Many hobbyists around the world share the same problem. Why does any fish get stunted? What are the causes? You might be wondering about a solution. Is your flowerhorn stunted?
The slow growth of fish is a major concern for many people. You can know your flowerhorn is stunted by simply looking at the size once it reaches the adult stage. It could be due to malnutrition, poor diet, and water conditions.
If your fish growth is slow even if you feed good quality food, then this article is useful for you. Yes, we have an explanation of the causes and solutions of “stunted growth.”
What Is Meant By Stunted Growth in Fish?
Stunted fish is a fish that is smaller in size than a normal-sized fish. This phenomenon can also be called dwarfism.
Only a juvenile fish can get stunted. So, it’s the fish that hasn’t yet reached the breeding size and breeding age. Remember, an adult fish that has reached its breeding size does not get stunted.
Connecting this with a flowerhorn, once the flowerhorn (juvenile) fish stops growing, it also continues to be a healthy fish. The fish also continues to have a bright color, the same as the normal flowerhorn fish. It will also have a very decent body shape.
You might know that the fish is most likely to breed but never grows. It is as healthy as a normal flowerhorn fish and going to live as long as a normal fish will live. But it’s not going to grow. This is what we call a stunted fish.
The fish might look small, but it might have more age. We can identify a stunted flowerhorn fish by looking at its eyes. If the eye is bigger than the body, the flowerhorn might be stunted.
How Big Do Flowerhorns Get?
Flowerhorn fry grows quickly, but they need maximum care for its full growth. Flowerhorn is a popular aquarium fish that combines size with beauty. The size of flowerhorns can range from 6 inches to 14 inches long. Some strains have even reached sizes of more than 16 inches long.
Here is the growth chart of the flowerhorn fry during the first 12 months of life.
Flowerhorn Size Chart
| Flower horn Age | Flower horn Size |
| 1 month | 0.6 – 1 inch:
The fry rarely grows to 1 inch. You can expect them to grow to around 0.6-0.8 inches during the first 4 weeks. |
| 2 months | 1.5 – 2 inches:
Here the fry develops the cichlid characteristics along with fins becoming more visible. |
| 3 months | 2.5 – 3 inches:
Coloring starts to show up, depending on the cichlid’s diet and strain. |
| 4 months | 3.8 – 4 inches:
The fry becomes pretty much juvenile at this stage, displaying different characteristics to its species. |
| 5 months | 4.8 – 5 inches:
Many fries are already near to their maximum size by this stage. |
| 6 months | 5.5 – 6 inches:
The fries are already in the mature stage for the reproduction stage, which positions around 8-9 months of age. |
| 12 months | 6 – 7 inches: By this point, your flowerhorn should have achieved its maximum size. Even after 12 months, if the flowerhorn keeps growing, you are probably going to get a larger species. |
Causes Of Stunted Growth (Why Do Flowerhorns Get Stunted?)
You might surely be looking for a reason for stunted growth. I can guide you to certain factors that can cause stunted growth in your flowerhorn.
Resource Limitation
The major reason why flowerhorn fish gets stunted is resource limitation. It means a fish has not got enough food for a period of time while they were juvenile, since juvenile is a period where the flowerhorn needs enough good for proper growth.
If the flowerhorns do not get enough food at the juvenile stage, they are not going to grow. That’s why they become stunted.
Tank Size
Another probable reason that is stunting the flowerhorn fish’s growth is tank size. Flowerhorns need a minimum tank size of 65 gallons. Especially for their head growth, you need to invest in the larger tanks.
For a juvenile flowerhorn, a tank size of 30 gallons suits well, and 50 gallons are beyond perfect.
When they reach the adult stage, 70 gallons is optimal.
SeaClear Acrylic Combo Aquarium is a tank that
- can hold temperatures
- Acrylic
- Reasonable price
- Durable
- Comes with a lifetime guarantee.
Water Quality
The growth rate of your Flowerhorn depends on water quality as well.
If the parameters of water quality are off, growth can be hampered and may result in stunted growth of flowerhorn fish. The water quality you are giving to your flowerhorn has a great impact on its normal growth.
Stress
You might have heard of the reasons for stress in flowerhorns. Insufficient lighting caused due to power failure, improper water conditions, insufficient oxygen, and not enough food can cause stress in your flowerhorn.
If you have given your fish a smaller tank than the size it actually needs, it may stress. If they are not recovered from stress on time, they can die. Hence, a stressed or unhappy flowerhorn may also experience stunting in growth.
Oxygen Availability
Warmer the water, less the dissolved oxygen. The surface of gills through which the flowerhorn fish carry out gas exchange for anabolism and catabolism grows approximately till the second power while the body weight increases approximately till the third power.
Because of this, the fish grows plateaus after an initial exponential phase. Feeding limitations and other stressing factors reinforce the cause.
Air bubblers like TEEMO Aquarium Groot Air Bubbler Decorations can be used to increase the availability of oxygen in the tank.
Water Quality and Water Changes
If you get good at keeping the water clean by doing the water changes well, I think you are pretty much set.
Water changes may be a controversial topic in the aquarium hobby. It depends on the type of filter you have used and how much you feed to the flowerhorn.
| Stage of Flowerhorn | Tank Size (gallon) | Minimum Water Change (once a week) | Maximum Water Change (every 3 days) |
| Baby Flowerhorn | 10 | 50% | 30% |
| A Little Bigger Baby Flowerhorn | 20-30 | 30-40% | 30% |
| Adult Flowerhorn | 40-50 | 10-20% | 10% |
| Fully Grown Flowerhorn | More than 55 | 10% | 10% |
About Water Conditioners
Well, stunting may also be caused due to poor water quality. To avoid the possibility of your flowerhorn getting stunted, you have to take care of the water. There are so many kinds of water conditioners. So, it’s hard to recommend one. From my experience, not all expensive ones are the best.
The most important part of a water conditioner is getting rid of chloramine. Also, if it can neutralize heavy metals, it’s a plus. It might be a good idea to read reviews before you buy one.
Stunted Growth And Genetics
To get good flower horn fish, the parent’s flower horn must have brilliant and distinct colors, wide and round bodies, and a nuchal hump. If the parents do not have any of these the chance is their offspring will also not have these characteristics.
First of all, stunting is either genetic or environmental.
If a flowerhorn fish has been stunted due to maximum space ad happens to reach sexual maturity, will the offspring will be stunted too?
According to many hobbyists, the answer is no if your parent flowerhorn isn’t stunted due to genetics. However, if environmental factors like water conditions have caused stunting, its offspring will be completely normal.
But if the parent flowerhorn is genetically dwarf/stunted, then the offspring might also have stunted growth.
Conclusion
Your flowerhorn fish might be stunted due to various factors like water condition, diet, etc. Stunting might be genetic as well as environmental. Stunting caused due to genetics might be inherited by the offspring as well.
However, stunted growth can be avoided by giving your flowerhorn fish quality water and the appropriate conditions that your fish requires. The key acceleration of growth of a flower horn fish is a water condition that helps them to grow larger.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes stunted growth in Flowerhorn fish?
Many factors that are causing the stunted growth in flowerhorn fishes include malnutrition, poor seed, and poor water conditions.
Apart from these major factors, feeding your flowerhorn grossly below daily requirement, feeding with the wrong feed size, poor weather conditions, oxygen availability, etc., can also lead to stunted growth.
What should I feed my Flowerhorn?
You should feed your Flowerhorn in the proper amounts and frequencies. Depending on them, they may eat bloodworms, flakes, vegetables, mysis, and so on. If you want to feed them frozen foods, soak the frozen foods for a few minutes in the aquarium for proper digestion.
These are the best commercial foods:
- 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
Flowerhorns should be fed two to three times a day. They should be fed the amount of food they can eat within 45 to 60 seconds. Supplements can also be added as per the requirement as a part of their diet.
What To Feed Baby Flowerhorn? Let’s Find Out!
How can you make your Flowerhorn fish grow faster?
The key acceleration of growth of a flower horn fish is a water condition that helps them to grow larger. In addition to this, you should give them a balanced diet that includes protein-rich foods.
The tank size and other required conditions may also help.
