Best Food for Flowerhorn Fish for Head Growth and Color – Flowerhorn is one of the freshwater ornamental fish that is getting more and more fans, especially since the 2000s. One of the attractions of flowerhorn fish is its beautiful color, unique markings on its body, and a bulge on its head (commonly called a nuchal hump).
But, not all flowerhorns are beautiful and healthy, still good fish genetics are a major factor. Even so, food will also affect the color and growth of fish for the better. Whether it is obtained from natural or artificial feed.
To get the perfect flowerhorn fish, of course, special efforts are needed to optimize its beauty potential. One of them is in terms of feed, as we will discuss in this article.
Best Food for Flowerhorn Fish for Head Growth and Color
There are some of the best food for flowerhorn fish for head growth and color that you can give. Here are some of them:
1. Shrimp
First on the list, the best food for flowerhorn fish for head growth and the color is shrimp.
If you want to have a flowerhorn with a pretty color, try sometimes feeding it fresh shrimp. The content of beta carotene in shrimp will make the color of the fish more vibrant. Especially for the flowerhorn which has a red color.
Before giving the shrimp to the flowerhorn, make sure you only give the meat part, other parts such as the head, legs, and shell you can throw away, so as not to get caught and hurt the flowerhorn’s mouth.
If the shrimp is too big, you can divide it into several pieces, or cut it into small pieces according to the size of the fish’s mouth.
2. Mealworms
For those of you who are not used to handling pets, you may find mealworms disgusting. But for your information, some pets love it! For example birds and fish.
Maybe mealworms are more popular as bird feed, but flowerhorns love it too! Even good for fish growth!
Mealworms contain a variety of high protein, as well as fat that is good for flowerhorn growth, including head growth. You can feed the fish directly (alive), with sufficient amounts.
3. Cricket
This one insect is also good for flowerhorn head growth. The high protein and fat content in crickets can trigger the growth of the nuchal hump, fins, and tail of flowerhorn fish.
But before giving crickets to the flowerhorn, you need to remove some spiked body parts so as not to hurt the flowerhorn’s mouth.
4. Frozen Bloodworms
Basically, bloodworms or other types of worms contain protein, carbs, and fats that are needed for the growth of flowerhorn fish.
Then, why frozen bloodworms? What are the advantages?
Simply put, they are more practical and can be stored for a long time, unlike other natural flowerhorn foods. Plus, they are also high in protein and nutrients. In addition, they can provide flowerhorn protection against viruses and bacteria on its skin.
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5. Centipedes
Next, best food for flowerhorn fish for head growth and color is centipedes.
Before deciding to give this one food, you need to be careful. Even so, centipedes are rich in beta carotene which can make the flowerhorn fish color more vibrant.
Before giving a centipede to a flowerhorn, cut it into pieces and remove the poisonous head and tail.
For those of you who are new to flowerhorn, it is not recommended to feed fish with centipedes, unless you get guidance from an expert.
6. Earthworms
Most types of worms are a good source of protein for ornamental fish, including flowerhorns. High protein is very good for the overall growth of fish.
In the early days of flowerhorn, there were many who sold live earthworms, but now it’s a bit difficult to get them. If you want to get them, it looks like you’ll have to dig the soil yourself.
If you want to find earthworms, try looking in soil that looks fertile, that means there are lots of plants and the place is slightly moist.
Giving natural food in the form of worms is believed to accelerate flowerhorn growth, and make the flowerhorn body bulkier.
In addition, the benefits of worms for flowerhorns are that they can grow head (nuchal hump), and stimulate color growth in fish.
In addition to ordinary earthworms, flowerhorns also really like silkworms, where the nutritional content is equally good. You can find silkworms at your nearest fish shop.
Before feeding flowerhorns with worms, make sure you clean them first.
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7. Goldfish
Next, the best food for flowerhorn fish for head growth and the color is goldfish. Giving goldfish as feed is very common, especially for predatory fish lovers.
Live goldfish can be fed to flowerhorns to provoke aggressive fish, as well as a good source of protein and fat. Protein is needed for growth, while fat is needed to maximize the growth of the head.
It’s a good idea to feed the flowerhorn small goldfish. If it’s bigger, usually the flowerhorn only kills the fish. If the goldfish is dead, usually the flowerhorn won’t eat it, in the end, the carcass will contaminate the water.
8. Salmon Flesh
In addition to giving goldfish, you can also give pieces of fresh fish meat.
Fish meat such as salmon or catfish is also very good for flowerhorn. Moreover, salmon is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Salmon flesh is also good for flowerhorn growth, especially head growth. Keep in mind, the nuchal hump in flowerhorn fish is a fat pile, so it requires a good fat intake.
In addition to salmon and catfish, you can also give some protein-rich fish meat, such as tuna, or other fresh fish meat.
9. Pellets
Last but not least, the best food for flowerhorn fish for head growth and the color is pellets.
In addition to the natural foods above, pellets are one of the best foods for flowerhorn fish for head growth and color.
The advantages of pellets compared to natural foods are that they are more practical, have more complete nutrition, and are also certainly more hygienic.
There are various kinds of pellets that are specially designed for specific purposes. For example, there are pellets specially designed to brighten color and growth, and also maximize head growth.
What is important for you to pay attention to in choosing the best flowerhorn pellets is the content in it. For example, it contains high protein above 40%, fiber, fat, and is complete with various vitamin supplements that flowerhorns need.
If it contains astaxanthin, spirulina, or beta-carotene, the pellets are usually specifically intended to lighten the color.
You can give these pellets as the main feed or as a snack. But sometimes flowerhorn fish, which are used to natural food, refuse to eat pellets. However, you still need to feed your flowerhorn natural food, not just pellets.
The price of pellets varies, some are cheap to expensive. But when it comes to results, in the end, it comes back to fish genetics.
In some cases, there are those who feed expensive pellets without showing results, but when they feed cheap pellets the changes are even more positive.
Therefore, if you ask what pellets are best for flowerhorns, the answer will depend on the fish’s needs, and whether your fish like them.
And last but not least, do not give pellets in total. This means that you also need to alternate with natural food because fish prefer natural food.
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Conclusion
The best food for flowerhorn fish for head growth and color is a nutrient-rich feed that fish love. In addition, a varied diet is also needed for fish to meet its nutrition.
You can choose some of the feeds above as the main feed (daily). But the most common one is giving Frozen Bloodworms and pellets.
For maximum growth, you can give frozen bloodworms, mealworms, pellets, and goldfish.
To accelerate the growth of the red color, you can give shrimp. Shrimp is the best natural food so that flowerhorns turn red quickly and also make pearls shinier.
If you want to emphasize the flowerhorn markings, you can feed it crickets. But don’t give it too often.
While the best food for flowerhorn fish for head growth is a food rich in fat and protein such as pieces of salmon, or worms.
A good rule of feeding is neither too much nor too little. The important thing is to feed regularly with sufficient amounts. We recommend feeding every 6 hours, or morning and evening only.
It is important to vary the diet for fish. For example, you give natural food today, then tomorrow you can give pellets or flakes. A variety of diets will make fish happier and less stressed.
If none of the flowerhorn parents have a nuchal hump, then don’t expect their offspring to have a good nuchal hump. Likewise, color, if there is no color talent, it is difficult to bring out the color.
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The wrap-up, feed is a means to maximize the potential that exists in flowerhorn, the most decisive is the genetics of the fish. Good care is also one of the keys to maximizing the potential of fish. And one more thing, the best feeding can guarantee the health of the fish, that’s the most important thing!
