Do flowerhorns shed their scales??

Question

My one year old flowerhorn fish looks like she's peeling. Is this normal?? She seems fine at times, but there are times when I find her sulking in one corner of her aquarium. Her water's clean, her appetite's good. What's the matter with her??

Answer 1

No, fish do not shed their scales. When this happens, something is very wrong with them. Scales are their protection against all sorts of parasites and infections.

You say her water is clean. Can you be more specific?
What size is your tank? Flowerhorns are big fish and need about 60 gallons.
Is she by herself? Flowerhorns can bully each other. If her tankmate is bullying her, these could be injuries.
What are your exact water parameters? Ammonia and Nitrites in ANY amount are toxic. Nitrates above 40ppm are toxic. If you have any of these readings, do a large water change immediately.
How often do you clean the water? Flowerhorns can be sensitive to water quality and require diligent water maintenance. Do 30-40% water change per week, and vacuum the gravel.
Is there anything in the tank she could be hurting her on? Think sharp ornament, hard plastic plants, sharp gravel, etc.
Does she have other symptoms? Like clamped fins, rapid gill movements, white stuff on her, other wounds or sores...

Answer 2

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Answer 3

No, flowerhorns, and fish in general do not shed their scales. The only way they lose them is to disease or damage from attacks by other fish. Another possibility is that she may have been stuck behind the heater for a period of time that allowed her to get burned.

When you say her water is clean, do you mean you have been doing the regular (weekly) partial (25-30%) water changes like you should? If not, then she may be suffering from ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels that are way too high.

Is there another fish in the tank with her? If so, it may be attacking her and causing the damage. Flowerhorns are notoriously agressive, but if the other fish was in the tank first it may have become dominant and be bullying her. If so, watch closely from a distance to see if the other fish attacks when you are not around the tank (believe me, it happens) and remove it if you see it happen.

The best remedy to regrow tissue (I have used it and it works well) is MelaFix. It is a natural product that helps fish repair and rebuild damaged tissue. Combine it with PimaFix and help guard against infections also.

Answer 4

No...its not normal. You should ask one of the guys that work at your local fish store what it could be. And there is NO WAY another fish is attacking a flower horn. It would be the other way around.

Answer 5

Either your fish is being scraped by rocks or a combative other fish, or its diseased. Considering flowerhornes are one of the toughest freshwater fighting fish that kill just about anything in the same tank with them, I would be concerned with disease.

If her stomach is swollen & the scales seem to be sticking up (which leads to them falling off), its an Edema (also called Dropsy)

When a fish has an Edema like you descirbe, determining the origin of the sickness comes from how fast the visible signs have crept up.

Accute Dropsy: Sudden swelling: A bacterial infection will cause internal bleeding.

Chronic Dropsy: Slow swelling: Growing tumors, or even parasites, in the fish may cause it to swell.

Chronic Dropsy: Slow swelling: Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Highly contageous!

Other unknown causes, such as a virus, or permanent damage to the fish's internal organs. Damage to kidneys can occur due to over-use of medication or use of too strong of medication.

If its bacterial, you Treat with antibiotics. If its the others, you're in for a sad journey. Lets hope she's just scraped, since the vast majority of scales falling off is just a result of mechanical scrapes & bumps.

On her mood... Have you given her anything to kill lateley? Sometimes highly aggressive fish like the flowerhorne sulk if not given something living to torment from time to time. Also, does she have a refuge? Maybe a nice cave or terra cotta pot would help cheer her up. Many fish like to have a cave to defend.

You should also note that sulking can be an indication of bad water conditions. You really should double check your water changing habbits & water quality parameters. I know my oscars hate it when the po4 levels go too high & they end up sulking until I change the water.

For a $200+ fish like a flowerhorne, I would consider taking some photos & sending them to some experts and sparing no expense when it comes to medicating immediately.

Answer 6

I am not personally familiar with Flowerhorns, so I just wanted to do some research first to see if maybe, possibly, scale loss in Flowerhorn may be part of breeding or something like that. I found nothing that indicates that Flowerhorns lose their scales for any normal reason. The first thing one thinks of when they hear that a fish is losing scales is Dropsy. Dropsy is a bacterial infection of your fish's internal organs. Being internal, it is difficult to diagnose and is often not treated early enough to save the host fish. It attacks fish that have been weakened due to excess stress resulting from poor water conditions, overcrowding or being moved. It causes excess body fluids to build up making the fish appear bloated or it's scales to stick out. Early stages of this infection may present themselves as popeye as excess fluid causes the eyes to bulge. The visible symptoms of drospy come from the excess body fluid buildup inside the fish. Bloating, as well as eyes or scales that protrude more than normal may be signs of dropsy. Avoidance of other fish and loss of appetite are also common. Commercial treatments are available from your local fish store. Begin treatments immediately if your fish is to have any chance of survival. Usually by the time the scales of the fish are protruding, it is too late. NEVER USE SALT (sodium chloride, a.k.a. aquarium salt) for treatment of dropsy. This will KILL your fish in a very short time. The affected fish are already having a difficult time getting rid of salts due to kidney dysfunction. This causes the blown up appearance and concurrent scale standing. The osmotic imbalance caused by addition of sodium to your tank water will make this condition far worse. Use Tetracycline, Maracyn and Maracyn 2, Kanacyn. If these don't sound like the symptoms, check out the first website as there are other diseases listed there. Find the symptoms and treat accordingly. Also, it is a very good idea to feed the fish medicated food because viral and bacterial diseases are more internal than external and must be treated appropriately. These are very territorial and aggressive fish. The staying in one corner may mean that she has just "staked out her territory." The damage to her skin could just be from getting caught of scraping up against something, however, the treatment needs to be the same.