"What decor?" / Bare Bottom Tanks

     Creating the environment for a fish can be such a detailed process, thankfully the Flowerhorn is best suited with NO tank decor. This is due mostly to their thrashing nature. Occasionally you will see them dart through the tank, I have seen many Flowerhorn injure themselves on a log, a big pointed rock used as decor in the tank. Sometimes the injury is so great that it causes a permanent scar or wound, the Flowerhorn is a show piece and any type of damage on the fish is undesirable. Not only does the injury look bad but often times it leads to other problems like infection. Flowerhorn are Hybrid Cichlids (you will hear this a lot) and due to this they have weaker immune systems, knowing this allows the keeper to keep tighter maintenance routines and to be prepared. As a combination a various Cichlids the Flowerhorn does enjoy some type of medium size gravel of the brown nature. As Cichlids, they are diggers by nature and enjoy moving the various pieces of rock around to create a den. I also suggest prepping your tank before hand by painting the outside back dark blue. The dark blue color matches best with most types and colors of Flowerhorn and seems to brings out the best of color. This is a breeder trick from over seas.