Submitted by: Keith Titus

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Last month we went over breeding tank set up, this month we will go over getting a pair.

You will find that the triggers for getting Flowerhorn are pretty much the same as other Cichlids. Once they go into pre spawning mode, the fighting will decrease, but rough mating will start.

The technique that works the best is hard for most of us aquarist to do, as it goes against everything we strive to accomplish with our aquariums. With that said, it works and does not hurt your Flowerhorn in the long run.

The best way to get a pair of Flowerhorn to spawn is to let their aquarium conditions become very poor for one to two weeks. This will include, taking the filter pads out of the filters and running them without the pads (they need to run to keep the water circulating), letting algae build up in the aquarium and letting the water level of the aquarium get low. Please make sure that you leave aeration in the tank so the water does not become oxygen depleted. I also recommend that you feed them at about the normal amount during this time. Once the conditions in the aquarium have deteriorated to the point where it is becoming stressful, do a complete water change and cleaning of the tank. You will find that most pairs will spawn within one or two days (often within hours) of the completion of the cleaning.

Other techniques are:

Change the water temperature to 72 degrees for a few days and then bring it up to 84 degrees over about 12 hours and then leave it at 84 degrees for the remainder of a week.

Feed them heavily for a few days, then stop feeding them for two days, followed by feeding them live food for three days.

Leave the tank dark for two full days and then turn the lights on for two full days.

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Last month we went over getting a pair to spawn, this month we will go over the actual spawn.

The first sign that your Flowerhorn are getting ready to spawn is that they will start to clear off a flat surface in the tank. As we said last Newsletter, this will often mean that they clean of the bottom of the tank. Flowerhorn can lay up to 500 eggs in one spawn and that requires a surface that is about 8 inches square. Prior to this, the male will have been the dominant fish. During the entire spawn and while the eggs are not yet free swimming, the roles will reverse and the female will become dominant. She will start acting aggressively toward the male and often will do Lip Locking with the male as a sign of courtship. Lip Locking is not a sign off affection as in kissing. Rather, it is a sign of aggression in the courtship.

Unlike many other Cichlids, such as Discus, they will do very little in the way of a spawning Dance. At some point she will try to herd the male to the area that will be the spawning surface. Spawning actually starts when she begins laying the eggs. She will lay them in rows of 10 30 eggs. The male will follow behind her, sometimes every time she lays eggs and at other times after every 3rd or 4th laying run, and fertilize the eggs. After the spawn, the female will stay directly above the eggs and the male will stay on the periphery of the eggs and guard against all intruders. If you put your hand in the tank, it will be viciously attacked.

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Last month we went over the actual spawn. This month, we will go over behavior after the spawn.

The good news is that unlike many other Cichlids, Flowerhorn will usually not eat their eggs.

They will display other common post spawn activities that many Cichlids display. The female will take up a position above the eggs and will constantly mouth the eggs. The purpose of this is to get rid of any eggs that are infertile and to keep fungus from forming on the eggs. She will defend the eggs with her life. If you put your hand in the tank near the eggs at this time, she will viciously attack it (and it will hurt). Most of the time she will chase the male away from being directly above the eggs, but not always. It can vary depending on the pair. The male will usually stay near the eggs guarding against any other threats. Once again, if you put your hand in the tank, even on the other end, the male will attack it. While the male and female will often show some aggressive behavior towards each other, they will not usually do any actual damage to each other while there are viable eggs. You can feed them pair while there are eggs without any worry that it will stimulate the to eat the eggs. They will eat while they guard the eggs.

About the Author: Check out SomethingsPhishy to meet all of your Discus, Angelfish, Flowerhorn and Pleco needs. Buy a tropical fish today at

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Source:

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