head size in flowerhorn

Question
QUESTION: My tank size is 4'x2'x2'. I have a 2 year old flowerhorn. I think its a female because she just had a lot of eggs recently and totally stopped eating for about 10 days. She's back to normal now. I need to know how to increase the head size. Is there any fresh food i can feed as we don't get a lot of commercial fish food here and it's frightfully expensive. pH is quite neutral in the water and I change 1/2 the water once a month.

ANSWER: Hello Praveen Shekhar,

I received your question, tonight, in the question pool. This means it probably sat awhile, unanswered, in another expert's box and they gave it to everyone else to answer.  This might mean it's outside their expertise, or they are on a vacation.

Either way, I received it tonight and it was answered immediately, so please remember the late answer isn't my fault when you rate me. :)

Having bred most cichlid species, I can tell you that if she layed eggs, she is indeed a female. :)

Her head size may grow, with age, however did you know that the size of its head has nothing to do with how it's fed?  It is a result of the genes the fish inherited.

Flowerhorns are hybridized fish.  They are a human-created fish from several species of fish.  The head could just be small due to her heritage from one gene or another.

They are also one of the few hybridized fish who can have fertile eggs.  So, if you can get her a mate, and she spawns again, she could indeed have fertile babies.

I want to congratulate you on changing her water properly.  99.9% of the people who write in don't know you need to change their water.  Yuck!  :)

Good job.

Well, I certainly hope my information helps you out.

Please feel free to write in anytime and ask whatever you need to and I hope that my expertise has helped you.

I have bred and owned many cichlids.  Flowerhorns are one of my favorites.

Happy fish-keeping.

Renee

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Renee. Praveen here again. Thanks for the tip on my flowerhorns' head. Too bad for me fish's parents weren't Big headed:) so mine just has an average head.Got a few more questions for you. I'll list them after I gave you more tank details. Like I said, the tank is4'x2'x2'. I change 1/2 water once a month. Theres an Atman EF-2 external filter that does 450litres/hour and I have an internal sponge-based filter aslo good for about 200litre/hour. I don't really need a heater here in Bangalore,India as the temperature inside the house is around 28-32 degrees C.Like I said the dry Flowerhorn food is really expensive here so I've been using the economy packs of Taiyo Fish Food for any tropical fish. She does find the pellets a bit small and theres a lot that gets stuck in the filter. After her egg-laying bout she's seriously lost her appetite. She ate a couple of guppies s few days ago.
1) Can I improve her colour using fresh food like prawns,cut up pieces of fish, liver etc?
2)the previous person who replied said females don't get the distinct hump on the head. Is that ttrue?
3)Someone also said sticking a small piece of mirror inside the tank deceives them into believing there's company so they brighten up. Any truth?
4)If I do buy another small flowerhorn, how can I distictly make out if it's a male? The guys here say any silly thing just to make a sale.
5)I know they're very aggressive, but by any chance is there any other similar sized fish I can put in with her? Maybe koi carp?
I've got a foot long sucker mouth tank cleaning fish and during chow time she's forever attacking him, b ut he's built like a tank so no worries on that front.Sorry for bombarding you with so many questions in such a short span of time. Its just that looks like a have finally found a reliable source if information for fishy problems. I was a cocker spaniel breeder for 14 years. I just quit recently and I'm a technical analyst with the share market now.Thanks again for everything. Regards, Praveen

Answer
Hi Praveen,

You can improve color through food.  Prawns are a great way to do that.  Liver is good for them.  Krill will bring out incredible coloration.

I would not stick the mirror in to the tank.  It contains mercury.  It is a ridiculous suggestion, imo.

As for sexing a flowerhorn, I found a great link to share with you.  http://www.flowerfish.com/how-to-sex-your-flowerhorn/

I would not put a Koi or carp in the tank.  They require 50 gallons each, of spotless water and they will bring your water conditions down tremendously.

I love cocker spaniels.  I have yellow labrador retrievers, and one is a service dog who alerts to seizure disorder.  He is trained 55 commands.  :)

Praveen, I am sorry to hear you get bad advice.  It's very common for accidental bad advice to be given out of ignorance.

I truly hope this helps to answer your questions and good luck with the technical analyst work. :)

Happy fish-keeping.

Renee