smaller Finnex Vivid + for him, maybe a 24" and see how that works out.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116313&d=1529753224

[Pices]

Well look at that fat belly! I’m glad he likes the food since you had it shipped from Thailand! He does look like he’s growing too. I hope he gets used to being in the limelight so to speak. He is just too pretty to stay in the dark. Maybe when he’s a little bigger and has had more of his “Wheaties” ha ha
Patty

[CraigJ]

Can anyone enter the Flowerhorn contest? ;)

Meet Foot Long Donald;

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1761/42066853605_6309fe66bf_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/276iBZp)

You picked a very nice looking Pearl. Like Discus, I've found my Flowerhorns also like clean water with frequent water changes. If interested, Sumo Red can be easily ordered on eBay from a US distributor with very quick shipping.

[danotaylor]

Maybe a few friends would help to bring him out of his shell a bit...flowerhorn's are aggressive, so something tough like a. festae or c. salvini...maybe he's lonely...just a thought...

[0Dgreen]

He has actually made a big turnaround this week, constantly begs for food, follows me around the room, nips at my fingers, jumps out of the water to eat, etc. I am going to keep him alone, a lot of Flowerhorn enthusiasts will add blood parrots to a flowerhorn setup to assist in "Grooming" them (ie: increasing hormone levels by aggression) to increase colors and hump size. The blood parrots are unable to hurt your fish due to their deformed mouths, and act as a living punching bag for the flowerhorn....I'm not a big fan of purposely hurting one fish to help another look better. I'm just going to do things the discus way, lots of food and clean water and see what happens, I'm already noticing a good amount of growth, and he seems super happy/healthy.

I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow for a week, I hope to get some good pics of him and my discus thread up before I go. Hopefully my better-half does a good job keeping the fish-room going while I'm gone, we've spent this whole week getting her trained on feeding regiments and solo water changes :grin:

[Pices]

Hey Mike maybe your wife taking care of him for a week will increase his testosterone levels. Now she’ll wonder why she has to wear short shorts to do wc's:confused:ha ha.
My husband always asks me, “Did you add the prime?” I almost forgot a couple times in the beginning when we were getting into our routine. I’m sure she’ll do a great job. Look forward to more pics.
Patty

[0Dgreen]

Well, I got back from vacation, and I noticed considerable growth from this guy, especially in his hump. His level of skittishness has pretty much vanished... I'm at the point where I can dangle some FDBW above the water, and he will jump up and grab it from my hand...just have to be careful of my fingers as he gets bigger ;) This is right after a feeding (as you can probably tell by his fat belly) but it goes down SUPER fast compared to discus, we're feeding him 3-5 times a day with about 75% WC daily 84deg temp.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116500&d=1530663945
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116501&d=1530663955
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116502&d=1530663965

[Pices]

Wow, his bump is much bigger. I’m glad he’s not a wimp anymore. He really is a pretty fish. At this rate he’s gonna be huge when this contest winds up.
Patty

[0Dgreen]

Wow, his bump is much bigger. I’m glad he’s not a wimp anymore. He really is a pretty fish. At this rate he’s gonna be huge when this contest winds up.
Patty

Thanks Patty, his growth rate has me very surprised, rough measurement he's gained almost 2 inches...I haven't had him a full month yet....I also think he will be a brute a few months from now.

[Filip]

Stunning fish ODgreen.
I don't know a thing about flowerhorns but I would love to have a batch of at least 5-6 in my tank if I were about to keep them at some point .
BTW , what does SDR stands for ?

[0Dgreen]

Stunning fish ODgreen.
I don't know a thing about flowerhorns but I would love to have a batch of at least 5-6 in my tank if I were about to keep them at some point .
BTW , what does SDR stands for ?

SRD is the strain type - Super Red Dragon

If you wanted to keep a group, you would need a lot of tank dividers :p. They are incredibly aggressive toward other fish...every once in awhile you might come across a flowerhorn that isn't aggressive, but it is rare.

[0Dgreen]

Last night during a waterchange, I experienced my first bite from a flowerhorn...it didn't feel good. I'm glad he isn't scared anymore, but we've done a complete 180 and I'm sure I'm not going to enjoy getting bit during waterchanges when he is 10" inches..

[Pices]

Can you put a female flowerhorn with a male? Sounds like you end up with piranha though. Lol
Patty

[0Dgreen]

It's been awhile, we've gone thru some changes in the fishroom...because of this, Mr. Flowerhorn has temporarily been moved to the living room. He's going back into the fishroom in a couple weeks. Still growing very fast, I was weary about this tank placement at first being that it is right in front of our entryway to the house (LOTS of foot traffic), but, he LOVES it. Any human or dog that passes by the tank, he is sure to follow along the glass...he has turned into quite the pet fish.
Here are some crummy update photos.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117182&d=1532997668
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117183&d=1532997678

[Pices]

I’ve been waiting to see this big boy. He has grown a lot and that bump! His shape, color and personality are so cool. Thanks for the update. I’ve been following this thread and really like watching him grow in size and personality. You are bringing out the best in him. Great thread!
Patty

[0Dgreen]

I’ve been waiting to see this big boy. He has grown a lot and that bump! His shape, color and personality are so cool. Thanks for the update. I’ve been following this thread and really like watching him grow in size and personality. You are bringing out the best in him. Great thread!
Patty

Thanks Patty!

[Pices]

Hey Mike any new pics of your flowerhorn? Is he still growing like a weed? I hope I get to see him again before the contest ends.
Patty

[megatrev62]

Dandy hump.

[0Dgreen]

Hey Mike any new pics of your flowerhorn? Is he still growing like a weed? I hope I get to see him again before the contest ends.
Patty

Patty, I'll get some pictures up this afternoon or tomorrow. He is most definitely still growing, I've noticed lately he has some very nice streamers growing on his fins.

[Pices]

Hey Mike,
I hope I get to see your flowerhorn. I’m sure he’s grown a lot since I last saw him. I’ve become a fan of this guy. Have you named him yet? He has earned it since becoming/acting like a pet. His fans await.

[xKevinx]

Updates? Nice looking flowerhorn

[0Dgreen]

I know the contest has been over for awhile, but, I got some good update shots of the big guy today that I thought I would share (especially for Patty). I measured him last night, he's just shy of a foot, so he's grown about 8 inches since I brought him home last summer. I've kept many aggressive CA/SA cichlids in my days of fish keeping, many of which keep you on your toes when you have your hands in their tank....but this guy takes things to a new level, This is the first fish I've ever kept that I HAVE to net him while scrubbing his tank, that is, unless I'd like to bleed. It was cute when he was smaller and would just pluck the hairs from my arms, but he's got some wicked teeth and it doesn't take much for him to break skin.

In case anyone is curious, the specifics of his setup and diet are as follows:
135g aquarium - Waterchange schedule is 100% every other day with aged tap.
2x 300watt heaters - kept at 84deg
1 airstone - soon to be a sponge or Ziss filter
1 HoB Filter - Currently a AQ70 - I JUST changed it from a Tidal 110 that I grew not so fond of
His diet consists of mostly Grand Sumo Flowerhorn pellets and he gets Al's FDBW as a treat maybe once a day....he eats a whole cube in 1 bite..
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122457&d=1549305107
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122456&d=1549305102
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122455&d=1549305096
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122454&d=1549305088

[danotaylor]

He's a beast Mike. Love the blood red coloration and the pearling. Crazy that his kok is wider than the thickness of his body. Spectacular specimen, he's a stunner for sure!

[Pices]

I’ve been waiting to see him since the contest, but he was worth the wait.
OMG He is huge! Thanks Mike for posting the picture. Forget what I said about naming him. I didn’t know he would have such an attitude! He is one gorgeous bad ***! Thanks Mike and I hope you are doing well.
Patty

[Disgirl]

Wow, he is huge and handsome! Wonder if he and my 10" Electric Blue Jack Dempsey would get along? My EBJD has 2 large angels and a large pleco in his tank. These huge cichlids sure do become pets.
Barb