Flowerhorn tank mates - Can introduction order make a difference?

jjohnwm

Sausage Finger Spam Slayer
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2019
4,239
10,848
194
Manitoba, Canada
I have been only keeping Flowerhorns for about 2 yrs now... I do think you can have success if you introduce them at a small size they can be kept with tankmates... Mines (4 - 2 SRDs and 2 Silk Thai) are in a tank with 3 Ornate Bichirs, 1 Redtail catfish, 1 Sun Catfish, 2 Common plecos, 7 Jaguar cichlids, 2 Dovii's, 5 Green Texas cichlids, 6 Convicts and 2 Black Nasty's...

If they are older and bigger< I think it would be a problem as they are used to being alone in tanks...
Okay, I'll bite; what is the size of those fish and also of the tank? Are you saying that combo has worked for two years?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deadeye

bknot1

Exodon
MFK Member
Jun 22, 2021
42
32
26
52
Okay, I'll bite; what is the size of those fish and also of the tank? Are you saying that combo has worked for two years?
At this time sizes are:
2 SRDs (2.5" and 5") and 2 Silk Thai (4") Flowerhorns
3 Ornate Bichirs (10" and 2 (newly added are 3.5")
1 Redtail catfish (6")
1 Sun Catfish (6")
2 Common plecos (12")
7 Jaguar cichlids (range from 2.5" to 4.5" some newly added)
2 Dovii's (5" reg. and the red dovii newly added 4.5")
5 Green Texas cichlids (range from 2.5" to 5" some newly added)
6 Convicts (range from 2" to 3" some newly added)
2 Black Nasty's (newly added are 5" and 3")

The Tank is a 500 gallon tank -
96"(243cm) L x 51"(130cm) W x 24"(60cm) H

For most the part everyone get alone until breeding season...
 

jjohnwm

Sausage Finger Spam Slayer
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2019
4,239
10,848
194
Manitoba, Canada
Nice big tank, which certainly helps...but even so, I suspect big problems on the horizon. Virtually all of those fish are just babies, and their aggressiveness will likely increase as their sizes do; and virtually all of them should be much larger at two years of age.

You have a 6-inch Redtail Cat together with 3.5-inch bichirs? Or, you may have had them together yesterday; have you counted your bichirs today? And a Redtail Cat should be in the 6-inch range at closer to two months of age, not two years. What's the game plan for when the cat is 3 or 4 feet long...and the dovii hit 2 feet...and the 14 other notoriously-aggressive large cichlids are a foot long and "breeding season" hits?

Again, this tank cannot have been operating with that population of those species of fish for very long; certainly not long enough to be considered a success, or to be used as an example.
 

bknot1

Exodon
MFK Member
Jun 22, 2021
42
32
26
52
I said I have been keeping Flowerhorns for only 2 years, not that they were all together for 2 yrs. All the fish for the most part has been together for 10 months with the exception of the newly added fish and the big bichir and the 2 plecos (almost 2 yrs now). Time will tell.
 

maxstillen

Dovii
MFK Member
May 10, 2007
519
480
102
Denver, CO
You can only keep them together for so long. That's if they grew up with each other as juveniles. I've had a batch of flowerhorns under 4 inches growing out together in a 210g tank (7ft long tank) at least 20 or so but as they get bigger they start to fight and pair off. No good. Had to move certain fish and sell them. At the end they were all sold off cause they couldn't get along.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store