Advise me benefits and disadvantages (if any) of keeping a juvenile Flowerhorn fish in a 200 litre tank.?

Question

I am talking about maintainance, temperature, temperment, food, sub-strata, filtre everything, incl the fish.

Professional replies would be appreciated. This is my first venture with Flowerhorn, though I have been keeping fish for 7 years now incl Goldfish, Oscar, Discus, Arwona etc.

Answer 1

The disadvantages would be that you wasted 200 litre on a juvenile fish...you might as well provide the fish with a much larger tank (like a 75-gallon or 400 litre) so it comfortably grow. In a smaller tank it'll require more water changes in order to keep the nitrate level at check. Too much nitrate can easily hamper the health of a juvenile fish. So you are looking at more maintenance.
The temperature will be the same with an oscar's but I highly suggest that you buy a heater which can take the possible abuse of an aggressive cichlid. Flowerhorn's will sometimes wreck havoc upon the heater and it is best to buy one that is shatter proof or have it enclosed in PCV piping.
Personally I hope you don't have your intentions set on an underground filter. Your flowerhorn's interest in digging up the substrate will render the filter in operable and insufficient. I would suggest purchasing a powerfilter or better yet a canister filter.
To make things like less complex I would keep the cichlid by itself.
Regardless of tank size make sure to keep up with regular water changes. Something like 30-50% weekly will bring out the best in your fish.

Answer 2

Flowerhorns are probably the most vicious fish out there next to the dovii. They are both huge fish and killers at heart. None of the fish you list are even close to a flowerhorn in nasty disposition.

Big fish make big messes. You will need a large filter. No plants, he will just tear them up. If you have kept arowana, you know about live food and not to use goldfish for feeders, right?

Temperature will be the same for any South American cichlid. Large gravel would be the substrate of choice for these big guys.

200 litre? That is what, about 40 gallons? He will outgrow that quickly. They don't call them "tankbusters" for nothing.....

Answer 3

You'll probably need a bigger tank eventually they get big. Also they are some of the meanest cichlids out there, they can even get that way towards you. It will have to be a single tank. As they age there is no way thy'll live with another fish. Maintenance depends so really you just have to figure that out yourself everyone hasd their own preference. Same with filtration. Personally I like to to use an eheim canister filter along with a bio-wheel power filter and always have more filtration than needed. I also like to change 20% of the water every 7-10 days. You need to monitor the weater though and change it accordinly. Good Luck

Answer 4

If they were born in a cold water tank let's say at home, they would be fine...but if you bought them at the store where the water is warm then I would say no...I've kept guppies in cold water but that's only when their parents were raised in cold water...it all has to do with the easiest way for the fish to adapt to the environment...and if you got them from a store they will likely be susceptible to getting ich if you put them in a cold water tank.

Answer 5

I have never had a flowerhorn but there are plenty of sites out there that you can check out. I'm sure you could even find a forum to check out too.

Here are some sites in case you want to read them,
http://www.flowerhorn.co.uk/
http://www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/cichlids_neotropical/flower_horn_fish.htm
http://www.flowerfish.com/
http://fish.mongabay.com/flowerhorn.htm
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/universal-viewid273.html

Answer 6

I would say none sorry can't be more specific