5 Best Foods for Flowerhorn Cichlids for Head Growth in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks
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Flowerhorns are some of the most impressive fish in the aquarium hobby, with their unusual head growth, known as the nuchal hump or “Kok”. Their diet plays a major role in head growth, and protein-rich foods are the building blocks for growing their nuchal hump to an impressive size.
Flowerhorns are quite easy to care for if they have a decent-sized tank that allows them to grow, but a good staple diet and high protein supplements will make your Flowerhorn grow and help them develop their hump, while maintaining a vibrant coloration.
Let’s get into the best foods that can help with flowerhorns’ head growth.
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2024
| Rating | Image | Product | Details | |
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Best Overall
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Hikari Cichlid Gold |
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River Shrimp
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Fluker’s Freeze-Dried Insects |
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Premium Choice
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Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp |
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Hai Feng Fast Color Floating Food |
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Tetra Bloodworms |
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The 5 Best Flowerhorn Chilia Foods for Head Growth
1. Hikari Cichlid Gold
Flowerhorns are a species of cichlid, so they will benefit from cichlid fish food as a staple. These foods have high levels of protein and promote the growth of their nuchal hump. The Hikari cichlid gold food not only helps to enhance a Flowerhorn’s color, but the high-protein content helps them grow and develop.
This food is great if you want to feed your flowerhorn a staple diet that can help with their head growth. Not only is this food affordable, but it consists of high-quality ingredients that are rich in vitamins and minerals.
- Rich in vitamins
- High in protein
- Cichlid specific food
- Affordable
- Can cloud your fish tank
2. Fluker’s Freeze-Dried Insects – River Shrimp
Since Flowerhorns are large fish, they will benefit from the nutrients and high-protein content of river shrimp. These are freeze-dried shrimp that do not have the parasites and risk of other diseases (like with live shrimp), they are also affordable and make a great supplement to your Flowerhorn’s staple diet.
Freeze-dried shrimp can be stored for a long time in the original container, and you do not have to care for them yourself, as they have already been prepared and preserved to be fed to your Flowerhorn.
- High protein
- Can be stored for long periods of time
- Freeze-dried for easy feedings
- Supplement only
- Customers complain the shrimp are too dry
3. Hikari Spirulina Brine Shrimp
Like the river shrimp, brine shrimp are much smaller, but contain an equally beneficial number of vitamins and minerals to help with your flowerhorn’s head growth. These freeze-dried brine shrimps are free from parasites and disease, unlike live brine shrimp.
The brine shrimp have been processed into cubes that your Flowerhorn fish can easily eat to get the nutrients and protein they need for growth. Brine shrimp should not be fed as a staple diet to Flowerhorns, and should be fed as a supplement for their head growth and development.
- Rich in vitamins and minerals
- Freeze-dried for easy feedings
- Small and easy for cichlids to eat
- Supplement only
- Has a strong smell
- Needs to be broken down
4. Hai Feng Fast Color Floating Food
If you are looking for a color-enhancing food for your Flowerhorn, that also functions as a staple food high in protein for their head growth, then this is a recommended food to check out.
It has been specially formulated for cichlids, such as Flowerhorn fish, and it contains a variety of micronutrients and color-enhancing krill, with a blend of multivitamins to help your fish’s digestive system. The highly digestible protein-rich formula makes an excellent staple food for growing and developing flowerhorns.
- Contains a variety of micronutrients
- Formulated for cichlids
- Color-enhancing
- Supplement only
5. Tetra Bloodworms
These high-protein and nutritious freeze-dried worms can be fed to condition your Flowerhorn and help them grow. The freeze-dried process helps eliminate harmful organisms from the worms, which makes them a safer option than live bloodworms for your Flowerhorn.
The bloodworms should be fed in addition to your Flowerhorn’s staple diet to help increase their protein intake and to encourage proper head growth and development.
- Increases protein intake
- Freeze-dried for easy storage
- Safer option than live worms
- Supplement only
- Not appealing to all fish
What Do Flowerhorns Eat?
While Flowerhorns are omnivores, they enjoy a carnivore diet that consists of brine shrimp, blood worms, and daphnia. These large fish are known for the hump on their head, which varies in size depending on certain factors.
Since diet plays a role in your Flowerhorn’s head growth, it is important to feed them a high-quality staple diet along with protein supplements like bloodworms or shrimp. Their staple diet should be high in protein and have the added benefit of color-enhancing ingredients like krill or spirulina.
Many Flowerhorn fish keepers also recommend feeding Flowerhorns a mixture of blanched veggies like lettuce, zucchini, or deshelled peas. A good Flowerhorn diet will consist of veggies, protein-rich supplements, and a high-quality staple diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates.
Final Thoughts
With the right diet from a young age, Flowerhorns will have all the necessary nutrients for proper head growth. Although a good diet will not suddenly cause your Flowerhorn’s nuchal hump to grow large, it will help condition it to grow properly. A good diet can also help lower your Flowerhorn’s stress by providing their body with the proper nutrients they need to thrive, as high levels of stress can be a reason for Flowerhorns developing a small hump.
- See also: Best Filters For Flowerhorn Cichlids
Featured Image Credit: Huy-Thoai, Shutterstock
