My flowerhorn is afraid of me and i dunno what to do.

[hamikangtao]

I know there is a thread about this chickened flower horn but I do not think that food is the factor. The flower horn has been in that tank for almost 2 weeks now. One question i wanna ask all experts here...

How do we know the quality of the water is not so good? Besides looking at the fish reaction, is there any medication or chemicals besides salt that is recommended for Flower horn water once the water is changed?

[franco]

I have a 4 foot planted tank with cardinals in it. I use Sera's nitrite, ky and ph kits to maintain the water quality. There are other brands out there with nitrite,ky and ph test kits.
You didnt mention your location but I like going to 88 in ss 15. The owner is is very helpful and doesnt mind sharing what he knows.
Hope this helped.
Franco

[hamikangtao]

Thnx mate, i am near subang area too. mind telling me which shop? near where? 88 is the name of the shop?

[hamikangtao]

wats a cardinal? sorry i am new to this terms lol.......

[franco]

Cardinal Tetra..the red and blue fish. I think the name of the shop is 88 Marine Centre. Its near the Sports Toto shop at ss15 and the fishball soup shop. There's another aquarium shop on the same row( with a huge golden arowana in front) but the price is a few cents higher.

[ari]

forget about all those expensive test kits....if your fileration is in working order, meaning matured.
cichlids are robust fishes especially the FH, just leave your fish alone for a while..u are worrying over nothing.
FS will tell u all sort just to get your money...and if u are new to this hobby, man u would believe every word he says...i would like to see someone who could convince me to buy all those test kits...especially for fresh water.

[stinky]

Assuming that it is not due to clorine, or other external medication, water quality is poor due mainly to bio load. Test for NO2 & NO3.

I also agree that a FH is a tough fish. If you don't want to spend too much $$, try doing the following things ...

1. change 50% of the water every day for 3 days in a row. If more, it may stress your fish. By doing so for 3 days in a row, you dilute your original water by 50% during the first change, 25% the second, and 12.5% by the third. This way, you "reset" your water ... thus, no need to test for water!!!

2. put in empty pots, or wood for the fish to hide behind. With more hiding space, the fish will feel more secure, and thus, less likely to hide!!

3. put in ditter fishes. These are FAST swimming fishes, like zebra denion, etc. If the FH sees other fishes swimming in the open, it will feel safer, and tend to venture out in the open.

I believe that the above steps will help de-stress the fish. If not, I suspect sickness. Observe external for any parasites, and its waste and belly for internal parasites.

[hamikangtao]

Thanks bros for contributing to my knowledge of FH and testkits in FS so far. The thing about putting other fishes in my tank with my FH. I bought 2 small FH from a FS some time ago. One had superb appetite and the other one quite shy and hides all the time. In no time, the always hungry one grew up to be almost double the other FH. And chased it around like it was a wanted criminal and attacked it until its fins etc are torn. It just died JUST NOW, just before the game where MU lost to Arsenal.

But my point is, by placing other fishes together with ur FH, you need to make sure its a cheap fish or else you might not have it alive the next day. Do you guys encounter any problems with this? Fighting FLower Horns....

So it means that one tank shud only have one fish living inside?
How do i maintain a stable filter system? I just have those that flows up into a filter and then back down again...

[RazorBlade]

Originally Posted by hamikangtao

I bought 2 small FH from a FS some time ago. One had superb appetite and the other one quite shy and hides all the time. In no time, the always hungry one grew up to be almost double the other FH. And chased it around like it was a wanted criminal and attacked it until its fins etc are torn ... Do you guys encounter any problems with this? Fighting FLower Horns ....

Yes, most ppl keep Flower Horn in a one fish : one tank ratio. They are know for their very bad temperament. You rarely see more than one fish per tank ... heck, bandaraya, cichlids, practically every other fish in their tank = soon-to-be dead fish.

Originally Posted by hamikangtao

just before the game where MU lost to Arsenal.

YES! (Hehe, Arsenal fan here). Read it was a good game, gotta watch highlights or replay tonight.

[Pilik-Palak]

May I know what size of ur tank? what filter do u use?.How big is ur FH?.What food do u give?.That's all count when u need some advice.

IMO,
When new intro fish specially cichlid families,the frighten behaviour always comes first.

My advice is simple,add alot of coral chip as FH is alkaline fish and not acidic that most people thing.
This to avoid Ph shock after every water change.
Always remember to change the coral chip after 1 year since the chip will lost it buffer and become sceleton. Ur fish might get Ph shock due to the chip lost it buffer.

If u r using 2 in 1 funtion(shooting with bubble in one part and to the top chamber).Close the shooting part for temporary and when the fish is settle down,u can use back the shooting part.Make sure u plag out the air tube to avoid water flow back thru the air hose.

Pls, do not put any mirror to make him brave,that might make him more frighten.U can add a divider in the tank and add some feeder goldfish on the other side and he will settle very fast.Hope that help.cheers.