Dyed parrot fish

[fishy_sarah]

I read the above thread on died fish, and wanted to tell you what happened to me earlier this week.

I called up a small pet store in my area to see if they would take some of my grown platy fry. I had asked at another small store but they were only willing to take them not give me credit. Well, this guy said he would be happy to take them and give store credit. So I'm thinking, great, but I decided to go check out the place and see what it was like before giving my fish to him. I'm glad I did.

He had a tank of parrot cichlids. They were colored like Easter eggs, pastel blues, pinks, and yellows. Actually, they were awesome looking. Who wouldn't want a tank of fish like that? But something didn't seem right to me, even though I don't know anything about parrot fish. So I went home and looked them up on the net.

Well, needless to say, parrot cichlids aren't those colors, they were dyed. I couldn't believe it. I have never seen dyed fish for sale before. I don't know too much about the dying process, but I know it involves needles and is very cruel and shortens the fish's life span.

Needless to say, this man is not getting my fish or my business. I actually want to call him up and tell him why I decided not to let him have my fry, but I think that might be out of line. I'll try to see if I can find another pet store, or maybe just give the fish to the other one, which at least seems to care about their animals and takes good care of them.

[Abbeys_Mom]

Good for you. If everyone stopped buying them, they would stop carrying them. Unfortunatly, not everyone (I am talking about a lot of people) don't research fish before they buy them. Most people haven't heard of cycling there tank either. They get a tank, fill it, then run to the store and buy the fish fish that catches their eye. Most of us "live and learn" that it doesn't work. Others give up. Oops, sorry. Started ranting there :)

[Lady Hobbs]

Unfortunately the market stays open for them because they sell and people need to carry what makes them money. These are imported fish and the import of them should be stopped.

I personally have no problem with Blood Parrots anymore than I do with cock-a-poos, peck-a-poos or other off breed species to produce something else but the dying of any fish is horrible and wrong. The dyed parrots are called JellyBeans.

There is some very wrong information on the net about these fish by people who mean well but don't know what they're talking about. One site actually claims their lips are cut off as juvies! Obviously, this is false. They are a cross-breed between two cichlids.....generally a severum and a red devil or a midas and a red devil. Their desposition stems from their parents but you never know what species these come from. Some are calm and some very aggressive.

Now they are able to breed the "Love Hearts" which are actually tailless but again, this is reported to be fish that had their tails cut off. Again wrong information. I've read that Discus are being produced as a tail-less variety now, as well.

I see no reason to have a fish with no tail. I think sometimes this stuff goes too far and I certainly see no reason to transform this beautiful discus for any reason.

[Lady Hobbs]

Good for you. If everyone stopped buying them, they would stop carrying them. Unfortunatly, not everyone (I am talking about a lot of people) don't research fish before they buy them. Most people haven't heard of cycling there tank either. They get a tank, fill it, then run to the store and buy the fish fish that catches their eye. Most of us "live and learn" that it doesn't work. Others give up. Oops, sorry. Started ranting there :)

What gets me is the ones that don't learn! LOL Like you mentioned above, I was one that filled my tank up and broke my neck getting to the store to fill it up. However, it didn't take me more than a day to start searching out the net and read about fish....and read, and read some more. I found out immediately that test kits were vital, that water changes had to be done to keep them alive and to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. What gets me is the same ones that continue making the same mistakes and keep adding fish to this same toxic water.

And there is my rant for today.

[fishy_sarah]

What gets me even more than that are the pet store employees who hand out the fish without asking any questions, who sell oscars to people with 10 gallon tanks, etc, and just sell fish like they were toys. Even worse are those who give the wrong information,and I have run into many!

[Lady Hobbs]

You got that right. One of my first purchases were 3 bala sharks and I had a 10 gallon tank. LOLOLOL That's why I say we have to read and read and read. :)

I want to commend you on the stocking of all your tanks, BTW, and your variety of fish. You did good!

[fishy_sarah]

Oh Ladyhobbs, don't commend me, one of my female platys just died :-(

I just found her. I am really upset. I have a horrible problem with platys dying right after giving birth. It's been four days so I thought she was out of the woods.

I am in the middle of testing my water to see if that was a problem. The temperature in the tank dropped by six degrees last night, maybe that is what did it. It is so hard to regulate temperature when its hot in the day and cold at night. :-( Seems the temperature drops alot this time of year, and I always seem to lose a fish when it happens.

I try to be so good at taking care of them.....

[Lady Hobbs]

Not unusal to loose babies. But the temps falling like that may have something to do with it. Can't you set the temp to 78 and just leave it there or is the temp getting too hot during the day you think?

My apartment is an oven in the summer. I finally smarted up and hung up a blanket over my window last summer during a 2 week HOT spell. It got terrible and I was adding ice to my tanks and of course, they got the fan. LOL The sun hits my windows all day long and blocking it out helped a lot.

[fishy_sarah]

It was an adult fish that I lost, the one who gave birth four days ago, and I think I lost another adult platy because I can't find her and the body may have been scavenged. The temperature was at a constant 80 degrees but it got cold last night in outside and therefore, inside, and the tank temperature dropped to 74. That is the only explanation I have because the water stats are fine, at least the nitrite and ammonia is, I don't have a nitrate test kit. I will get one asap. These are the first fish I've lost in months, and I am trying to figure out how to prevent losing anymore. I should have turned the heater up last night when it got cold out. I had the heater all the way down because it was so hot in my apartment over the past few days, my betta tank was at 83 without a heater at all. It' s the crazy temperature swings in my apartment, this has been a problem ever since I got my fish a year ago, I just cannot maintain a steady temperature in my tanks. I am not home all the time to keep changing the settings on the heater.

[Lady Hobbs]

Not long ago I lost two platies for unknown reasons myself. Other two are just fine and so was my water conditions. Sometimes fish just die. As long as you have a heater in their tank, it shouldn't matter if your temps are down some in your home. The problem is when it gets too hot inside but you temps were all within reason.

I just wonder if she was killed trying to protect her babies from the other fish? Mainly the barbs. They can be troublesome.

[wijnands]

I was about 12 years old when I decided I wanted an aquarium. My parents ok'ed it as long as I did my research. So I hit the library. Three weeks later I was able to explain to my dad what fish I wanted and what the ideal conditions for the tank would be.

Dyed fish I've never seen on sale in this country.

[Chrona]

The platy most likely died from the exhaustion of giving birth. If they are not fed lots and lots of protein rich food beforehand, they don't have enough to feed the babies with and break down their muscles/etc to do so.

[fishy_sarah]

What do you recommend I start feeding my platys so this doesn't happen again?

[Chrona]

What do you recommend I start feeding my platys so this doesn't happen again?

New Life Spectrum community mix (1.0mm pellets) is all you'll need. Just feed them well during pregnancy (don't overfeed so that pellets actually hit the ground)

[kimmers318]

A thought on your tank temp issue.....maybe bring your heater temp setting down a few degrees so that when it drops at night it isn't such a big change to the fish. In the summer months when it is hotter during the day and you have your tank overheating, keep your heater set a little higher to offset the drop at night. Another thing to check is if your tank lights are giving off too much heat and bringing the temp up.
A change in temp shouldn't really affect the fish unless it is swinging all the time or the fish is not in the best of health (as suggested by over breeding). Many times I have forgotten to plug my heater in and the tanks temps dropped below 70.
Twice now, somehow, my heater in my dwarf puffer tank has gotten cranked up to 90, and thus had to be dropped down! I suspect a kitten is trying to figure out how to get up there and is bumping the knob so I am going to duct tape it when I am assured I have it where I want it! Darn cats!!!!
They also like to run as fast as they can down the hallway, into the kitchen and just before they hit the sliding glass doors try to do a quick stop and 90 degree turn so that they go into this silly ass slide!:hmm3grin2orange: . I am not sure who likes the new pergo flooring better....me or the darn kittens!