Blood Parrots fighting or kissing?

[Joeyb1731]

My 2 blood parrots are rubbing all over eachother and what looks like kissing they like lock mouths back and fourth and hold on while swimming they do it alot they don't look like they are hurting eachother does anyone know what they r doing

 

[jo3olous]

i know tiger barbs do that to establish a leader in their shoals. It sounds like your 2 parrots are fighting

 

[Whiskers]

yeah i agree with jo3olous i would believe they are estabilishing who is the boss. i've watched my fish do the same.

 

[AdoreFish]

I've got two BPC's and they do this. From my observation they are not fighting because usually there will be eggs in the tank after their little kissie, liplock dance. The first time I saw them do this, I didn't know what to think. They actually lock lips and rock like a see-saw. Watch for eggs, maybe yours are doing this! The eggs don't hatch, they turn white. I usually vaccuum them up or let them eat the eggs. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[unwritten law]

If your eggs aren't turning white then either the eggs aren't being fertilized of the male is just infertile. Unless it is a "mating thing" they are most likely fighting.

 

[Whiskers]

i'm under the impression that if the eggs stay white and don't turn grey that they arent fertilized. am i incorrect.

 

[unwritten law]

yes you are

 

[AdoreFish]

I was told that the Blood parrot cichlids are infertile. I don't know if this as a fact though. My BPC's eggs start out clear and turn white quickly. I have a video I'm looking for with my BP's doing what Joey described above. I don't know if it is on disk or the hard drive, lol. Can I put a video on here to help?

 

[TMony]

Blood parrots are hybrids, so most if not all are infertile. Males lack a necessary chromosome which leaves them sterile. Females have about a 50/50 chance of being able to reproduce. So, they could technically be bred with other cichlids.
Two males will engage in lip locking as a sign of dominance and the males and females will also exhibit the same behavior when attempting to mate.