# flowerhorn cichlid?



## robynsfish (Aug 28, 2008)

i have an assumed male flowerhorn, and someone just gave me a large fish who has the exact same body shape, and looks similar to a female flowerhorn i saw online. can anyone confirm that she is in fact a flowerhorn? the other owner didnt know what she is, and i'd like to know so i can provide the proper care.http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Fish/messages/1844723.html thanks my male is the brighter one in the pics


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

It's not a flowerhorn, it's a Texas cichlid.

On a side note...how big is that tank, and how often are you doing water changes? No offense, but the water in that tank looks absolutely horrid.


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

Is that a dead lobster in the tank?


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

you defin itly NEED to do a water change. None of those cichlids will last too long with water that dirty. It is a neccessity to do at least a 25% water change weekly, although more is reccomended- especially in an overstocked tank. Also the longer you leave the dead lobster in there the more cloudy your water is going to get.


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## robynsfish (Aug 28, 2008)

the crayfish is not dead, she is molting. i'm afraid moving her to a different tank during her molt will injure her. the tank is a 55 with a 110 gallon filter running. the water gets a 30 percent change and gravel vac. once a week, so the water itself isnt dirty. i had the lights off in the room to take the pictures, and it must be reflecting the mirror i have behind/next to the tank, which IS very dirty ( trying to make a cleaning point to my husband, its not working). before i was given the new fish, the flowerhorn lived in there by himself, with just the crayfish. its a cheap camera. i am very anal with my water quality in all my tanks, everyone has appropriate temps, ph, no ammonia, no nitrates, etc. the ornaments look so crowded because i put lots of medium sized ornaments on the bottom for my flowerhorn to hide in, and leave the top of the tank free and clear for swimming. 
back to the fish in question
the person who gave her to me had her in a 40 tall with around 15 other smaller fish, and one large dempsey. she is very non aggressive, i sat and watched her in her original tank for an hour before i agreed to take her.

she and the flowerhorn were lip locking and dancing in circles around each other last night, rubbing sides, but there was no nipping and this morning, they are both sitting in a cave, and tried to bite me when i reached my hand in to poke the crayfish on the other side of the tank ( making sure she is still alive) which is NOT normal of my flower horn, he is a puppy dog of a fish, and usually sticks his head out of the water for treats. neither of them were interested in breakfast this morning either. everyones fins are intact, and my flowerhorn is brighter than ever..

what is a typical texas cichlid adult size? i'm getting different sizes at different websites. i was looking into a 75 for my flowerhorn, but i can always bump to a 110 or 120 if needed. he seems to be enjoying the company, and i'd like to keep them together.


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## robynsfish (Aug 28, 2008)

spoke to prior owner this morning to see if she could remmber where she got her, and foudn out she was a rescue for her, she was fishing and someone was going to throw her and the dempsey into the river, so the girl took them home.

any opinions on sex? i'm just assuming shes a she because of her slim face, and now that im looking at texas cichlid pics, her lack of coloring.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Absolutely at least a 6ft. tank is needed, asap. A 55gal tank is not big enough for even the flowerhorn alone, let alone with a tankmate.

Does the Texas have a black spot on it's dorsal fin? If not, it's a male. Typical size is about 10".


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## robynsfish (Aug 28, 2008)

i am very confused by their behavior right now...the flowerhorn is guarding the tank from me, while the texas is clearing a spot in the gravel under the cave. the texas is a male. no spot on dorsal, long pointy anal fin. so whats up.. are they just confused? planning on an alternative lifestyle? i'll try to take some pics of my flowerhorn, side profile, maybe i'm wrong and hes just a masculine female..


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

To be honest, your flowerhorn looks quite like a female to me...but of course, appearance is not a reliable way to sex a fish. Does the flowerhorn have a black spot on it's dorsal? Used to be that this was as sure-fire way to sex a flowerhorn. At this point, it's becoming more and more common for females to not have it or males to have it, with all the different variants of flowerhorns being created and bred out there...but a lot of the strong-trimac based variants still follow the rule.


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## robynsfish (Aug 28, 2008)

no black spot on the dorsal, but he/she does have black tips on the very end of it..so my little boy is a little girl? that explains the sudden onset of pms now that she has a boyfriend..lol he/she wont hold still sideways long enough for me to snap a good anal fin pic..aggressively lunging as soon as it sees me..


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## robynsfish (Aug 28, 2008)

no black spot on the dorsal, but he/she does have black tips on the very end of it..so my little boy is a little girl? that explains the sudden onset of pms now that she has a boyfriend..lol he/she wont hold still sideways long enough for me to snap a good anal fin pic..aggressively lunging as soon as it sees me..


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## SinÃ¤lukiinsuomenttoikÃ¤Ã¤ (May 31, 2008)

you can tell texas sex with a black spot?
is the spot ALWAYS present from when they are young, or is it attained at 4" or so?

also it sounds like they are breeding, *** seen some really good looking FHxTexas hybrids if your interested in keeping the fry and growing them on they could be beautiful


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## Heyguy74 (Aug 11, 2005)

I would increase the water changes to 50% per week. In a 55 G tank the water will get bad quickly with those big guys in there. A larger tank is needed as suggested above. Big water changes will keep them healhy, until you get a 6ft tank for them.


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