im wondering how you guys with alot of experience choose your fry if you were to hand pick from a batch? do you strictly look at the colors,pearls, and body structure of the fish, or does size play a big part? basically, i want to know if the fish from a batch of fry that rapidly outgrow the others are the ones that are going to come out to be the best? i just went to a guys house i bought some thai kamalau fry from a few weeks ago, and noticed that a few of the fish that were still only about an inch had a huge kok already. but some of the fry from the same batch are already at least 3-4 inches. can these little fry turn out as good or better? are they going to have a smaller max size at maturity? im new to fish with this type of metabolism

I am no exp but I just grow out 5 ZzMalau's and the smallest of this when I got them turned out to be the best by far,after I divided them to thier own space.

I'm no expert either, but these are what I've learned:

1. Most of the time (take note), the MALE FHs grow faster than FEMALE ones.

2. Size is no measure of quality. If some smaller fry have better pearling, flowerline, coloration and KOK growth, I'd say pick them over the bigger ones. The earlier you see potentials, the better. Because in the end, they will still grow as big as the ones which once outgrew them, but they were already handpicked because of their characteristics.

3. If you want to buy a fry from a batch, and you see a big one with loads of potential, I see no reason not to get it. That's a win-win for me. =D

I hope that helps. That's what I frequently do.

You might win or lose on the chances you take with choosing fry sometimes, but that makes FlowerHorning much more exciting. You're never sure of what you'll get.

-Daniel =D

I do not have the best flowerhorns around because I normally choose a flowerhorn using my instinct and by seeing his/her personality.

I do keep in mind that the flowerhorn should have good colors, at least 30% pearls on the body and wrapped fins but at times I prefer dull looking flowerhorns that are lively rather than lazy.shy.scared flowerhorns that look really good...

Some things to keep in mind, flowerhorns with a red base coloring look very pleasing and flowerhorns with a solid flowerline look better than a flowerhorn with half a flowerline.. Some people also like flowerhorns with free marking while others like flowerhorns with no flowerlines, it really boils down on what you like...

lol for me i prefer fh with big kok n massive flowerline n pearl all over the body n head n double row. ok i am not an expert but i can teach u how to chose 1 expert taught me be4 chose fh that has the most pearl n flowerline n double row

Yeah, right, I agree. it depends on your choice and preferences. It might be cliche, but "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I'm sure anyone would agree. =D

In the end, it doesn't matter if you have the best, what matters is you're enjoying what you have. =D

(By the way, love your signature, Miss FHCRAZY. =D)

the "BEST" is not necessarily what im looking for. my main ? was if a one inch fry that has some siblings already pushing 4 inches or more will eventually end up the same size at maturity. or if it was going to end up a smaller fish overall

oh yep this occur all the time but don worry its normal its gonna grow bigger some don some yes

I agree. Most of the time, only growth of rate varies, not the maximum attainable size.