Should you groom CA/SA Cichlids?

[Ogertron3000]

I don't see the point but can't see it doing any real harm either. I've only ever heard of it being done in the flowerhorn scene. The mirrors okay but as much as I dislike blood parrots it's very cruel to have one just to be used as a punching bag.
Would be curious to see the results with a red devil or something but I really doubt it would make much difference.
Like everyone else has said , getting the basics right will make more difference than holding a mirror up for 15 minutes per day.

 

[Gourami Swami]

You might be able to get a bigger nuchal hump on a natural fish using a mirror, I've never heard of anybody doing it on anything other than a flowerhorn. Whether the fish is "entertained" by the mirror, or "stressed out", I cannot say for sure. Doing the best for the fish in terms of water, diet, etc. is a good idea of course. Personally I would focus on that aspect of it and ditch the mirror.

 

[neutrino]

Until you explained what you meant by "groom" I thought "What, like you groom a horse? Or is it some kind of conditioning or training?" I've kept cichlids for decades, was a mod for years on multiple forums, and this is the first time I've heard of "grooming" a fish,. Apparently it's a relatively esoteric term, don't know, perhaps coined by flowerhorn keepers or another group or culture?

If all it means is good food and water (should be a given for any fish) and tricks like using a mirror (it's not unheard of for some to do this for solitary fish in a tank; for example, bettas), than "grooming" seems to be a more or less arcane term for basic good husbandry plus a trick or two that some employ to occupy their fish, get them to flare their fins, etc.

Don't know, quality food, clean water, reasonable pH, has always done well enough for any species I've kept. I wonder about the value vs. frustration or stress to a fish of the mirror thing long term, maybe it depends on species. I've had the occasional fish that sees and reacts to its reflection in a tank wall, but they typically seem to get over it after a while. Fish I've kept always looked good with good water, good food, though maximizing head humps was never a 'thing' for me.

 

[Cichlids keeper]

Until you explained what you meant by "groom" I thought "What, like you groom a horse? Or is it some kind of conditioning or training?" I've kept cichlids for decades, was a mod for years on multiple forums, and this is the first time I've heard of "grooming" a fish,. Apparently it's a relatively esoteric term, don't know, perhaps coined by flowerhorn keepers or another group or culture?

If all it means is good food and water (should be a given for any fish) and tricks like using a mirror (it's not unheard of for some to do this for solitary fish in a tank; for example, bettas), than "grooming" seems to be a more or less arcane term for basic good husbandry plus a trick or two that some employ to occupy their fish, get them to flare their fins, etc.

Don't know, quality food, clean water, reasonable pH, has always done well enough for any species I've kept. I wonder about the value vs. frustration or stress to a fish of the mirror thing long term, maybe it depends on species. I've had the occasional fish that sees and reacts to its reflection in a tank wall, but they typically seem to get over it after a while. Fish I've kept always looked good with good water, good food, though maximizing head humps was never a 'thing' for me.

I don't like really large Nuchal Humps either, like the max size of a natural Midas Nuchal Hump is my limit for Flowerhorns. Yeah good husbandry is a very large part of grooming, there's just other parts that you don't see used on naturals. The mirror trick is only used for 5-10 minutes a day and once it is full grown or it's Nuchal Hump shows no growth for a while, imo there isn't really any reason to use it. Some people also split the webbing of the fins to make them stronger or get them to a certain shape but I don't like that. There are also feeding natural foods that have pigments in them like shrimp but that won't do much if the flowerhorn doesn't have the genetic potential.