Which Flowerhorn strain is the most beautiful? How should we tell them apart?
Flowerhorn fish are colorful, with exquisite patterns, and they swim gracefully in the water, are affectionate with people, and can interact with people very well, making them a very popular ornamental fish.Which Flowerhorn strain is the most beautiful? How should we tell them apart?
Which Flowerhorn strain is the most beautiful?
Because Flowerhorn fish are a hybrid fish species, there are many strains and varieties, and everyone has different aesthetic standards, so there really is no unified standard answer to the question of which Flowerhorn strain is the most beautiful. We can choose the fish we find beautiful by learning about the different Flowerhorn strains.
How do we tell Flowerhorn strains apart?
The more common Flowerhorn strains nowadays are the following:
1. Pearl Flowerhorn
The Pearl Flowerhorn is the most common strain on the market today. It is easy to breed and improve, and it also has the most and the most mixed varieties. The main common varieties include Hongyun, Blue Diamond, Red Diamond, and others. Their main features are: the nuchal hump of the Pearl Flowerhorn generally bulges upward. Its forehead patterns on both sides are clearer than those of other Flowerhorn fish. It shows an underbite-like appearance, with the upper lip longer than the lower lip; the eyes protrude outward. The dorsal fin and anal fin are separated upward and downward respectively, with relatively long trailing filaments, and the caudal fin is usually relatively smaller; the caudal fin is round or spear-shaped, with varying degrees of collapse or a tendency to wrinkle, and the angle formed by the last three fins is relatively large (the gap is large); the body is an inverted triangle shape (wide at the front and narrow at the back), with irregular black markings in the center of the body.
2. Golden Flower Flowerhorn
Golden Flower strain Flowerhorn. The Golden Flower strain Flowerhorn is a Flowerhorn variety with strong potential ornamental value, and is divided into Thai Golden Flower, Snow Mountain Red, Rainbow King, Phantom Color Golden Flower, Snake Skin Golden Flower, and others. Its main features are: the head shape tilts forward like a cannon head, and the eye area is slightly sunken inward or flat against the surface. There is generally no forehead patch. The colors are mostly blue, white, orange-yellow, and a little red; a flat mouth; the dorsal fin and anal fin are relatively firm and do not have trailing filaments, the caudal fin is fan-shaped, and the angle formed by the last three fins is relatively small; the overall color is single, mostly red, yellow, and white, and there are also Golden Flower varieties with pearly spots. It grows larger than the Pearl strain.
3. Monkey Flowerhorn
The Monkey Flowerhorn first originated in Malaysia, and because its appearance closely resembles a monkey, this Flowerhorn got the name Monkey Flowerhorn (meaning “monkey” in Cantonese). Through improvement, Monkey Flowerhorn types have become very diverse. Common varieties include: Classic Golden Monkey, Later Classic Golden Monkey, New Monkey, Malaysia Pearl, and others. The features of this strain are: the head shape tilts forward similar to the Golden Flower, with a nearly flat mouth, but most individuals still have more or less of an underbite; the dorsal fin and anal fin do not have trailing filaments, and the caudal fin is between round-tailed and fan-tailed; the body tends to be more square.
4. Texas Flowerhorn
This is a leopard-series Golden Flower Flowerhorn improved by hybridizing Texas Cichlids with Flowerhorn fish. Representative varieties include: Natural Red, Thai Red Texas, Golden Texas, and others. This fish generally grows 20—30cm, has a relatively flat body shape, a broad body width, is oval-shaped, has a relatively low head, a relatively high back, and has small blue-green dots and markings. At sexual maturity, the blue-green spots on the sides of the body change into pearly markings, shining and very dazzling.
5. Flower Horn Flowerhorn
Today's Flower Horn Flowerhorn, after improvement, is completely different from its early appearance, and its fame became widely known for a time under the push of Ming Shui Aquarium Company. It was once very famous, and its main varieties include: Laughing Buddha, King Kong Flowerhorn, Flower God of Wealth, Fire Rose, and others. The features of this strain are: the mouth shape is long and thick, with a protruding lower jaw, and some have an underbite. The head is small, only slightly bulging, and most are horn-headed, which is also one of the reasons the Flower Horn disappeared. The eyes are slightly sunken, and there are three colors, namely: white, red, and orange. The dorsal fin and anal fin do not have trailing filaments or have fewer trailing filaments, and the last three fins are arranged in parallel with little separation distance. The caudal fin is rounded.
The Flowerhorn strains seen more often on the market are the several kinds mentioned above. Each variety has its own different beauty, so hurry and choose a Flowerhorn you like to keep at home.