TankBud

One species · 1 variety

Flowerhorn cichlid

Amphilophus hybrid

FreshwaterFish

Flowerhorn cichlid (Amphilophus hybrid)
"Flowerhorn" by garryknight is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. · by

Care at a glance

Temperature
77–88°F
25–31°C
pH
6.5–7.8
Adult size
15.7 in
40 cm
Minimum tank
90 gal
340 L
Temperament
Aggressive
Social behavior
Solitary
Own kind
One male per tank
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Substrate spawner · Hard
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cichlidae
Origin
no natural occurrence

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One setup covers every line on this page: care is the species' care.

Overview

The flowerhorn cichlid is a large, man-made hybrid cichlid for a big tank of its own. The care itself is easy, but its size and temper are the real challenge.

Did you know

The flowerhorn was bred purely for looks, selected for its bold colors, pearly markings and the large fleshy hump on its head. Some strains show blotches that hobbyists read as lucky symbols or characters. That helped drive the fish's early popularity.

Caring for the flowerhorn cichlid

Give one adult flowerhorn at least 90 gal (340 L), with a heater guard and a strong filter. A simple, easy-to-clean setup works best, with a sandy floor, a couple of sturdy pieces of decor and plenty of open swimming space. Secure or remove decor, since these fish push everything around.

The flowerhorn is hardy and undemanding about water. Neutral, moderately hard water at 77 to 88°F (25 to 31°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.8 keeps it healthy. Feed a good quality cichlid pellet as the staple, with occasional frozen or fresh foods such as prawn and earthworm. Avoid overfeeding fatty foods.

Flowerhorns are large, strong and highly aggressive, so they are almost always kept alone in their own tank. A single fish treats the whole aquarium as its territory. It usually cannot be trusted with tank mates, which it may injure or kill. Many owners keep one as an interactive wet pet that learns to recognize the person who feeds it.

Flowerhorns are substrate spawners, but breeding is unpredictable and hard. Many males are functionally sterile, so producing fry often depends on hand-selecting fertile fish.

Good to know

The flowerhorn is a hybrid within the family Cichlidae, developed by crossing Central American cichlids from Amphilophus and related groups. Because of that, it carries no single valid scientific name. Adults are known for the nuchal hump, or kok, on the forehead, which many keepers look for. Its exact traits vary widely from one strain and one fish to the next.

In the wild

The flowerhorn does not occur in the wild, and no natural population or habitat exists for it. It was created in the aquarium trade from the late 1990s by crossing several Central American cichlids. With no native range, its care follows the general needs of its robust Central American ancestors rather than any specific river or lake.

Other named lines

Flowerhorns are man-made hybrids of mixed Central American ancestry; strain names describe body shape and pattern lines.

Kamfa
short body, fan tail, heavy nuchal hump
Zhen Zhu
dense pearling, longer face
Thai silk
solid metallic blue

Common questions

What size tank does a flowerhorn cichlid need?

A flowerhorn cichlid needs at least 90 gal (340 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a flowerhorn cichlid need?

A flowerhorn cichlid is comfortable at 77–88°F (25–31°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.8.

What does a flowerhorn cichlid eat?

A flowerhorn cichlid eats a good quality cichlid pellet as its staple, with occasional frozen or fresh foods such as prawn and earthworm. Avoid overfeeding it fatty foods.

How big does a flowerhorn cichlid get?

An adult flowerhorn cichlid reaches about 15.7 in (40 cm).

How does a flowerhorn cichlid breed?

Flowerhorns are substrate spawners, but breeding them is unpredictable and hard. Many males are functionally sterile, so producing fry often depends on hand-selecting fertile fish.

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