Every fish species have distinct traits and behaviors. Similarly, Flowerhorn Cichlids are also one of a kind. Aquarists have noticed their unusual habit of chasing their owner’s hand while approached in a tank. It seems peculiar as other fish are unlikely to react in such a manner. So, why do Flowerhorn Cichlids chase our hand while most of the other fish don’t?
Flowerhorn Cichlids chase your hand as they get aggressive and offensive due to sudden interference of your hand in their tank. They don’t like anyone’s interference in their space as they believe others are intruders. They aren’t showing love but protecting themselves by following and biting your hand whenever seen around their territory.
However, proper training and care for Flowerhorn Cichlids can make them recognize their owner’s hand and stop chasing and hurting it.
We will discuss the reasons why flowerhorn cichlids often chase the hand of their owner and how to deal with that problem.
Let’s dive in!
Why Does Flowerhorn Cichlids Chase Our Hand?
If you already have a Flowerhorn Cichlids, you may know that they try chasing your hand or finger when you tap near them. It may look adorable, but sometimes it does not. But do you know why Flowerhorn Cichlids chase your hand or finger while most of the other fish don’t?
The main reason behind the chase of Flowerhorn Cichlids towards your hand is territorial aggression. They are quick chasers and attackers whenever they see anything coming around their tank space. A sudden movement and unlikely happenings around them can trigger their offensiveness instantly.
Plus, Flowerhorn Cichlids do assume the other movements in the tank as a threat to them. With such thoughts, they are always ready to chase and attack anything, which may give them a feeling of fright.
Here, if you dip your hand in their tank or tap Flowerhorn Cichlids’ tank from outside, they are likely to chase it due to territorial aggression, a feeling of threat, and discomfort. They follow your hand or finger until you stop doing it.
If your hand is inside the tank, Flowerhorn Cichlids not only try to chase but bite too. And trust me! Their bite is quite painful.
Do Flowerhorn Cichlids Chase Our Hand While Feeding Them?
As mentioned before, Flowerhorn Cichlids chase anything that comes within their territory. It follows in the feeding process too, but not entirely.
If you have a habit of feeding them with a training purpose from the beginning, they are likely to chase. But if you serve food to Flowerhorn Cichlids without disturbing them by not bringing your hand or finger nearer to their body, they are unlikely to follow.
Do Flowerhorn Cichlids Chase Our Hand While Cleaning The Tank?
Yes, Flowerhorn Cichlids chase your hand even while you clean the tank. It is significant to clean up their tank as it mainly gets dirty due to their excretion and leftover food.
While cleaning up the tank, they usually chase their owners’ hands as the sudden approach towards their tank would make them curious and nervous. They try to defend themselves by keeping your hand away from the tank. Thus, they are likely to chase your hand while you clean the tank.
However, for neat and clean maintenance of the tank, you can shift them to another spare tank so that you won’t disturb them. But be careful as Flowerhorn Cichlids might bite your hand in a nasty way in the transferring process.
Will Flowerhorn Cichlids Bite Our Hand?
A territorially aggressive Flowerhorn Cichlids try to push away every object and even your hand when approached near them. They chase till your hand gets away from them.
Flowerhorn cichlids’ aggression may rise to the mount if unwanted interference in their tank happens for a longer time. When they see anyone intervene in their territory for a longer time, they won’t think twice to chase and bite. Similarly, if you poke, tease, and put your hand inside the Flowerhorn Cichlids’ tank for a longer time, they are likely to bite as soon as they catch your hand.
Besides, an aggressive, offensive and untrained Flowerhorn Cichlids can bite your hand even if you offer food for the training phase.
Hand Training Flowerhorn Cichlids. Is It Possible?
It seems unlikely to hand train a fish, especially an aggressive and offensive fish like Flowerhorn Cichlids. But, it is possible.
Although Flowerhorn Cichlids are quick offensive fish, the pleasant part about them is they are pretty intelligent. They are smart enough to be trained for preventing hand chasing and biting ruthlessly.
To hand train Flowerhorn Cichlids, you can go through some steps mentioned below:
Interaction
The first step to take in the hand training process is interaction with Flowerhorn Cichlids.
The new Flowerhorn cichlids would not thrive and stick over a particular tank area only. To make them feel free to interact, let them chase and play with your fingers or hand. Initially, they won’t harshly react as everything would be new for them.
But remember, don’t tease and poke them badly with your fingers or hand. It would scare and offend them.
Feeding Flowerhorn Cichlids
Once Flowerhorn Cichlids get comfortable seeing your fingers or hand around their tank, try to feed them some fish pellets or any other fish diet. They might get nervous during this feeding process.
So, you can feed the Flowerhorn Cichlids from your hand or fingers in the initial training phase. Here, their chance of attack seems pretty low as they will be focusing on enjoying a meal.
But be very careful and don’t shake your hand while they eat. Otherwise, it makes Flowerhorn Cichlids nervous, anxious, and fearful.
However, if you feel the Flowerhorn Cichlids getting highly nervous and uncomfortable and are trying to bite your hand, don’t push them away. Instead, grasp your hand to a fist if you see them biting. It gives less pain to you. Later, slowly open the hand fist and pat them.
Repeat this process until Flowerhorn Cichlids get comfortable with you and recognizes your hand or fingers. Once they identify you, they will rest in your hand for a pat.
Thus, hand training Flowerhorn Cichlids is possible, which helps them recognize their owners and act with no harshness.
List Of Foods That You Can Feed Your Flowerhorn
- Omega one pellets
- Ocean Nutrition Instant Baby Brine Shrimp 0.7-Ounces (20 Grams) Jar
- Omega One Freeze-Dried Blood Worms, 0.96 oz
- 200 Live Daphnia by Aqua L’amour
- Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia for Pets, 0.42-Ounce
- Hikari Tubifex Worms Fish Food (0.7 oz.) [Set of 2]
- 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
Will Hand Training Flowerhorn Cichlids Process Takes Time?
Training for anything certainly requires some duration. Especially if the practice is for any creatures but people, the time limit may extend a bit.
Likewise, the time requirement for Flowerhorn Cichlids entirely depends on the calmness and patience you hold while you train them. If you get nervous or scared from their bite during the feeding phase, the fish may sense a threat around and avoids you. Due to this, it will take a longer time for you to keep Flowerhorn Cichlids comfortable to interact with again.
However, many aquarists observed Flowerhorn Cichlids getting interactive and eating from their hand after a month of training. Still, arising of many difficulties is likely in their training. Due to many obstacles, marking at least two months for Flowerhorn Cichlids hand training is suitable.
Besides, if you have young Flowerhorn Cichlids, they are likely to learn through the training more quickly than the adult ones.
Is Hand Training For Flowerhorn Cichlids Effective?
To this date, hand training has been certainly great practice for Flowerhorn Cichlids. As they are intelligent due to their hybrid formation, Flowerhorn Cichlids have learned and resulted in the best manner.
When it comes to hand training Flowerhorn Cichlids, either feeding or mirror practice has resulted in appropriate. However, from my personal experience, I have observed the feeding process bringing positive changes to them. They will learn and recognize the owners, along with getting healthy food to eat too.
Somehow, Flowerhorn Cichlids’ hand training practice boils down to you too. If you keep patience while training them, it would undoubtedly turn out to be effective.
Is Hand Training The Flowerhorn Cichlids Process Dangerous?
With every positive outcome, there is the arrival of some risk factors also.
As Flowerhorn Cichlids are territorial aggressive and attackers, they are likely to chase and attack you while training. Although they are intelligent to figure out the ongoing daily activities, knowing about the practice from the beginning is unpromising.
They might stick in a dilemma if your hand and fingers are for good or a threat to them. Due to such confusion and nervousness raised, Flowerhorn Cichlids may attack and bite you severely. Thus, hand training them can be dangerous to you.
Besides, be aware, that the possibility of the hand training process getting dangerous to your Flowerhorn Cichlids exist as well. If you have a wound or any cut on your hand, never use it to train the fish. Such injury in your hand releases some harmful bacteria, which can affect Flowerhorn Cichlids.
Can I Add Some Tank Mates For Flowerhorn Cichlids?
As Flowerhorn Cichlid is aggressive and territorial, I would suggest you keep it alone in the tank. It is better left solely in the tank for a pleasant life.
However, you can still add some tank mates for Flowerhorn Cichlids. The trick for this is to select a big tank size where Flowerhorn Cichlid and its tank mates get their own adequate space. Also, remember to add only large-sized tank mates as smaller species cannot survive after sharing the tank.
Some of the tank mates that you can add for Flowerhorn Cichlids are:
- Blood Parrot Cichlid
- Common Pleco
- Green Terror Cichlid
- Tiger Oscar
- Sailfin Pleco
If you select any of these fish and Flowerhorn Cichlids together, make sure you keep them in a large tank with regular observation.
Are Flowerhorn Cichlids Safe Fish To Keep In The Aquarium?
Briefly, yes, Flowerhorn Cichlids are safe to keep in the aquarium. It seems they require a complex care level, but it is not entirely true.
Flowerhorn Cichlids are bright and charming fish that require easy to moderate care levels. They are somewhat challenging to pet initially, but your efforts can make them thrive better in the aquarium. Even beginner aquarists can keep this fish if you keep their only species in the tank.
Flowerhorn Cichlids are semi-aggressive fish yet can be peaceful when provided with a comfortable tank environment. They can even recognize you once you train them properly as they are pretty intelligent.
However, this fish is not safe to keep in the aquarium if you add it into a community tank. Flowerhorn Cichlids will chase and bite other tank mates if you casually add them with other fish species. Also, they are not safe to keep in the aquarium if your tank size is small or less than a 70-gallon.
Apart from these exceptions, Flowerhorn Cichlids are safe fish to keep in the aquarium.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How To Distinguish Male And Female Flowerhorn Cichlids?
Male Flowerhorn Cichlids have vivid shade, a larger body, lips, and nuchal hump with longer fins than females. Similarly, Female Flowerhorn Cichlids have black spots on their dorsal fins. Also, their orange-shaded abdomen deepens usually at the time of their spawning.
Are Flowerhorn Cichlids A Community Fish?
No, Flowerhorn Cichlids are not a community fish. They are territorial and offensive, which makes them unfit to call community fish. However, you can add some tank mates for them by keeping them in more than 200-gallon tank size. There are other peaceful yet larger community fish you can get for your tank if you really want to keep large fish with other fish.
What Are Some Popular Types Of Flowerhorn Cichlids?
Some of the most popular types of Flowerhorn Cichlids are:
- Golden Monkey
- Golden Base (Faders)
- Kamfa Flowerhorn
- Kamfamalau
- Thai Silk
- Zhen Zhu
Can I Keep Flowerhorn Cichlids In A Fishbowl?
No, you cannot keep your Flowerhorn Cichlids in a fishbowl. It is because they require adequate tank space to survive peacefully. A fishbowl would be a very tiny space for them as their minimum requisition of tank space is 75-gallon.
Conclusion
Like any other cichlids, Flowerhorn Cichlids are aggressive and offensive when it comes to their behavior. But they can be peaceful and calm when kept in a suitable tank environment.
However, Flowerhorn Cichlids chase our hand while most of the other fish don’t. It is because they are very territorial and don’t like anything approaching them. They usually assume others as opponents, which creates challenges for aquarists to pick tank mates for them. Besides, you can also notice them chasing your hand while cleaning their tank and feeding them.
Despite being aggressive and hand chasers, you can train Flowerhorn Cichlids to identify you sharply. Don’t worry! They won’t nastily react till you care for them well!