Flowerhorn Cichlid with Divider, yes or no?

[blurrae]

Hi everyone, so recently I just got into aquariums and decided to jump head first right into the deep end. So I got a 72 gallon bowfront tank with two filters, two heaters, etc. My dream was to put a flowerhorn cichlid in there, but once I realized that he would be the only thing that I would be able to keep in there, I became a little discouraged with that dream and decided to get a bunch of "peaceful" fish (angelfish, gouramis, danios, pleco, etc) I also have a really small tiger oscar cichlid in there, but he's really docile so there haven't been any problems. I just found out though that I can buy a divider for my tank to seperate a flowerhorn from all of my other fish. I'm just worried that the divider will fail and I'll wake up to a tank of murdered fish and a big flowerhorn just staring happily at me. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Because I can't really find anything on the internet about this specifically.

 

[blurrae]

Also I forgot to mention that the flowerhorn that I'd be getting would be at least 7-8 inches to start out with. I'm just afraid that if he really wants to get through the divider, he will.

 

[Fishmanic]

From what I read, a flowerhorn needs to be in at least a 70 gallon tank for just one flowerhorn. So the divided 72 gallon would be too small for him.

 

[blurrae]

From what I read, a flowerhorn needs to be in at least a 70 gallon tank for just one flowerhorn. So the divided 72 gallon would be too small for him.

Oh, from the research I've done most of the sources i've seen said 50 gallons at the minimum, so I thought it wouldn't be a major issue. Maybe I'm wrong though. Space aside, would a divider work in general to keep two kinds of fish away from eachother?

 

[BoomerXIV]

Oh, from the research I've done most of the sources i've seen said 50 gallons at the minimum, so I thought it wouldn't be a major issue. Maybe I'm wrong though. Space aside, would a divider work in general to keep two kinds of fish away from eachother?

Long time ago my family have a big tank divided in 2, one for small fish and the other one is for flower horn. One day one of my fish managed to squeeze through the divider, and I found his headless body stuck in the divider. So my advice is either go for community tank or flower horn tank, don't do both.

 

[FishBearer9845]

Thing is, dividing a 72 gallon tank, you’re giving a flower horn 36 gallons in the end for a fish you’ve already found needs a minimum of 50 gallons. Sorry to bring you @Byron into this but I always think back to your signatures

‘It is inhumane to deprive any animal of an element it regards as critical to its well-being, and totally naive to expect normal behavior in its absence’

I’m not experienced in the slightest but I do feel you’ve contradicted your research with what you want to do.

Also, you need to consider the size and space needed just for the angelfish alone, let alone the other species you have in there.

Flower horns are amazing, I’d love one but just don’t have the space at the moment.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

You already have an Oscar in the 75g with a lot of other fish. Once the Oscar reaches adult size, he'll need the whole 72g to himself, let alone the other fish.

So why try to cram a flowerhorn into the same tank now, when it would need another larger tank very soon anyway? You have got to consider the needs of your fish at their adult size, not just at the size they are now. Get a 40-50 gallon for a flowerhorn if you must have a flowerhorn. If you can't have both tanks, then you know that the divider is doomed to fail anyway, since they'll need much more room as they both reach adult size. Splitting a 72 gallon between an oscar and a flowerhorn means only giving them 36 gallons each, and the oscar is having to share that with other large fish like angels as well. The idea is a non starter. Better to get the tank a flowerhorn needs right now, or admit that it won't work and consider whether you want to keep your current stocking.

 

[FishBearer9845]

I completely missed the fact you have an Oscar
I think you might have problems with Oscars and angelfish anyway?

 

[blurrae]

You already have an Oscar in the 75g with a lot of other fish. Once the Oscar reaches adult size, he'll need the whole 72g to himself, let alone the other fish.

So why try to cram a flowerhorn into the same tank now, when it would need another larger tank very soon anyway? You have got to consider the needs of your fish at their adult size, not just at the size they are now. Get a 40-50 gallon for a flowerhorn if you must have a flowerhorn. If you can't have both tanks, then you know that the divider is doomed to fail anyway, since they'll need much more room as they both reach adult size. Splitting a 72 gallon between an oscar and a flowerhorn means only giving them 36 gallons each, and the oscar is having to share that with other large fish like angels as well. The idea is a non starter. Better to get the tank a flowerhorn needs right now, or admit that it won't work and consider whether you want to keep your current stocking.

Yeah I know that the divider isn't a long term solution, it's just that I don't have room for another large tank at the moment. I'd rather already have a nicely grown flowerhorn to already put into a new tank when I clear out room for it. Unless I could wall mount a tank or something, which I've never even heard of so I'm guessing it doesn't work very well. Maybe you're right though. I'll try to find some cheap tanks.

I completely missed the fact you have an Oscar
I think you might have problems with Oscars and angelfish anyway?

I have not had a single problem between the angelfish and the oscar. My oscar is really docile for some reason. The only "hostility" I've seen from him is nipping at the gouramis a little bit.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yeah I know that the divider isn't a long term solution, it's just that I don't have room for another large tank at the moment. I'd rather already have a nicely grown flowerhorn to already put into a new tank when I clear out room for it. Unless I could wall mount a tank or something, which I've never even heard of so I'm guessing it doesn't work very well. Maybe you're right though. I'll try to find some cheap tanks.


I have not had a single problem between the angelfish and the oscar. My oscar is really docile for some reason. The only "hostility" I've seen from him is nipping at the gouramis a little bit.

If you don't have room for another large tank, then you can't get a flowerhorn. Like we've said, splitting a 72gallon between two fish as large as an oscar and a flowerhorn (your oscar might be small now, but it will be growing in no time at all, and you do not want to stunt his growth by keeping him in too small a tank) in the same tank. Divided, that's 36 gallons each - not enough, even if you removed all the other fish.

No, you can't wall mount a tank. A glass box filled with water and rocks weighs a ton.

 

[blurrae]

If you don't have room for another large tank, then you can't get a flowerhorn. Like we've said, splitting a 72gallon between two fish as large as an oscar and a flowerhorn (your oscar might be small now, but it will be growing in no time at all, and you do not want to stunt his growth by keeping him in too small a tank) in the same tank. Divided, that's 36 gallons each - not enough, even if you removed all the other fish.

No, you can't wall mount a tank. A glass box filled with water and rocks weighs a ton.

Ok, I won't do it then. Thanks for your help

 

[HoldenOn]

Fish like that finish growing in 8-10 months. That baby would be busting through the divider and giving you so many problems in no time. Plus they can "smell" pheromones from the other side of the divider. It would be torture imo

 

[HoldenOn]

Sorry if it sounds like we all just destroyed your dream. We just want the best for you and your fish

 

[blurrae]

Sorry if it sounds like we all just destroyed your dream. We just want the best for you and your fish

No no its all okay. It's probably for the best since if I had gone through with it it might've hurt my fish. But since this means that I would have to get a whole new tank, do you know what the best place to buy used fish tanks is? (I've already looked through craigslist, facebook marketplace, etc)

 

[HoldenOn]

No no its all okay. It's probably for the best since if I had gone through with it it might've hurt my fish. But since this means that I would have to get a whole new tank, do you know what the best place to buy used fish tanks is? (I've already looked through craigslist, facebook marketplace, etc)

Craigslist is one of the best IMO. Maybe Facebook, and maybe eBay.