Tank for a Flowerhorn...

[Bullnugget]

I found a real nice flowerhorn from a local Fish club member for sale. He is about 4" right now and had a pretty good price on it. I have a 55 that will be empty soon, would this be to small?

It currently has a gravel bottom, but would be switched for sand. The tank is currently a community tank but is getting moved into a 90 soon. The filter will stay so the tank is pretty much ready for it minus the substrate change....

What else could go in with him if the tank will work? I am not looking for 20 fish just thought a small school of something or a couple other cichlids like a jack Dempsey would work, I see videos on youtube of these combos in a 55 but I wasn't sure how well it works....


I am not real particular on them but my Wife really likes them....

 

[Rivers2k]

Not the biggest fan of FH, just not my preference but from what I read they can be pretty nasty and best kept by themselves. I know some people follow these fish like a cult so I am sure others will chime in.

If you want to try a tank mate you are going to need a bigger tank. And definitely no school of anything is going to work. Youtube is great, I use it often, problem is people post videos like ooh look at my tank and a week later everything is dead.

 

[Bullnugget]

Not the biggest fan of FH, just not my preference but from what I read they can be pretty nasty and best kept by themselves. I know some people follow these fish like a cult so I am sure others will chime in.

If you want to try a tank mate you are going to need a bigger tank. And definitely no school of anything is going to work. Youtube is great, I use it often, problem is people post videos like ooh look at my tank and a week later everything is dead.

Yeah, I have seen some of these people following these things....One sold this year just like that one at a fish store for $400!!!! this one is $160....I tend to look at youtube but never trust it, there are a lot of people with really over stocked tanks on there, and me being fairly new I would rather get the opinion for someone with good knowledge.....for example when I searched someone used the 1 inch or 1 gallon rule for a flowerhorn and said a 30 would be plenty, that you could even get another big fish In there....I think we all know that would not work!

 

[Rivers2k]

Yeah, I have seen some of these people following these things....One sold this year just like that one at a fish store for $400!!!! this one is $160....I tend to look at youtube but never trust it, there are a lot of people with really over stocked tanks on there, and me being fairly new I would rather get the opinion for someone with good knowledge.....for example when I searched someone used the 1 inch or 1 gallon rule for a flowerhorn and said a 30 would be plenty, that you could even get another big fish In there....I think we all know that would not work!

LOL yeah best to stay away from that guy. Sounds like you have been doing good research and have probably read the same articles I have. For $160 bucks I would keep it by himself and pamper.

 

[Freakgecko91]

For $160, I'd find a REAL species, like something amphilophus or viejita/paratheraps. I can imagine spending that much on a man made fish with genetic abnormalities and defects, when I can get some wild caught that nature has created perfectly.

 

[Bullnugget]

This stuff doesn't bother me, my wife likes them and I told her about it. If she wants it she will spend her own money on it.

Personally though, $160 on any fish is way more than I would ever think about. I know of much better things I could spend $160 on instead of a fish that I would risk losing....like I said though, wifes money, whatever keeps her happy!

 

[Rivers2k]

nevermind

 

[Freakgecko91]

Well if that's the case, a 55 is the BARE minimum for a single adult, but an adult male can grow quite large due to hybrid DNA. There's no set size for flowerhorns as the parent species vary quite a bit and what genes are passed on by the parents varies. I would suggest a 75 minimum truthfully, especially for that large of investment.

 

[josh7]

Well if that's the case, a 55 is the BARE minimum for a single adult, but an adult male can grow quite large due to hybrid DNA. There's no set size for flowerhorns as the parent species vary quite a bit and what genes are passed on by the parents varies. I would suggest a 75 minimum truthfully, especially for that large of investment.

I second the 75 gallon that extra width could really benefit the flower horn in the future