FACTORS AFFECTING FLOWERHORN DEVELOPMENT

The term, FLOWERHORN, is a generalised lingo for various South American Cichlid hydrids, created by selective breeding or otherwise.[ For it cannot be denied that crossbreeding is a normal phenomenon in nature and has had a lion's share in evolution. All the various cichlid varieties are a result of successful hybridisation and proliferation of the new hybrid species in nature. eg. Differences in the fauna of the great lakes of Africa. However, in nature, this process is slow and on a minute scale. Plus, there is elimination by natural selection. ]. Although biologists haven't given the various flowerhorns, their rightful place in taxonomical classification of animals [ For which, they cannot be blamed ], we must understand and assume that the term FLOWERHORN incorporates, in itself, half a dozen unnamed genera, dozens of unnamed species and hundreds of unnamed varieties.

Thus, what we need to understand here is, that comparing zz with kamfa or kamalau or jing kang or whatever, is similar to comparing gorillas with chimps or orangs or humans or whatever.

Rather, even ZZ, Kamfa, Kamalau, Jing Kang and the various new world categories are broad classes and have wide variations in the phenotype as well as the genotype within their class [ class, not as in taxonomical class ] itself.

Thus, two ZZs [ for that matter, even two blue dragons ] might not be genetically similar.

And thus, due to differences in the lineage of individual flowerhorns, there is no point in denying the role that genetic factors play in the development of your fish. All the same, food, temperature, water parameters, medications broodcare, etc. have their own role in the development of the fish.

Moral of the paragraph:
100% Development of Individual Fish= 75% Genetic factors + 25% Environmental factors.
The below table summarises the physical characteristic and the main [ not the only ] factor/s responsible for its development :-

Type of fish ----> Genetic

Primary/Base color ----> Genetic

Intensity of Pri. Color ----> Mood

Finnage ----> Genetic

Secondary color ----> Genetic

Intensity of Sec. Color ----> Food + Mood

Extent of Sec. Color ----> Genetic + Food

Max kok size ----> Genetic

Rate of kok growth ----> Lipid-rich Food.Rate of kok growth is accelerated if the tankmates are cichlids [ any other fish, than a cichlid, preferably, South American, and the territorial nature is dampened ], that can be bullied upon.[ placing a mirror in front of the fish for not more than 10 min/day is also helpful, as the fish identifies its own reflection as an intruder and tries its level best to scare it off. When you remove the mirror after 5-10 min, it thinks that it has successfully scared the intruder away and boosts morale ( continuous/prolonged/frequent exposure to the mirror image, has quite the opposite effect, in that, either the fish, being intelligent, identifies the image as its own, or thinks that any attempts to scare away the intruder are futile and gives up, thus bringing down the morale )].

Eye color ----> Genetic

Intensity of eye color ----> Mood

Flowerline ----> Genetic

Intensity of Flower Color ----> Food + Mood

Pearling ----> Genetic

Extent of pearling ----> Genetic

Rate of extension of pearling ----> Food

Intensity and breadth of individual pearls ----> Food

Build ----> Genetic + Sex + Food

Maximum size of fish ----> Genetic + Disease

Rate of fish growth ----> Sex (M>F) + Food + Water parameters + Tank size + Mates + Disease Exposure

Personality ----> Genetic, Tank size, water parameters, mates, temperature, noise, lighting, disease and Keeper interaction.

Productivity/Fecundity ----> Genetic + age of attaining sexual maturity + age of initiation of breeding + disease

Breeding and brood care ----> Genetic, Experience, age, compatibility, noise and light level, disturbance, tank size, water quality, live feeds and safety index.

Health/disease susceptibility ----> Genetic + food + water parameters + Mood + Keeper's experience

Recovery from disease ----> Genetic + water quality + timely medical intervention + Keeper's Experience