Techniques of Care for Kamfa/ Jinhua

A lot of you guys must be wondering why Kamfa / Jinhua costs a lot. Please bear in mind that they are a flower horn variant that requires a lot more time and money to care for them. Why? Well, for starters, when we talk about quality Kamfa / Jinhua (with head/kok, and nice coloration), these are the top 3 % of fish in a spawn. And sad, to say, but the rest will have to be disposed off / culled. In addition, it requires a lot of space to own one – like 1 kamfa to a tank. Since there are a lot of people who are interested in keeping them, it is best that I post this.

1. Background of the tank. It is a need to invest in a colorful background for the fish (designs of coral / water plants).
2. Gravel – the fish needs to have colorful gravel and crushed coral as well.
3. Depth of the tank – it requires a minimum of 15 inches in depth.
4. Heating – the water temperature should be around 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Ideal pH will be around 7.5 for Kamfa / Jinhua.
6. Tank – it is recommended that the fish has it own tank of at least a 50 gallon tank.
7. Lighting is also of importance – make sure that the tank is properly illuminated for at least 8 – 12 hours a day.
8. Kamfa / Jinhua also requires a tank mate – a blood parrot / an unwanted flower horn. Be sure that they are smaller than the Kamfa / Jinhua.
9. Water change – the frequency depends wholly on the filtration system of the tank, but do only around 20 percent of water change each time. I personally conduct a water change to my Kamfas’ tanks once every 2 weeks.
10. Feeding should be done around 3 times a day, and should be fed with a variety of food – bloodworms, feeders, and pellets (which also includes color enhancer as well).
11. Place the tank of the Kamfa / Jinhua in a low traffic area at home, especially for small to medium size Kamfa / Jinhua. For larger ones, they should have no problem in adapting quickly. Always put your Kamfa / Jinhua in a tank where the tank is around 4 feet above ground.

Hope this helps, and for those that would like to add more information with regards to caring for Kamfa / Jinhua, please feel free to add.

Well said. I've to agree with you......master.

I feel that we should share this information with all in the forum, as I am aware at times, its a bit frustrating when a lot of investment has been put in to getting a Kamfa and not knowing how to care for them. Good luck to all !

Thanks bro...we could all keep this information in mind.

Jon

im working with my first right now.. great advice!

Thanks for the info. Just wondering why the tank needs to be 4 ft above floor level?

its recommended to have the tank 4' above ground to reduce shadows and traffic fish will encounter stressing them out... its also easier to clean the tank and get a syphon going on with gravel vacs and what not... also its more fun to look at your fish without having to squat down

thanks for spreading the knowledge

The pleasure is mine. Besides, this will help those newbies who have just started on keeping Kamfas.

Jason, regarding the kamfa being on its own tank. does this mean you cannot have any dividers with other fish even if the tank is bigger than the 50 gallon you reccomend?

Preferably not. Sightings of another FH will affect the other FH's performance or worst, both end up disturbed & u get 2 FHs in bad shape

A divider works great for me. But I am a bit cruel and unfair to the cheap flowerhorn. I use a divider in my 90g tank.

I put my high quality flowerhorn in the bigger side (80% tank space), and a much smaller (cheap) flowerhorn in the remaining 20% space. This way, my high quality FH will B the dominant one, resulting in better color and KOK.

Thats one of the way to expediate the kok-ing process, its commonly used in Malaysia & Singapore

That might be a good IDea, But think about the fish man, WOuld you like to cramed in a 7 feet room??? LOL j/k

why is it needed that they live in a low traffic area? I want my show tank in a high traffic area. Should i get something else then?

My flowerhorns are doing well in the super high traffic area. One of my tank is in the dinning room (joined together with the kitchen and family room.) This is the place where family members and friends gather the most. For the first few weeks, my FH acted nervous when people approached the tank. But now they would come out near the glass wiggling their tails, when someone approaches the tank, in hopes to get some food.

Yup, that's how it is. Most FH needs time to adapt into the new environment, once they stabilise, they hv a enormous appetite

It is just advisable to locate the particular tank in low traffic area rather than a busy place to risk that particular Kam Fa / Mermaid / Kamalau from experiencing addtional stress. But if it has stabilized, then the location should be ok.

You are right,Jason...Thanks for the advise..

Jeffery

Point well taken Jason!! Greatly appreciated!!

thank you very much for that guys enything that i can do to make my srs happy i greatly appreciate it, her tube is out and she is alittle stessed need to get her a man from notorious.

great info!

Do we really need the divider ? Cause i got bout 27 fh i put them all together in a 80 gallon tank.

kind of overstocked, and I doubt if you have have 27 they are very high grade

good information for a beginners like me, more power guys.


asmdriskell

is the background important?

Yes, background is very important.

They will become light, dark or bright like the background you put in. They are almost like a chameleon.

Well thought ..

i am newbie in fh. i have been reading this for how many times already. good information.

good infos... be sure to keep that in mind when i get a kamfa

well actually chameleons change according to mood not to match background(this is a common myth/misconception) But I do notice mi kamfa on dark gravel are dark and the ones in pearl gravel are more color but less pattern...PS all my kamfas from same spawn... and I totally agree with the height of the tank... I put all my large FH in high spot and when i come in they are like dogs that greet me...LOL thats what makes me love them so much...

thanks for all the good info... i learned alot in reading this form!

cheers koudys

This information is correct but its not limited too kamfas...all flowerhorn of good quality deserves this treatment! exept the ph that depends on yur FH's origins ( match the ph too the ph of where yur fish came from).

this is not true. fh were bred from trimacs from central america. Many if not all fh can live in ph ranges from 6.9-7.5. another other ph they can tolerate, but it may change their behavior. Low 7s is a great ph for any fh.

thass my point...not all fh like 7.5 ph...all the information was tru for all FH exept the part about the ph havin too be at 7.5...maybe kamfas do like 7.5 all i said was other types of FH may like ph lower than that ( 6.9-7.5)

thanks alot

may i ask why is a colorful background and gravel needed? if anything that would make the fish more insecure would it not?

y do u need a tank mate? would another fh do? a smaller female zz.

i have a 2 inches male kamfa. i am thinking of getting a female zz for tankmate. will i have problems with it?

great

haiz i will ned very long to get a kk as i have no more space left to get a 50gallon as i got 2 aro 1 highback rtg 1 super red n some fh lol dam ittttttt

Hey Jason,

I'm also a flowerhorn newbie, is there anyway a flowerhorn and 2 oscars can live in a 50 gallon tank together?

I have Oscars with my flowerhorns. It really depends on each fish to see if they will get along. As long as your oscar is bigger than the FH, you should be fine. Again, each fish will have their own personality and aggression, so you just have to try and see if they can live together without any issues.