Flowerhorn is normally popular among aquarists for its color and humps, but some people genuinely search for fish that can get big and fill their tank. So, do you think flowerhorn can handle this test and come out as the big fish you always wished for? How big Flowerhorn do you prefer? And do you know how big your Flowerhorn cichlids can get? Let’s find out!
Generally, your Flowerhorn cichlids can get as small as 4 inches and as big as 12 inches depending on the genetics, breed, and the environment where these cichlids are growing.
In addition to the brief information, I have mentioned the details about the size of Flowerhorn cichlids in the article below. Therefore, I suggest you read the article to the end and have an idea regarding the size of Flowerhorn.
How Big Do Flowerhorn Cichlids Get?
Flowerhorn can grow to the size of 12 inches or 30 cm on average. At a minimum, your fish develops the size of 4 inches. However, this is an average size; the exception does exist.
Having said this, I can not guarantee that each fish can grow to 12 inches. It solely depends upon the fish variety and breed.
For instance, Bonsai Flowerhorn is naturally short and smaller than Golden Base, which can grow up to 15 inches.
Many factors can play the role of a hero, anti-hero, and villain when it comes to the growth rate of the flower horn. So, brace yourself for the journey of seeing your fish grow happily in the tank.
What Factors Affect The Size Of Your Flowerhorn Cichlids?
Flowerhorn’s size fluctuates and gets small and big depending on various factors. No, that doesn’t mean this fish will shrink in size and go back to 4 inches after attaining the 12 inches. Instead, it meant that there are factors that will hinder the fish growth rate.
I have collected some factors that will decide how big your fish can get; let’s look at these.
Diet
A more nutritious diet encompassing all the nutrients needed by your fish plays a great role in maintaining the size of your fish.
As Flowerhorn have a voracious appetite, they ask for more food in each feed. Therefore, you have to keep in mind how much to feed them and what to feed them for optimum growth in the size of your fish.
Underfeeding and overfeeding both affect the size of your fish. An adequate diet is a must if you want a healthy flowerhorn.
Some of the best foods that you can include in your flowerhorn’s diet can be:
- Hikari Flowerhorn Fish Food
- OKIKO flowerhorn Cichlid Fish
- Fluval A6581 Bug Bites Cichlid Pellets
- Amzey Dries Shrimp Fish Foods
- Appetizing Shrimp Mealworms
- Tetra Jumbokrill Jumbo Shrimp
- Ocean Pellets Humpy Xo Flowerhorn Food
Temperature
Like each fish breed has its ideal survival temperature, so does the Flowerhorn fish. As this fish is a freshwater fish, it neither needs extremely high nor low temperature.
Temperature does play a role in maintaining the size of your fish. This is because the metabolic rate of your fish is affected by temperature, which maintains energy balance, directly affecting the size of your pet.
hygger Saltwater Tank Titanium Tube Submersible Pinpoint Aquarium Heater with Digital Thermostat, can help you to maintain the ideal temperature of 78 to 86 degrees.
pH
You need to maintain the pH of your aquarium to maintain the optimum growth of your Flowerhorn.
The imbalanced pH is not good for your fish. An increase or decrease in pH makes the tank’s environment acidic or basic.
Increasing pH results in toxic ammonia ions from ammonia and water reaction. This toxic compound can even kill your fish.
Thus, the right pH maintains the size of your pet and saves its life. For this, you can use API 5-IN-1 TEST STRIPS Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Test Strips.
Tank’s Size
You have to choose a tank that suits your Flowerhorn. You can not just place your pet in any sized tank. The fish’s size directly depends on the size of the tank.
The restriction in mobility occurs in a small-sized tank, which hinders your pet’s physical growth.
Similarly larger tank than needed creates more space for its physical activity. However, this does not let store the energy in the body; in contrast, the energy is lost while moving around the tank.
In contradiction to these, the optimum sized tank helps in the overall development of your pet. Moreover, it helps in diluting the waste product inside the tank.
Genetics
Flowerhorn is a hybrid fish produced by crossing two different varieties of fish breeds. Thus, fish breeders can produce the color, size, and strains per their wishes.
In doing so, they have produced many varieties such as Golden Monkey, Thai Base, Red Ingot, etc.
Each strain of fish has different genes than the other. Hence, you must know the strains of your particular fish before saddening yourself with dwarf ones.
Breed
Different breeds of Flowerhorn cichlids have different sizes. For example, Golden Base, Thai Silk, King Kamfa, Red Ingot, Golden Monkey, etc., come in various shapes and sizes, so it is not fair to judge one type by the size of other ones.
Sex
Your Flowerhorn’s size depends on the sex too. Male and female fish is quite different based on their size. Male fish is comparatively larger than the female Flowerhorn as she is 1-2 inches smaller than a male.
How Can You Increase The Size Of Your Flowerhorn Cichlids?
You can always increase the size of your Flowerhorn by taking caution in certain factors. You don’t have to worry even if your fish size is decreasing.
To solve these problems you can take care of the following parameters.
Feed
Good quality and quantity of diet do affect the size of your Flowerhorn cichlids. As a fish keeper, you must know to feed the food rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber.
Feed rich in vitamins and minerals helps in metabolism and absorption of the macronutrients: protein and carbohydrates.
Therefore, a diet rich in protein undoubtedly helps in the growth and development of your Flowerhorn.
In this way, you can increase the size of your fish without any doubt.
Feeding Schedule
You have even to consider the schedule and timing to feed your Flowerhorn. A quality diet and proper timing of the feed help increase the size of your pet. A proper meal three times a day is enough for your fish.
Tank’s Size
You can increase the size of your fish by maintaining the size of the tank. But, first, you have to know your fish size and tank size ratio.
For the smaller ones, you can keep them in a smaller tank. By saying this, I mean smaller strains of Flowerhorn need 75-90 gallons tank.
Similarly, if your Flowerhorn is larger, you need 125 gallons tank. But if you are placing both a male and a female inside the same tank, you need a 150-175 gallon tank.
To attain the maximum size of your pet, you need to place the smaller cichlids in a smaller tank, and when it gradually increases in size, shift them to a larger tank. You can choose SeaClear Acrylic Combo Aquarium in this regard because it has the following plus points:
- It can hold temperatures
- Acrylic
- Reasonable price
- Durable
- Comes with a lifetime guarantee
pH of water
You need to maintain the pH of the water around 6-8 for the proper growth and development of your Flowerhorn. Your Flowerhorn needs neither a basic nor an acidic environment to attain actual size.
pH plays a great role in maintaining the health of your Flowerhorn. Both the acidic and basic environment of the tank is toxic to your Flowerhorn.
Temperature Of Water
As a Flowerhorn keeper myself, I lost so many cichlids due to fluctuations in temperature. Therefore, I request you not to repeat the same mistake as I did.
Please maintain the temperature of 78-86 degrees Fahrenheit for the benefit of your Flowerhorn. Correct temperature enhances rapid growth of your Flowerhorn maintaining adequate growth.
FAQ
I have collected some questions that you often encounter as a Flowerhorn parent. I have answered some of the most asked questions by most beginners and experienced aquarists.
Why Does Your Flowerhorn Have a Head hump?
Flowerhorn is known for its attractive head hump. People love to bring this pet home due to this feature.
One of the reasons behind having this head hump is to improve aesthetic value. Similarly, the head hump aids in the hydrodynamics of your fish.
The most important reason for having a head hump is fat storage. The hump is the storage house of fat metabolized during extreme hunger. Thus meeting the energy requirement of your Flowerhorn.
Likewise, the head hump even helps distinguish the male and female strains of your Flowerhorn.
How Often Should You Feed Your Flowerhorn?
Flowerhorn is a greedy eater and consumes a lot of food. However, this does not mean you keep feeding them continuously, as overfeeding might result in problems like constipation.
Thus you need to feed three times a day and maintain an eight-hour gap. Maintaining this gap improves digestion and provides rest to your Flowerhorn’s gut.
Does Flowerhorn Change Its Color?
Yes, your fish changes its color depending upon its size, environment, feed, stress, etc.
Flowerhorn fry and younger cichlids do not show prominent color. However, as they grow, they develop color and become more attractive.
When you provide less food to your fish, their color changes; even stress and an unhealthy tank environment fade their color.
So to maintain the vibrant color of your fish, you need to take care of the external factors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, your Flowerhorn can grow up to 12 inches in size, depending on the strains, genetics, tank’s environment, diet, and sex. To obtain the maximum size of your fish, you have to provide a proper quality diet according to the schedule. You even need to maintain ideal water parameters for the optimum growth and development of your fish.
I hope this article addresses your queries related to the size of your Flowerhorn. Keep visiting our website for more articles related to fish.
Happy Fishkeeping!