When your Flowerhorn’s head, also known as the Kok, starts to deflate or shrink in front of your care, it’s one of the most challenging phases for every Flowerhorn keeper. Since you bought this Flowerhorn for its attractive colors and Kok to provide you with a peaceful and engaging hobby, this sort of head shrinkage behavior is quite common, and most Flowerhorn cichlid keepers often deal with such situations.
So, in this blog post, considering it’s one of the most frequently asked questions and as a fellow Flowerhorn keeper, I will help you understand how you can recover your deflating Flowerhorn Kok, how you can identify it, and what the symptoms and causes of this behavior are.
Let’s get started.
Recover Flowerhorn Head/Kok
Recovering your Flowerhorn from its current deflating kok state is of utmost priority here, and you should keep in mind that anything that could cause health-related problems for your Flowerhorn, or add more stress, or potentially create other diseases should be avoided.
The possible reasons are addressed below along with their treatment procedures:
- Bloated stomach or digestive problems.
- Lack of ideal temperature.
- Poor water quality.
- Low oxygen supply.
- Egg-laying day.
- Internal infections.
Message: We have a separate questions and answers section dedicated to Flowerhorns. It addresses most beginners’ questions, starting from how much pellet to feed to Flowerhorn breeding tips and tricks.
Bloated stomach or digestive problems:
When you feed your Flowerhorn with an improper amount of pellets, or parasitic food, or any other contaminated food, it can lead to digestive problems in the Flowerhorn cichlid. Your Flowerhorn will have difficulty processing excretory wastes or digesting food in the stomach, thereby experiencing excessive stress.
As a result of this stress, its head may start to shrink. By treating the bulged stomach of the Flowerhorn, you can recover its Kok back to its original or previous condition.
Lack of ideal temperature:
If your Flowerhorn is suffering from this sort of situation, consider yourself lucky because it can be solved very quickly as it is an easy way to treat it. I’ve seen a lot of help or suggestions being asked on Reddit or other forum platforms regarding this situation.
The trick is to maintain the proper temperature consistently. Introduce a suitable heater for Flowerhorns, and it will take care of the rest.
Poor water quality:
Flowerhorns are hardy fishes; they eat a lot and produce a lot of waste, which means they will excrete a significant amount of waste in the aquarium tank. If you have a small gallon tank for your Flowerhorn, it is very difficult to maintain proper water quality.
Therefore, moving to a larger tank is the better option. Additionally, add good filtration systems with biofilters that can maintain low nitrate levels and also help to grow beneficial bacteria.
Low oxygen supply:
Sometimes, when the water’s dissolved oxygen level is low, the Flowerhorn will have difficulty in breathing, thereby developing stress and leading to sudden head deflation. Many hobbyists have recommended having an air pump for Flowerhorns.
So, if you find yourself in this situation, simply replace 40% of the existing water with aged and conditioned water and introduce the air pump. I hope you’ll notice an improvement.
Egg-laying day:
Flowerhorns are egg layers. So, female Flowerhorns have time to lay their eggs in the tank, irrespective of whether any male fertilization occurs or not. When the female Flowerhorn experiences this sort of situation, she may feel excessive stress and discomfort, thereby leading to head shrinkage.
However, in this case, you don’t need to do anything; just wait, and she will recover on her own once the process is complete
You may also like: My Flowerhorn is male or Female?
Internal infections:
Internal infections such as parasitic infections or hernias, pop eyes, or swim bladder disorders. The starting symptom of these infections is stress and a deflating head of the Flowerhorn. So, once you notice this behavior, prepare yourself for treatment.
Follow the above-mentioned steps, and if nothing works out, then consider addressing this possibility too. Internal infections are common in Flowerhorns, and these diseases can be easily cured by deworming your Flowerhorn and proper care
What Are the Symptoms of Head Deflation in Flowerhorns?
Since the first and foremost symptom of most diseases is the deflation of the Flowerhorn’s head, identification of this situation matters a lot. Here, I have mentioned methods to identify the shrinkage of a Flowerhorn’s head.
- Watch for reduced briskness/activity of your Flowerhorn.
- Reduced appetite of Flowerhorn.
- Standing or staying in the same place (bottom of the tank/top of the tank).
- Sudden color change (darkened skin).
Reasons for Flowerhorn Head Shrinkage
Based on my 12 years of Flowerhorn keeping journey, I have mentioned the most possible reasons for this Flowerhorn head shrinkage. They are:
- Improper water quality.
- Chilled water.
- Low oxygen supply.
- Unsuitable Flowerhorn food.
- Small Flowerhorn tank (low-volume gallon).
- Parasite infection.
- Symptoms of other diseases.
To Sum up:
I believe this guide is useful for you to recover your deflating Flowerhorn Kok. I understand the value of this guide, as I have been in this situation several times when I was a beginner. I have addressed the reasons, methods to cure, and how to identify Flowerhorn head shrinkage so that beginners can easily follow up and take action to cure their Flowerhorns.
If you feel unable to perform the treatments, please consult with your veterinarian to save your Flowerhorn.
If you have any questions or doubts, feel free to comment below. See you all in another amazing post. Thank you for staying until the end. Goodbye!