Imagine that you or a sibling are being eaten by a parent. The very thought of that makes my stomach weak. But while it’s uncommon in humans, eating newborns by their parents frequently happens in nature. Your Flowerhorn fish also participates in filial cannibalism, but peacefully. Do Flowerhorn really eat their fry?
Due to their aggressive nature and high nutritional demands, they sometimes come down to cannibalism. The insatiable eaters known as Flowerhorn cichlids consume anything that will fit in their mouths. Because they are so little, Flowerhorn fish can easily swallow their offspring. Therefore, the Flowerhorn will begin biting the fry soon after birth, even if it is their child.
Please read the article below to learn more about why Flowerhorn fish consume their babies and things you could do to prevent the fries from being eaten as well as other fascinating information.
Reasons For Flowerhorn Eating Their Fries
Most animals guard their young fiercely. Some creatures, nonetheless, deviate from this pattern. Snakes, lizards, and cuckoo birds all leave their eggs behind. Some creatures go one step beyond. They do not give their kids a chance to live since they will be eaten up by their parents.
Animals often devour their young, a behavior known as filial cannibalism. In fish, it is reminiscent. Guppies, mollies, and platies, in addition to Flowerhorn fish, also engage in filial cannibalism.
It’s interesting to note that the specific reason for filial cannibalism is unknown. It might be brought on by instincts for self-preservation. It might also be a means for nature to regulate population growth and ensure that the strongest individuals survive.
Regardless of the cause, a fish owner who eagerly expects the arrival of baby Flowerhorn in his aquarium may find this bizarre behavior revolting. You don’t have to accept what nature intended, thankfully.
Just Like Fish Food
The food you feed the Flowerhorn fish will be consumed. These fish typically eat live food as well as high-quality protein sources such as blood worms, pellets, crickets, grasshoppers, worms, and flakes. The Flowerhorn fish consume insects, mosquitoes, and live prey in the wild.
Flowerhorn is incapable of distinguishing between food and non-food. Additionally, these fish can reach lengths of 14 to 16 inches requiring them sufficient amounts of nutrients to sustain themselves. So, these fish might eat their own young since Flowerhorn fries are little and appear to be live food. After all, the meal is free!
To Weed Out Weaker Infants
Every two to three months, Flowerhorn fish have many offspring. And among these offspring, a small percentage of FRY may develop weak genes. These fries are helpless, incapable of self-defense, and unable to survive on their own. Therefore, these fish may choose to eliminate the much weaker young that are incapable of surviving or defending themselves.
Sounds a bit harsh, but it’s the survival of the fittest after all.
Protein And Fat Source
A Flowerhorn fish that is pregnant requires food to be healthy. As a result, to find a source of protein and fat, these fish consume their offspring. Furthermore, the fry is undoubtedly a wonderful source of fat and protein.
Therefore, it is essential to take care of the female Flowerhorn by keeping her in a separate tank and feeding her sufficient food.
Stress
Flowerhorn fish give their young a full month of care. They may develop postpartum depression as a result of holding the babies for so long inside their bellies. In addition, poor tank conditions and unfavorable water quality could stress the Flowerhorns. This could result in the Flowerhorn consuming their young. Stressed can be caused by several things.
The Flowerhorn fish may consume its young if they are in this difficult situation.
Food Scarcity
The next line of reasoning is that when food sources are limited, both adults eat their fry as a way to augment their nutrition. In the wild, it makes sense to consume what is in front of you if there is a clear dearth of food. Again, this idea is false since, even if you feed your Flowerhorns well, some will still choose to devour their young, even though others will leave the fry alone.
Ways To Stop Flowerhorns From Eating Their Babies
Here are some methods you can use to stop your Flowerhorns from eating their offspring.
Separate Flowerhorn Female When She Is Pregnant
When there are many adult fish present in the tank, Flowerhorn fry has a decreased probability of surviving. The mother and other adult Flowerhorns may both consume the fry.
When the pregnant female is ready to give birth, remove her from the aquarium to avoid this catastrophe. But for this, you ought to be able to tell when a Flowerhorn is going to give birth if she is pregnant.
Signs Your Flowerhorn Is Pregnant
The following are warning signals that a Flowerhorn is pregnant.
- Flowerhorns engage in a lengthy and complex mating ritual. The guy dances and pursues the female at this time. If you observe this activity in your tank, the female will almost certainly conceive. In a month, you should see Flowerhorn babies in the tank.
- In the days preceding delivery, female Flowerhorn seems bloated or overweight when pregnant.
- During pregnancy, the fish’s appetite will vary. It will either eat more or less frequently.
- The female fish’s gut will appear inflated and nearly square.
- The fish will confine itself to one section of the aquarium and carry out all of its activities there.
Once you’ve established that a Flowerhorn female is pregnant, keep an eye out for indications that she may shortly deliver the fry. Only transfer the female to a different tank when she is prepared to give birth.
Premature isolation of the female should be avoided because it can cause stress and sudden abortion in the Flowerhorn female. Return her to the original aquarium if she doesn’t drop the fry within 72 hours of being separated. Keep watching the female so you can transfer her if she starts to exhibit signs of giving birth.
Make sure the environment is identical to the original tank when transferring the female to a different tank. Fish will become stressed if there is a significant change in temperature, pH, or other factors.
Use Breeding Box Or Net
You can install the breeding box or net within the community tank, which is essentially a hatchery. When she is about to give birth, it separates the Flowerhorns physically.
Senzeal Aquarium Fish Breeder Box Plastic Fish Isolation Breeding Box Hatching Incubator Box is also a good option for the breeding box.
You can keep the Female Flowerhorn separate from the other fish in her tank by using a breeding box or net. You’ll be able to keep an eye on the birthing and safeguard the baby fry.
The breeding box’s or net’s key benefit is that the aquarium’s water will continue to flow through it. In this habitat, the female Flowerhorn will feel at home.
You can restrict the fry in the meantime, thanks to the physical separation. This will not only make it simpler for you to care for the fry, but it will also make it simpler for Flowerhorn fry to adapt to their new surroundings.
Although the fry is protected from other adult fish by a breeding box, the mother may still eat the offspring. Therefore, after the mother gives birth, you should take her out of the breeding box and put her back in the communal tank.
The breeding box is the perfect way to keep Flowerhorn fry secure in a sizable aquarium. There is no need for you to prepare a special area for the birth. For the fish, it is only a short-term fix. Flowerhorn s’ growth may be stunted if they are kept in breeding boxes for an excessive amount of time. Within two weeks, remove them from the breeding box.
Tank Divider
If you don’t have time to buy another breeding tank, the best option is to use a transparent glass tank divider. So, you utilize this tank divider to separate the mother. Flowerhorn’s tank from the one where the fry is kept.
If your tank is small, using a tank divider merely crowds the tank, which is a drawback of utilizing one. Additionally, you have to keep the water conditions the same on both sides of the partition. It’s a challenging job. So it makes sense to purchase a second breeding tank.
Provide Hiding Places By Growing Plants Or Using Tank Decorations
The best strategy to guarantee the survival of the Flowerhorn fry is to separate them from adults. If you are unable to achieve this, using a planted tank will increase your chances of surviving. These little critters can locate hiding spots when there are lots of plants and decorations. It will assist them in avoiding adult fish.
However, this approach is not as successful as the first two. Plants provide the fry with places to hide from the adults, yet adults can still locate the fry. It is best to separate the fry from the adults if you are serious about successfully breeding Flowerhorns and raising the young.
Safe Breeding And Caring for The Offspring
It is also a necessary job to look after the breeding process of your Flowerhorns and their offspring for the good yield and growth of these juvenile Flowerhorn.
Breeding The Adults
The breeding tank for your Flowerhorn fish should be kept apart from the main tank. During spawning, Flowerhorns frequently exhibit intense aggression toward both their partner and any other potential tank mate.
Furthermore, they need to be taken out of the tank after a few days, and it is simpler to return them to their regular tank(s) than to find somewhere for a Flowerhorn or two to live.
The fry tank should be 55 gallons or bigger and is often the same as the breeding tank. The size is required to accommodate the two fish you decide to breed as well as the 500–2000 possible fry. Aggression is more likely to be resolved in a bigger tank, or at least there will be more space for the smaller fish to seek shelter.
The tank should have a sandy bottom or a bare bottom with little ornamentation. If you choose the latter, the male should transport the fry there once they hatch by digging a hole in the substrate. Several sizable sponge filters should be present, and the tank should be heated to between 82 and 85 degrees.
Setting Up A Fry Tank For Flowerhorn Cichlids
More tanks won’t need to be set up for about a month because the breeding tank should also serve as the tank for raising fry. This is because the first two to four weeks should not be spent moving the fry. To provide each one enough space as they grow, new set tanks will be required.
Each should be set up the same way as the original breeding tank: with a heated bottom and sponge filtration. The arrangement and water quality of the adult and fry tanks should only differ in two ways.
While the fry tanks need sponge filters, the adult tank should be filtered with a canister filter. Nitrate levels should also be below 40 ppm in the adult tank and 10 ppm in the tank housing the baby Flowerhorn. There shouldn’t be any traces of ammonia or nitrite in either tank.
Identifying Gender
Male Flowerhorn cichlids, but not all, have larger nuchal humps and are typically brighter in color. Additionally, they feature a V-shaped vent and square breeding tubes with flat ends.
The dorsal fin of female Flowerhorn cichlids usually has a black stripe, and they may have a very small nuchal hump or none at all. Additionally, they have a U-shaped vent and a breeding tube with a triangular shape.
Nourishing Your Fish
The majority of Flowerhorn cichlids are already fed a diet high in protein. Therefore, it is possible to introduce the male and female to the spawning tank without conditioning if they are already maintained apart.
If they live together, they ought to be separated for a week or two and given extra food during that time. If it doesn’t go over 85 degrees, the temperature can also be raised by 1-3 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hatching Flowerhorn Cichlids
Flooring tile and terra cotta saucers are frequently used because Flowerhorn cichlids prefer to lay their eggs on flat, rough surfaces. The breeding tank should include a variety of possibilities because Flowerhorns make decisions based on both flow and surface. By pecking at the surface they want to reproduce on, they may be seen cleaning it.
Some people choose to separate the male and female in the breeding tank for a few hours to a few days using a clear partition. Water should flow between the two sides of the divider because this will allow hormones to move from one side to the other and potentially trigger the spawning.
Simply add the Flowerhorns to the breeding tank, where they can be watched for aggression and spawning. Due to their aggressive character and their unique, fascinating breeding rituals, it is crucial to keep a constant check on them.
Despite having mixed DNA, Flowerhorns engage in elaborate rituals before spawning, including dancing performances for their partners.
Taking Care Of The Eggs
The Flowerhorns should take care of the eggs and even move the hatchlings from one location to another. After spawning, the male should remain to tend to the eggs while the females are taken out.
The male should be removed after 3-5 days when the fry should be able to swim freely. Because the males of different cichlid species exhibit different levels of parental concern, this can change if you decide to breed a female Flowerhorn cichlid with another cichlid species.
Fry Care
When the fry is in the free-swimming stage, they are no longer able to take nutrition from their egg sacs. They will be dependent on live food for the first month or so of their existence, so get ready in advance because 2000 fry requires an incredible number of nutrients.
The Flowerhorn fry will eat baby brine shrimp for the first one to two weeks, but they need to be fed 4–10 times each day. It goes without saying that this will quickly contaminate the tank. Therefore, water changes are essential.
The Flowerhorns will outgrow the brine shrimp after the first several weeks and should move on to bigger daphnia species, scuds, or small shrimp species.
FAQ
Do Flowerhorns Take Care Of Their Young?
The Flowerhorns are concerned with the protection of the eggs and even transport the young from one location to another. After spawning, the females should be eliminated, but the male should remain to tend to the eggs. The male should be removed when the fry is free swimming after three or five days.
How Much Time Can A Flowerhorn Go Without Eating?
How much time can a Flowerhorn go without eating? A fully grown Flowerhorn fish, despite being a robust and reliable fish, may not survive unfed for longer than two weeks to one month.
At What Age Does A Flowerhorn Develop Its Kok?
Male Flowerhorns often acquire a hump, but there are some anomalies. Genes are important in this. Flowerhorns begin developing a hump on their heads as early as 1.5-inch baby fry and continue through around 4-5 inches. If they don’t exhibit any symptoms before growing to this size, the likelihood is extremely low.
Conclusion
You risk missing the time your fish gives birth if you don’t separate the female Flowerhorn from the main tank. Because there is a narrow line, many aquarium hobbyists choose to include living plants and provide hiding spots.
Even with a breeding box, it is still feasible to lessen the incidences of parents engaging in filial cannibalism, although some of the fries might be mischievous and swim in an area where the mother can take advantage.
Regardless of the strategies you employ to stop this cannibalism, you must take the best possible care of your young Flowerhorns by shifting them to a new tank or by creating a tank divider. Nature has an odd way of working things out, but you’ll have plenty of vibrant fish to decorate your aquarium, and they’ll be able to continue their family line.
