blood parrot size

[chadly831]

i have 2 blood parrots. 1 regular parrot and one painted. my ? will the painted parrot grow as large as a regular parrot,or because it was dyed it will effect its growth.

[leeser28]

I don't know if that's even known for sure, but I suspect it could be stunted. Did you know that the dye will fade and his/her immune system has probably been compromised for life? Are they in the 29 you list, I don't think that will be big enough for the fish you list -- what type of catfish do you have?

Forgot to ask, how big are your BPs now?

[chadly831]

i need to change my tank info. the oscars died. so i put the bp in the 75. the color has already faded. why would the dye effect the immune system? 1 parrot is about 6 inches and the other is about 4 inches.i am not sure what the catfish is he is about 7-8 inches. i also have a spotted cat in the 75, only 3 inches. thanks

[jpappy789]

Generally dyed fish are weaker overall compared to regular fish, however I don't think it will affect overall growth if it's kept in good conditions.

[leeser28]

i need to change my tank info. the oscars died. so i put the bp in the 75. the color has already faded. why would the dye effect the immune system? 1 parrot is about 6 inches and the other is about 4 inches.i am not sure what the catfish is he is about 7-8 inches. i also have a spotted cat in the 75, only 3 inches. thanks

Here are some articles about the process of dying fish. There's no doubt that they are slanted in the direction of being very against the process and consider it animal cruelty. But even biased, the authors have done their research.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/campaign_details.php

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=72

[dent20]

I'm not in favor of using dye on fish, but some of the arguments made in those links are so overly righteous and absurd it turns me off on listening to them.

[Coler]

Hmmmmm...ok...but basically its cruel in the first instance and has negative consequences for the health and general lifespan of the fish compared to its undyed existence. Enough said ?

[jpappy789]

Agreed. I don't care how "over the top" it is. Messing with the natural colors of fish in order to profit is just wrong IMO, especially when it hurts the health of the fish. And from the consumer stand point you end up paying extra for the same exact fish as the non-dyed ones except it has a much greater chance of not surviving in your tank.

Praticalfishkeeping is also a pretty reputable site...

[Star_Rider]

when you say Parrot are you referring to Hoplarchus psittacus..the real parrot Cichlid?

you'll run into some purist who do not consider the blood parrot a real cichlid.. the fish was man-made.

that said there are blood parrots not dyed , often orange in color and other color morphs.. unfortunately some have been dyed creating quite a stir.
the dyed parrot may not grow to the normal size as the dye may have a detrimental effect on the health.
it may also grow just as large as the others.

[jpappy789]

Good point on the natural vs. man made perspective. Still...

[leeser28]

Just a quibble with words... blood parrots aren't really man-made -- they're note even test-tube offspring. The parents do actually mate, they just wouldn't have done so in the wild, but in the aquarium conditions they do.

As for not being cichlids, that's also not biologically correct. A cichlid is something from the taxonomic family of cichlidae, a blood parrot is in that family, so by definition is a cichlid. Just as a mule (same type of hybrid situation) is still in the same family as both its parents - the eqidae family.

Again, just some quibbling.

[chadly831]

wow that was a pretty good response thanks everybody.