Physical Features

- Commonly referred to as the Luo Han, Flowerhorn or Lump Head Cichlid in Singapore and Malaysia.
- Can grow up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) in length and up to 3kg (6.6 pounds) in weight.
- Lives up to 8 or 10 years.
- Not picky in feeding habits. Prefers live feed like blood-worms, mealworms, tiny fish, shrimps, earthworms and chopped meat, but is also able to feed on vegetables like spinach, peas and lettuce. Pellet or tablet fish feed, even breadcrumbs are also accepted.
- Usually red, orange or grey in color, though other hues have been observed.
- Perhaps the most intriguing feature of this fish, it has a nuchal hump on its forehead, which is usually more developed in males.
- Has black markings on its body, which sometimes resemble Chinese characters.

There are many beliefs and superstitions to the different physical features and body parts of this fish, and you can find examples of such beliefs in the Superstitions section.

Flowerhorns are very aggresive and territorial, and are never kept together with another fish in the same tank, without any partition to seperate the two fish.