My Parrots Breeding?

[FreakyFishie]

Okay, so I have two blood parrots, one about 4" long, the other 2.5-3ish". Lately, they have been digging a crater in the aquarium gravel and then trenching out in it. I've always felt that my bigger parrot has been a girl and the smaller a boy, we shall see if I'm right, but I am definitely sure that I have a heterosexual pairing though. Their first "nest" (if they are trying to breed) was 4" deep x 8" wide. I had heard blood parrots were sterile, so I leveled out the gravel so they wouldn't spawn. Oh did they attack me while I was doing this...not that they could do any damage due to their mouth shape though. Anyhoo, now they are trying to nest and spawn again. Can they actually produce viable spawn? Or should I be prepared to just syphon the unfertilized eggs out?

[Algenco]

not likely, just let the other inhabitants take care of the eggs, if the parrots start to cause problems you could siphon the eggs out

[Lady Hobbs]

My male and female are the same size, same fins, etc. My bottom feeders can't get near the eggs because the parrots get so aggressive in their defense of them. They generally spawn on an upright log that I take out of the tank, scrub the eggs off and return the wood to the tank.

Eggs are infertile.

[Algenco]

My male and female are the same size, same fins, etc. My bottom feeders can't get near the eggs because the parrots get so aggressive in their defense of them. They generally spawn on an upright log that I take out of the tank, scrub the eggs off and return the wood to the tank.

Eggs are infertile.

there you gothumbs2:
brush them off in another tank and give the fish a treat

[FreakyFishie]

there you gothumbs2:
brush them off in another tank and give the fish a treat


well I keep leveling out the "nest" but they keep insisting on rebuilding it, am I going to be stuck with a giant crater in my tank forever or will they finally figure it out?

[Lady Hobbs]

I keep a very thin layer of gravel in my tank. You can actually see the glass in area's I keep it so thin. That way they can play all they want without messing anything up.

[Jellygirl]

. I had heard blood parrots were sterile, so I leveled out the gravel so they wouldn't spawn. ?

:ssuprised: Gosh this is a surprise to me. Can anyone explain or should i ask under the newbie section?

[FreakyFishie]

:ssuprised: Gosh this is a surprise to me. Can anyone explain or should i ask under the newbie section?

They are a hybrid fish, AKA don't exist in nature (they can't decide on what two fish make them either, they are mostly produced in Asia). Think of a mule (hybrid of a horse and donkey and the males are sterile). However, I've also heard rumors, from this site (http://www.geocities.com/parrotcichlid/breeding.html) mostly that males have in the past years been injected with hormones that actually DO make them fertile and able to produce off-spring. Either way, it doesn't state when these apparent injections seem to have taken place, so IF it is true, I have no idea of if my parrots eggs will be viable...

[FreakyFishie]

I keep a very thin layer of gravel in my tank. You can actually see the glass in area's I keep it so thin. That way they can play all they want without messing anything up.

My tank is semi planted atm...so I don't really think this would be an option for me, but thanks for sharing.

[Jellygirl]

Thank you for enlightening me - i had no idea they were a hybrid.
I have this strange feeling that I am going to feel like a newbie for an awful long time. lol

[FreakyFishie]

xD, no problem

[Lady Hobbs]

I've also heard rumors, from this site (http://www.geocities.com/parrotcichlid/breeding.html) mostly that males have in the past years been injected with hormones that actually DO make them fertile and able to produce off-spring.

I don't believe it either. Why would a thriving import business try to make it possible to home breed parrots? They'd be cutting their own throats, wouldn't they?

The females can have viable young with other male species. The Jellybean parrots are actually a female parrot and a male convict. I'm sure they cross breed with severums and a few others, too.

[Dixie]

I've read somewhere online that occasionally there's a male that can reproduce but that it's pretty rare.

[FreakyFishie]

So just an update of my situation. My Parrots went and gutted out over half the bottom of my tank, but they didn't spawn. So I decided to change the whole tank around on them because I thought maybe it was a territory thing and not a spawning. Well, that worked for about a day, now they have begun making another crater, only this one is hidden behind the piece of driftwood. They LOOK like they want to spawn.

[Dixie]

LOL they are trying to hide their digging from you. I'd leave them be and see what happens.

[s72450]

You know that's actually very sad. I feel bad for them "setting up the nursery" when they can't actually have offspring. Poor little guys.