Flower Fish Cichlid
Flower horns cichlids as per most other tropical fish, prefer temperatures between 20-30°C, the recommended temperature is around 28-31°C. One of the most important things to ensure with the water is its ph level, flower horns need alkaline levels between 7.5 and 8, in order to help maintain this its advisable to change the water regularly. Some experts would suggest once a week, others lean more to changing a portion of the water once a week, as per below:
10% per week
20% every 2 weeks
or 30% every three weeks.
In addition to regular water changes, mixing some crushed coral with the gravel can help ph stability in the tank, as with other tropical fish, Flower horns do not like sudden changes to the ph level, its therefore important to regularly check ph levels.
Feeding Flower horn cichlids
Flower horns are pretty easy going when it comes to food, the are generally happy eating pelleted foods, this saves on goldfish or guppies. This is an important point and contributes to the healthy nature of the flower horn, they are less likely to pick up disease from their food when on a pellet diet.
Flower horns can grow up to around 15inches, but most get no larger than 12-13inches, this means they are comfortable in 60-75 gallon tanks. Flowerhorns are also quite gentle in nature and with often be happy sharing the tanke with other species.