Flowerhorn or Red Terror

Wills said:

For the red terror can I check which fish you are looking at is it Festae or Midas? For both long term I would want bigger than a 55 as they will get 10-12 inches, a minimum measurement I like to use is 6x length and 2x width so a 12 inch fish needs a minimum of a foot print of 6x2 foot. Some exceptions to this if the fish is known to be very lazy like some catfish or ambush predators.

Florwehorns are a bit different as their adult size is more unpredictable with some only ever getting to 8 inches or less which is quite manageable in a 4 foot tank but 55 might be a bit small long term.

With either fish in a 55 to grow out large water changes will be required to flush out growth hormones to avoid stunting and for both fish to grow their nuchal humps.

Wills

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Wills said:

For the red terror can I check which fish you are looking at is it Festae or Midas? For both long term I would want bigger than a 55 as they will get 10-12 inches, a minimum measurement I like to use is 6x length and 2x width so a 12 inch fish needs a minimum of a foot print of 6x2 foot. Some exceptions to this if the fish is known to be very lazy like some catfish or ambush predators.

Florwehorns are a bit different as their adult size is more unpredictable with some only ever getting to 8 inches or less which is quite manageable in a 4 foot tank but 55 might be a bit small long term.

With either fish in a 55 to grow out large water changes will be required to flush out growth hormones to avoid stunting and for both fish to grow their nuchal humps.

Wills

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indivicous said:

View attachment 114806View attachment 114807View attachment 114808

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Wills said:

Going by the fins I would say male - but it also looks to be quite a low grade FH. Colours dont look vibrant enough for the size and the nuchal hump isnt that developed - if thats the kind of thing you are after?

Wills

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Wills said:

With either fish in a 55 to grow out large water changes will be required to flush out growth hormones to avoid stunting and for both fish to grow their nuchal humps.

Wills

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AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

I'm sorry to ask, but would you mind elaborating on what this means please? The growth hormones?

I saw someone mention on here recently that fry exude a hormone that stunts the growth of other fry around them, because it would give them an advantage to be the largest fry who can eat larger food etc, and that regular water changes when raising fry helps them grow evenly and quickly, partly because you're removing/diluting that hormone from the water.

is it the same process as you're referring to here? Do you know if it applies to all/most fish species, or where I could learn more perhaps?
Sorry to bombard you with questions, it's just really interesting, and I'd like to learn more

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indivicous said:

Ah okay thats why. I was hoping everything would develop if it got into a nice clean tank. Is that possible or am I wasting my time?

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Wills said:

I think it would be worth shopping around - especially for $100.

Wills

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Wills said:

I've not got a source for it, its just something I've picked up over time but in a number of species its evident that stunting does not just happen because of the limits of the physical space, the fish are producing something that effects how they develop. Its one of the reasons regular water changes are a good thing other than removing nitrate, well fed fish in a tank changed regularly and in large quantities grow faster and healthier than those well fed in a tank that gets 10% every month for example. I term it as a hormone out of ignorance of what it actually is - it could equally be linked to the way they percieve their environment through the lateral line etc?

In contrast to what you say about the fry, some fish do it on purpose too. I had some loaches all the same age, same tank and only the alpha grew the rest stayed smaller and on reading up I found this is a common choice in beta fish (as in second in the chain not beta species).

Wills

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indivicous said:

Also I may actually be able to get some pictures of the red terror as well tonight, so I'll post them here if i do.

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