Parrot....info please?

[MeganL3985]

So I am sooooooooooo in love with parrot cichlids (not sure what specific type they are so I put them in "other cichlids" catagory)....anyway. I was just wondering how big they get and what size tank you have to have for these guys? I doubt i'd be able to stick any in my 29 gallon, but for future reference, b/c I have a definite goal of getting a couple in the future. I need to do my research, just thought i'd ask these two questions that could probably get answered pretty quick around here. lol :) Thanks all !! :22:

[tropfish]

1 would be fine in a 29g. I love my bp he has so much personality. They are considered either central/south american cichlids because htye are not found in nature, they are hybrids. If you look o nthe internet you won't find a whole lot of info, and what you do find might vary from sight to sight. One thing you sohuld remember is you can;t have a lushous green planted tank because they prefer to be in 1/2-1 watt of flourescent light or they're colors get washed out. thats basically a stardard 29 g light (20 watts.)
Do NOT buy dyed blood parrots. they dont live long and its very wrong in my opinion to dye fish. They come in red yellows and oranges normally. I have a yellow one (hobbes, he's my avatar) You should buy a small one and let it grow, b/c the larger ones are very expensive. the smaller ones will have some black on them. thats just coloration that they will lose as they grow. If you get an older one with black its usually black spot disease. Thats just from bad water chemisty. Correct the water and the black clears up instantly. (its not really a disease, just a way blood parrots tell you that water conditions aren't to they're liking.

Blood parrots are one of my favorite fish and would be a great adition to the aquarium.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

[MeganL3985]

That would be cool to have one in the 29, but I always hate just putting one fish in a tank by itself. (With my betta being an exception cause thats natural for them to be alone) but I dont want to just put him in there and hope he has enough room or hope he doesn't get lonely, you know? I'd rather get a larger tank and have maybe 2 of them? And I totallllllllly will not ever buy a dyed fish....I believe it is wrong and wish they weren't sold anywhere. I have fallin in love with the natural rosey red color that I see when I go into petsmart. I always have to "visit" them when i'm there :)

[MeganL3985]

I'm so disappointed...I've been looking at several sites for parrots and I am appalled at how many people are against and want nothing to do with these beautiful fish! I understand being against the dying part, but to be against a fish b/c its a "man-made hybrid" is so sad :( They should be treated just like any other fish. Poor things :( This really makes me so upset.....

[cocoa_pleco]

my doctor has BP's. he has about a 25g corner high wall tank and a submersible large fluval, and amazingly it has 10 BP's and theyre all healthy. one alone in a 29g may not be totally happy, i would get a 40g and get 2

[MeganL3985]

10 in a 25gal???? Omg that is crazy.......

[cocoa_pleco]

thats what i thought, but throughout the 3 years hes had them none have died and theyre healthy, so hes doing something right

[MeganL3985]

That really is crazy though...10 in a 25 gallon.....how do they even fit? They can get up to 6".....I imagine his have stunted growth?

[cocoa_pleco]

amazingly some have gotten fullgrown!

[tropfish]

thats crazy! I'm su[riosed they got part 4in. Cocoa is right a pair would be fine in a 40. The one thing about parrots is they can be agressive or really peaceful, its an individual fish kinda thing. You could keep them in a 29 with a small scool of fish. Maybe like 4-5 swordtails and some cories or otos. But i think you'd be better off with 2 in a 40g. I would love to have more bps but i can't get a bigger tank right now.

they may get big 6-8" but they have such small mouths that they really can't eat any other fish.

[cocoa_pleco]

i dunno why but my second severum was with only BP's in the stores tank, and they all got along

[tropfish]

i've never seen them get aggresive either, but thats what popped up a couple times while i was researching. Also, petsmart says you can keep one in as lil as a 20g. Ive seen websites that say a lil as 10 and other that you need at least a 50. IMO, the minimum tank size for 1 bp is 25g (thats by itself.) You could keep one by itself because they make great "wetpets" like oscars. but are a more managible size.

[MeganL3985]

I found this pic of a parrot on a wikipedia article....I thought parrots couldn't close their mouths?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a5/Predator_marvin.jpg/300px-Predator_marvin.jpg

Heres the link for a close up--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Predator_marvin.jpg

[tropfish]

they can't, and its mouth isnt closed. Look real close and you can see the outline of the open motuh.

[*Sarah*]

They're SO CUTE. I can't wait to get one :D

[MeganL3985]

Okay I just majorly zoomed in on that sucker but yeah I see that outline now! :)

I wish they were a little smaller, I would love to get a pair for my 29 gal!! :(

[2manyfish]

Not all BP's are created equal. My own BP can close her mouth just fine. She can eat other fish too!! (BTDT) Some have a severly deformed mouth and others a very normal mouth. If you look at a batch of them at the LFS you can often pick out one or two within the batch with a normal mouth.

For a regular BP a 40g for 1 is minimum IMO. They can get fairly big, at least 6" and this size tank gives you room for other fish too. But that will depend on how aggressive your BP is. Each one is different...my own lives in a 55g with a red-tailed shark and a rhino pleco. When she was younger, she got along fine with other cichlids and black skirt tetras too but as she aged and grew, her temperment changed. Now, when she has eggs in the tank I will get bitten if my hand is in there too!! I must provide areas within the tank that the other fish can get into and she can't or she will harass them no end.

BTW, bright lighting will not wash out their colors. It is normal for them to change colors as their moods change. When they are ready to spawn their colors will be more intense. After the eggs are gone they will get rather washed out. If the fish is constantly washed out then other things are probably going on. (Water quality, stress, food)
They may however destroy plants. Again, when my BP was young she lived in a heavily planted tank. Then one day she woke up and decided they "had to go". Ripped them up, and apart......totally destroyed them. All in one day too.

I would not house them with cories or ottos as they can easily be grabbed by a large BP and then become stuck in the fishes mouth. I have read of more than one owner having to do surgery to remove an otto from a fishes mouth!

There are jellybean parrots too. These are simply a cross between a regular BP and a convict cichlid. They stay much smaller but again their temperment is something you just have to find out about! A pair of these little guys could live their whole life in a 20g.

I added some pics of Pinky my BP! The first pic is fairly recent and the second crappier pic is of her many years ago. She has lived with us for around 6.5 years now.....

[MeganL3985]

I heard Jelly Beans are dyed though?

[tropfish]

nope, jellybean cichlids are a bp convict cross as 2many fish said. Soem dyed ones may go under the name jellybean, but you can usually tell if they're dyed of not.

About the lighting thing, thats just something else i've gathered from research.

[MeganL3985]

I may have to look into these Jelly Beans. Maybe I can keep a pair of those in my 29 gal? I just love love love those cute little guys.
I just was under the impression that the "jelly beans" were the dyed BP's, good to hear they're not. I hate the fish dying...its just so wrong.

I wonder who would sell them around here....if anyone....

[MeganL3985]

Btw, can jellybeans or parrots have dwarf puffer tankmates? I'm really weighing my options of the two, but that would be cool if I could find some jelly beans and be able to add two puffers or something.

Sorry if thats an aweful suggestion, just popped into my head.

[2manyfish]

Any size BP can be dyed...horrible practice...and it ruins their true colors if they survive it....hate the tattooing thing too...looks stupid.

Jellybeans are just the cross between the regular BP and convicts. The best thing about this cross is you know the fish won't get big!! They would do really well in a 29g. They do tend to be dyed more than the regular BP's. Any jellybean you see that is purple, green, blue, bright yellow or bright, bright red is dyed....orange though is a fairly normal color for them, so is a light red color. You might even see one with a faint yellow to them. But most will be rather dull in color when young and then color up as they age.

I've never had a puffer, but I've read about them. One thing that's agreed on no matter the species is that they are nippy fish and other fish within the tank tend to be on the recieving end of their nips. They may be fine for awhile but like many fish, once they reach sexual maturity their temperments often change. Most of what I've read suggests keeping them in a species tank.

I love my BP. :41: She is my favorite fish of all....if I could only keep one fish it would be her! Just don't let her know that! :ezpi_wink1:

[cocoa_pleco]

puffers should be species only, they get hissy at times. lol

[MeganL3985]

Thanks for clarifying that you two! :)

Alright so its narrowed down....Its either going to be a dwarf gourami, puffer or jellybean tank! lol Now to narrow down those three to one!

Ps. I know its not recommended to put oto's in with BP's cause they could get stuck in the BP's mouth, but would I be able to put any in with Jelly Beans since they're smaller? I just love Oto's too and they keep my 5 gal clean....I'd like to have a few in my 29 gal if possible. If not though i'll live. haha

[2manyfish]

Why not try to find a bristlenose pleco? They only get to about 6" and they'll do a wonderful job keeping the tank clean too. Besides that, if the jellybeans turn out to be somewhat aggressive, the pleco will be able to deal with that a lot better than a little otto.

Now if you can't find a bristlenose or your heart is dead set on ottos then you could certainly try them. Just try to get the biggest ottos you can and put them in the tank first. Get small JB's and they shouldn't view the ottos as food even after they're all grown up. Of course, if you see the JB's going after the ottos you will have to remove them to another tank.

[Arkie]

i have bristlenose (brown, and albino), and i think they are sooo cute and they do a wonderful job at keeping my tanks clean. :19:

[MeganL3985]

So 2 Jellybeans and a bristlenose pleco would be good?

[tropfish]

sounds good.

2many fish is right about the dyed ones, exceopt they do have undyed bp's that come in yellow, but its a more earthy yellow not a flourescent neon one, very pretty. also they run pretty expensive, 8 for the little babies up to 2in and 25 for the 5in larger ones. So make sure you know as much as you can before buying them.

[digger]

hi megan my 2 parrots are in my 40 gal with albino , bronze and pepper corys a bristlenose catfish and two large feeder goldfish i know over crowded but our pond in the yard never happened this year mine have had a variety of diffrent tank mates over the last couple of years including foot long columbian five fin sharks , pirannah tetras , comets plecos , bristlenoses , assorted tetras . they really dont seem to mind tank mates as long as the tank mates are relatively docile . the parrots seem to be the type of fish who get along with almost any type of fish.

[Jasonizal]

My Brother has a Parrot Cichlid. And he put it in a 55 gal community Tank, Amazingly it gets along well with the others.:laugh1blue: