# juvinile flowerhorn cichlid behavior?



## cheybaker (Mar 19, 2017)

So i am the mom to three flowerhorn children, they are all between 1in and 1.5 inches long. I have only had them for about 3 days now, but seeing as how these are my dream fish in this hobby, i am just worried about some things that MAY be completely normal.

1. They tend to hide, a lot: I have some terracotta pots in their tanks so they can hide, being cichlids i find this to happen with new environments. but just feel so weird because the tank always feels to empty.

2. They tend to hang out under my filters. I have tetra whisper filters so the suction is on the front, not the bottom, but it still worries me that they hang out under the filter so much.

3. they have only been eating my ghost shrimp colony, i have zero issues with this but some of the shrimp are large and may cause them to choke.

my water parameters are:

ammonia: 0 ppm
PH: 7.4 pp,
Nitrites: 0ppom
Nitrates: 5ppm
Temperature: 80 degrees F.

they also have some aquarium salt in with them.

I guess i may just be overly worried about them. i really am just looking for some insight into if this is how normal juveniles act..


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## cage623 (Feb 2, 2008)

I havery never had flowerhorns but have been keeping cichlids for over 10 years now. This type of behavior is common but not really normal. Especially in flowerhorns which are normally very "outgoing" fish. How were they acting at the pet store? What size tank are they in? Other tankmates? Lighting for the tank and how long do you leave it on during the day? Where is the tank located? Higher traffic area or not?

Normally this is a sign of stress. That could just be they are not used to their new home and will get over it type of stress, or could be they are fighting when you are not watching type of stress. Any other signs of stress? Washed out color? Damaged fins?

What are your longterm plans for them? They normally do best alone in their own tank. Flowerhorns are known for killing all tankmates or die trying.


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## AguaManic (Feb 8, 2017)

It's only been 3 days, let them settle in and get used to you and how you do things.


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## Sinister-Kisses (Jul 19, 2013)

It's completely normal. They've only been in the tank a few days, they're going to hide while they get used to their surroundings.

Additionally, at that size they are likely going to go through a "shy" phase that just about every large CA cichlid I've ever owned (and that has been a lot) has gone through. At a really juvenile size, 1-3" or so, they tend to be fairly outgoing and personable. And then once they hit about 3-5", the once very outgoing fish suddenly becomes reclusive and shy, and hides a lot of the time. I just consider it a growth stage at this point after going through it with them all; usually doesn't last long and they're back to being outgoing and confident in their surroundings again.

That being said, I'm also curious as to the long-term plans for these fish. Flowerhorns are not a fish most people have tanks large enough to house more than one in.


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## Hybrid_Creations (Apr 25, 2017)

More than likely you will need to rehome 2 of the 3 babies. FH need lots of space to be happy, and adding more FH to that mix is volatile and will probably end up with the whole tank being wiped out. I don't keep my FH's with anything other than Giant Danio's as dither/target fish. They never last long. My newest FH is 1.5" and has murdered 3 GD's that were all over 3". About the being shy thing and hiding, that's normal. Dark out the tank, and keep movement/noise/vibration as low as you can around him/her until it starts to come out. Mine have never taken more than a couple weeks to be more outgoing.


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