Blood Parrot Cichlid

usacutie81

usacutie81

Large Fish
#1
Sep 6, 2006
739
0
16
St Louis
#1
As you may know, I am about to come into possession of one of these. I was going to put it in my 75 gal. with the gouramis and guppys cuz it supposedly gets along great with small fish, but now I'm not so sure. Someone I know said that there's a huge difference between the PH in a cichlid tank and the freshwater tank I already have and that the Blood Parrot may not survive in that tank.

So I ask you, the cichlid lovers, to help me out. Does it matter?
 

Smalltank3

Smalltank3

Large Fish
#2
Dec 23, 2005
961
4
0
Wisconsin
#2
My brother kept a Parrot in a community and it was fine. Although it did not get along with smaller fish. It ate 3 emerald cories and 3 serpae tetras. I noticed the serpae bodies at the top with the heads ripped off and a cory dead in its mouth. I would be very careful about it because it does depend on its personality.
 

usacutie81

usacutie81

Large Fish
#6
Sep 6, 2006
739
0
16
St Louis
#6
And here's the other two. Sorry the pics are so bad, the water is still cloudy and they're fast and my camera sucks as always.

Can anyone ID what kind of cichlid they are?



And this one is gray with black stripes, can't really tell very well from the pick.

 

angelmom

angelmom

Large Fish
#8
Dec 19, 2005
528
3
18
52
Vernon, CT
#8
I had gotten my 65 from somone that had BPs in it. I didn't keep them not a huge fan but that's me anyway she said they like strawberry pots to hide out in. The ones she had in her other tank that she was keeping were loving it so it might be a thought you could incorporate into your design.
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#13
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#13
They are not bred that way, the tail is clipped off when the fish is very young.

I personally like the BPs and find them very comical, but tisk tisk on the tail clipage and dying that they sometimes endure. Petsmart seems to be one of the only sources for non dyed BPs. They shouldn't be that orange until they are almost full grown.
 

Katie217

Katie217

Superstar Fish
#15
Jul 15, 2006
2,494
5
0
Florida
#15
first one is the blood parrot, with no tail :( then i think its a cobalt zebra or some sort of one, then the last one looks like a convict but its hard to tell because the pic isnt all that clear, but those cichlids shouldnt mix...the cobalt is african, the convict is CA, andim not sure what u would classify the hybrid parrot as...
 

usacutie81

usacutie81

Large Fish
#16
Sep 6, 2006
739
0
16
St Louis
#16
Pure said:
They are not bred that way, the tail is clipped off when the fish is very young.
Click to expand...
Aww that's so sad! My poor little guy.

Apparently the little girl who's fish he was named him "Pimp Juice" and was really worried that I was gonna take her "Pimp Juice" back to the store where it would die. The dad had to assure her that he was going to "live with his family" and I was going to ship him to them when they get to their new house (I think they're just gonna get another one when they get there). I think we're definitly gonna keep him, he's so funny looking he makes me laugh, which will make up for not getting kissing gouramis.
 

MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#18
Aug 10, 2006
2,237
5
0
Michigan
#18
It's not like she bought the poor fish, she's just giving it a home. Yes, it's horrific that people would cut a fishs tail off, but at least we know it will have a good home and a decent life with usacutie. I'm not sure how I feel about the hybrids...I'm personally not a big fan of the fish, most of the ones I see in stores around here look sick with varying diseases. USA - a lot of people really like these fish as they are said to have a lot of personality and can even be trained to eat out of your hand. Good luck with him and keep us updated on his progress. And more pictures!!!
 

usacutie81

usacutie81

Large Fish
#19
Sep 6, 2006
739
0
16
St Louis
#19
JWright said:
Yeah... mutilated fish make me laugh too...

Oh wait... no they don't....
Click to expand...
That's not what I meant and I would hope you guys would understand that. I just meant his body shape is so unusual and his little parrot beak is so cute, like he's puckering up to kiss someone. Unusual fish always make me laugh. Kissing gouramis make me laugh.

And by the way, I've been studying his "tail" or lack thereof, and I don't think it was cut off. His body is shaped like there was never a tail there in the first place. And I've tried to find something online that says they've been cut off and I can't find anything. Just a couple sites that say the hybridization has produced fish without a tail.

What do you want me to do, kill the fish because it's not a "real" fish? I certainly didn't cut off his tail, if that's what was even done, and I'm not the one that crossed the breeds in the first place. I didn't go out and BUY this fish, it came with the tank and I plan to give it a good home because I just do that. I like him, he amuses me and I don't know what else you can expect of me.

Sorry for my rant, I am just slightly miffed. I am a good pet owner, and there aren't many of us in the world.

btw, thanks MissFishy for sticking up for me.
 

J

JWright

Superstar Fish
#20
Oct 22, 2002
2,192
7
0
40
Snowy Upstate New York
www.cnytheater.com
#20
The tail is "grown" that way by severing the caudal peduncle at a very early age. For some fish, this means death, for others it merely means a lifetime of deformity.

I have no problem with you giving this fish a good home, lord knows it deserves it. I simply have trouble with the statement that "he's so funny looking he makes me laugh".

The reason your fish is funny looking is because someone cross-bred some fish in order to produce offspring with a badly deformed spine, and an almost useless mouth. Then, if that weren't enough, the fish's caudal peduncle was cut in half to produce a badly deformed caudal fin. For this one fish that made it, several others died during the mutilation process, or were never viable in the first place.

Is the fish funny looking? Sure.
Is that funny? Not on your life...
 

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