Few years ago, my husband and I had set up and made a fish aquarium. We had a couple of fishes and of different kinds.

 

OUR HISTORY  

It started with a fighting fish.  We call it Azule because of its color. Fighting fish is a lonely kind of fish since it can’t be with another fish as it will fight and eventually kill the other fish.

One time, we had added a female fighting fish as well inside Azule’s tank and after a few minutes, the female was already floating dead. So we never attempted to add another fish inside the tank.

We got into the African Cyclids too. These kinds were the kinds of fish which came from the seas of Africa and of which loves to dwell in stones. With these kinds of fishes, we bought a bigger aquarium tank. We also set up volcanic rocks inside where they can play and hide. We had lots of types of Cyclids and we definitely enjoyed seeing them everyday and feeding them. Studies show that observing fishes are actually a stress reliever.

Unfortunately, we had to give them up because we were moving to a smaller apartment and that they won’t be able to fit in the new home. So we were left with just a few pieces of them but eventually we also have to let go of them.

This enthusiasm on taking care of fishes was ignited again when we saw a group of fish tanks inside the JCenter Mall after attending the Mata Expo last February. We both hurriedly went into the spot and learned that these fishes are the Flowerhorns. There was a competition going on for these Flowerhorns and of which was referred to as The Ultimate Flowerhorn Competition.

 

THE UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER

It was unexpected that after the MATA Expo, we were able to witness an interesting event inside JCenter Mall in Mandaue. It was unexpected because we didn’t have an idea that something like this is actually taking place in the said mall.

Located in the ground floor of JCenter Mall is a panel of fish tanks. My husband and I got really curious as to what is happening over there so we decided to come over and check what the commotion was all about.

To our surprise, we got some cute, radiant and colorful row of flowerhorns.

We didn’t waste any single minute and just enjoyed taking photos of these little unique creatures.

 

WHAT ARE FLOWERHORNS?

As per Mr. Wikipedia, Flowerhorn fish are included in the family of cichlids which are ornamental aquarium fish and are noted for their vivid colors and the distinctively shaped heads for which they are named.

Their head protuberance, or kok, is formally termed a “nuchal hump.” They are circular in shape and it seemed that they are weird kind of bump but they are actually normal for these kinds of fishes.

We took our time taking photographs and videos of these beautiful creatures. There were specific categories and the participants who joined the said competition come from different people around Cebu.

 

CATEGORIES OF FLOWERHORNS

Here were the categories available:

 

ZZ

Juvy – 2.6-3.7 inches
Small – 3.8-4.6 inches
Medium – 4.7-5.7 inches
Large 5.8 inches and above
 

ZZ and Kamfa

Pre Juvy – 2.5 inches and below
Free Head – open size
Free Marking – open size
Molted – open size
Short Body – open size
Classic – open size
 

Kamfa

Kamfa Juvy – 2.6-4.0 inches
Kamfa Medium – 4.1-5.5 inches
Kamfa Large – 5.6 inches and above
 

To measure the entry, it should be  measured from the Caudal Peduncle to the Head or what they refer to as Kok.

 

THE PARTICIPANTS

 

 

I can see a lot of participants in the said competition and I believe these have been the people who have been also culturing and keeping these creatures as a pet. On the web while checking on the event, they had also share a group where they exchange information about these Flowerhorns.

Some of the participants which has their name or logo added on the tanks are the following:

 

Cebu Crossbreed

Lapu-Lapu Cebu Flowerhorn or LLCF Breeders Philippines

Aniceto Flowerhorn Collection

Davao Flowerhorn

Aqua Master

Pet City and a lot more

 

We had to go out of the mall after being able to take photos of all the fishes. Aside from the competition going on, the hosts and as well as the participants of the event had also displayed available ones for sale.

 

Some videos taken at of the flowerhorns:

 

Copyright Jean Beltran-Figues. All rights reserved.