Questions about a rescued tank and fish

[BeachBum2012]

A little background first... My girlfriends next door neighbor spotted this tank on the side of the road on Saturday. It had about 6 inches of water in it and four fish, three of which were dead. The thermometer read 105. She got it home and cleaned it up and managed to save the one fish. She couldn't keep it so she offered it to me.

From what I have found it seems to be a Flowerhorn of some sort. She is about 6 inches long and seems to be doing well right now. Here is a pic:

She lives in a 40g tall tank. It had a thermometer and a fairly new Whisper 60 on it when it was found. I've cleaned up the filter and have it all running fine. I also added a heater to keep things at the right temp.

As I am unfamiliar with Flowerhorns I have a few questions on how to house and care for her. I've done a little reading and found some good information but wanted the advice from real people who know what they are doing.

What are the proper water conditions? I'd much rather have had the time to establish the tank before getting fish but it just didn't work out that way this time.

What sort of tank decor works best with this kind of fish? It had some multicolored gravel (which I hate) and two big lava rocks. The tank looks empty. Will she do ok with live plants?

What other fish, if any, will get along in this tank?

Will this tank be large enough? I have a 90g and a 60g octagon tank empty in my garage that I can move to if need be.

Is there anything else I should know about this type of fish that I haven't asked?

Thanks in advance for the help. I know my new fish will appreciate it very much.

Brian

 

[jerseybird97]

I've found youtube to be a very good place to find decor ideas. Just type in Flowerhorn and you'll find just what your looking for. Also this site has alot of great behavioral information...
Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Red Star Flower Horn Cichlid
GOOD LUCK

 

[Sicklid]

Flowerhorns are pretty territorial, but if she grew up with three other fish, you never know... She may accept them, she may not.

The 40 gallon will be fine for one fish like her.

 

[BeachBum2012]

Flowerhorns are pretty territorial, but if she grew up with three other fish, you never know... She may accept them, she may not.

The 40 gallon will be fine for one fish like her.

Thanks for the reply.

By the way, I was checking out the site last night and came across your tank. It looks great.

 

[Idealconcepts]

Flowerhorns are a hybrid of several S/C American Cichlids, I don't recall which ones off the top of my head. The Flowerhorn (FH) will eventually outgrow the 40gal, if it hasn't been stunted in its previous home. A 55gal would work if it is a female and stays under 12 inches, if it is a male a 75 gal would be better. Care and feeding are similar to other S/C American Cichlids, variety of foods(I would personally skip feeders unless they are ones you have raised), good filtration, and weekly waterchanges.

Check out Flowerhorn USA - The #1 Site for Flowerhorn | Flowerfish | Hybrid Aquatic Community they have some info on FH.

 

[BeachBum2012]

Flowerhorns are a hybrid of several S/C American Cichlids, I don't recall which ones off the top of my head. The Flowerhorn (FH) will eventually outgrow the 40gal, if it hasn't been stunted in its previous home. A 55gal would work if it is a female and stays under 12 inches, if it is a male a 75 gal would be better. Care and feeding are similar to other S/C American Cichlids, variety of foods(I would personally skip feeders unless they are ones you have raised), good filtration, and weekly waterchanges.

Check out Flowerhorn USA - The #1 Site for Flowerhorn | Flowerfish | Hybrid Aquatic Community they have some info on FH.

Thanks for the help. I actually found flowernornusa and flowerhorncraze a couple of days after posting this and now am on the hunt for a larger tank.

Thanks again.

 

[Idealconcepts]

Not a problem. If you haven't checked craigslist it's a great place to find used tanks and equipment, especially in Socal. Goodluck.

Thanks for the help. I actually found flowernornusa and flowerhorncraze a couple of days after posting this and now am on the hunt for a larger tank.

Thanks again.

 

[BeachBum2012]

I've been checking Craigslist daily. Found two good deals but the buyer backed out last minute on both. I'm swinging by a LFS today that is moving and selling off their entire invintory at 50% off. Maybe I'll find something there

 

[Idealconcepts]

Wow, 50% off a new tank is pretty good. Are you looking to go with a canister for filtration or a couple large HOB?

 

[BeachBum2012]

Wow, 50% off a new tank is pretty good. Are you looking to go with a canister for filtration or a couple large HOB?

I'm most likely going to go with a canister filter so I can get the water to flow from one end to the other of the tank.

 

[Idealconcepts]

Check out infinit aquatics, Rich is in Socal and usually has awesome deals on filters and fish. He is a vendor on a couple other fish boards I belong too, and I've ordered fish from him a few times along with a filter on another occassion. Nice guy to deal with and never had any issues.

 

[BeachBum2012]

Will do. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Idealconcepts]

Will do. Thanks for the heads up.

Not a problem.