The value of Flowerhorns

[cichlid1409]

My original question remains...I understand that they are overpriced...I think that's pretty well established. The question I think I asked, if I may rephrase, is why are they priced like that? And I'm not just looking for a "well that's the way they do it at such and such store type answer"...I would like to know the underlying reason. Further, when such prices are charged people become much more greedy and much less scrupulous. It concerns me...where are all the culls going?

simple economics. flowerhorns are a man made product. the origonal breeders set the price they thought they could get and some crazy ******** actually paid it. if people are willing to pay the price then the price will remain the same (or possibly go up) if no one will pay that price then the price goes down. no real good reason for the outrageous price other than that.

[oneoffcustom]

My first flower horn i ever owned i got at 1 inch. He dominated my tank so me and dad put him our pond. 6 months later we cleaned out pond and found him. i barehanded him and he but the crap out of me at about 5 inches and drew blood. He later died at the hands of a big texas cichlid...

[Rico]

i got bit by a flowerhorn at work that had me bleeding a bit. they will bite too. pure species are not the only ones.

[marauder_77868]

I guess the point I was making about the culls is that it seems that many of them make it to the wild. In the case of the Flowerhorn, a hybrid which does not normally exist in nature, this can wreck the ecosystem. A high price tends to cause people to breed overmuch to try to create certain characteristics...thus an overabundance of culls...and an overabundance of a fast growing aggressive species introduced into the wild. I saw a presentation by Anton Lamboj recently in which they collected Flowerhorns in the wild in New Guinea, as I recall. So its obviously a problem. By the way...I've been around fish for many, many years. The only thing that has ever drawn blood was a Flowerhorn.

[Nickintex]

probably are sold as F1's

Or fed to someone's Flowerhorn.

[Rico]

probably are sold as F1's

[Nickintex]

good point Nick

Yes, I wanna know what happens to the fry of F1 trophs/petros. Are they the pariahs of the aquarium world? You'd think these poor guys would be sold 10 for a dollar since they are unmentionable. I think they get used as feeders, are flushed, or get sold as F1's.

[newb]

Maybe they are going to the same place F2 and above trophs and petros go to. I notice much pride in WC and F1. No one admits to anything above F1. The mystery continues....

good point Nick

[muuunkeeyy]

pure strains are kinda over aggressive lol. my friend almost got his finger bitten by a dovii, yeah they are finger chasers, but they will bite the finger if they catch it lol. most pure strains arent as colorful as a flowerhorn or they dont have that hump. the price is so high because it was something new and people wanted it. new types of fhs are coming out and people are asking alot for it. ive seen the price go up to the thousands..which in my opinion is ridiculous. tan king flowerhorns are made from this guy named tan that is in vietnam. first generation tan kings are worth about 700+? i think it is because there is a limited amount to certain strains and the quality. kamfas dont pop their koks that easily or even at all if you dont know how to take care of them. that might be why kamfas are worth alot, it depends on each fh individually.

[Rico]

i believe that the price comes from all the line and cross breeding they have to do to get the characteristics they want. its mostly the imported FH's that cost so much and most them are infertile. they do something to them when young to make them sterile. its their way of keeping themselves in business.

[Nickintex]

Maybe they are going to the same place F2 and above trophs and petros go to. I notice much pride in WC and F1. No one admits to anything above F1. The mystery continues....

[marauder_77868]

My original question remains...I understand that they are overpriced...I think that's pretty well established. The question I think I asked, if I may rephrase, is why are they priced like that? And I'm not just looking for a "well that's the way they do it at such and such store type answer"...I would like to know the underlying reason. Further, when such prices are charged people become much more greedy and much less scrupulous. It concerns me...where are all the culls going?

[Rico]

i find the pure species more interesting to own than the hybrids

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[oneoffcustom]

Its not just the finger chasing as i said b4 dovii's do that as well. Its also color, and body shape. Its the custom ability in color, pearling, and hump.

[Rico]

flowerhorns are not the only finger chasers..... almost all big central american cichlids do that. alot of people dont know it because flowerhorns are the more popular ones. all those traits come from pure cichlids.