rudyjuly

To all experienced flower horn enthusists...

My flower horn (pearl of the orient) has been staying motionless at one side of the aquarium. "He" refuses to eat the feeds I gave him for three days now. His color has changed from the original red and bluish to a very dark color now. I observed that the fish seemed afraid when I approached him. What seems to be the problem with my pet fish? please help! Thank you...

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore. I hope we can help with your flower horn.

If they are not really comfortable with their surrounding, they will be dark in color. Sometimes, they will adapt to their environment by matching the background colors because flower horns also have chamaeleon-like behavior. It can also possibly be that your flower horn is afraid of something you dont know of.

Another potential problem is that the water parameters is not to your fish's liking. Be sure to test for any ammonia or nitrites in your tank, as well as high nitrates. You can read this article on how to optimize the tank for your flowerhorn: http://www.flowerfish.com/managing_aquarium.html

One last thing that I can think of is that your flower horn is morphing. Potentially, it is turning into a faded fish. Most faded flowerhorns start morphing by turning very dark in color. Then, parts by parts, the dark colors will fade and eventually it will completely fade the dark color away, making the fish bright yellow or orange color.

Or he could be sick, which is very possible since he shows symptoms of internal parasites - common with flower horns. If you have seen white or clear poop from him, start treating for parasites with something like "Parasite Clear". I think this is the problem and would recommend a 50% water change then start treatment for parasites.