Flowerhorn: An Auspicious Fish To Have In Your Home And Office

The Flowerhorn fish (a.k.a Luohan) is considered a beauty by those who appreciate its hump on the forehead—apparently, the bigger it is, the more beautiful the fish—and the splashes of red on its body. Another draw, of course, is the bold black markings that some say represent Chinese characters or numbers.

Actually the latter characteristic is a reason why many Asian Chinese fish hobbyists fell in love with the Flowerhorn; some say the black markings on the fish represent lucky numbers—use as inspiration for buying lottery numbers.

Raising The Flowerhorn

A hardy breed, the Luohan can endure water conditions that are often unsuitable for most other aquarium fish. A clean aquarium environment is very important. Once weekly partial water changed is a must, and at the same time check the filtration system is always in good working order.

The Flowerhorn fish thrives well in water that is slightly more alkaline, so the ideal pH level should be around pH7 to pH7.8.

Highly territorial and thus aggressive by nature, the Flowerhorn is best off without tank mates. Most people think the Flowerhorn loves to “play” because it gets particularly edgy and active whenever someone approaches the tank or puts a finger in the water.

However, the truth about their apparent edginess is that they associate any foreign presence as an intrusion—the fish is actually displaying aggressive behavior toward your finger in the water. And they do bite when provoked!

Not a fussy eater, this fish can be fed with shrimp, bloodworms, or food pellets. My parents feed bloodworms to the younger Flowerhorns. The fish has quite a big appetite, so it is advisable to feed it only tow to three times a day. If reared properly, this breed can live up to eight or ten years.

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