parrotfish

[ocyris]

Ok im kinda new to this so bare with me......I just had a 30 gallon aquarium given to me i have gotten it all cycled and i went out and bought to dwarf gouramis ( i dont know why they just looked cool) but then i had a freind tell me that she had two parrot fish that had a ton of babys and she would give them to me so i asked for 2 she brought over 9 and said that she didnt want her husband to use them for bait so i got them. i know its way to many for the tank when they get bigger but they are only about an averge size of a cm some smaller some bigger. im going to raise them untill they get to about an inch then get ride of them. well my question is what kind of special care food caves gravel temp and such if any should i know i really dont want them to die on my watch because they are so cute and really funny to watch swim around and play with the other fish . :dive:

[plah831]

im going to raise them untill they get to about an inch then get ride of them.
Why would you take on new fish, only planning to get rid of them later?

[mostlycichlids]

Why dont you see if the LFS will take them you may be able to get store credit for them or see if anyone here wants them put them in the classified ad section add on this site. That is what I would do but that is just me.

[DeRo316]

Just keep up with the water changes, 40% or so weekly minimum. No special gravel is needed, try to have plenty of hiding places live caves and plants(fake is fine). Just keep the water around 75-80 degrees. Feed them a good quality cichlid pellet.

Look for a LFS near you to buy them like akapaul said. You could get a few bucks store credit for them.

[plah831]

Why would you take on new fish, only planning to get rid of them later?
oh, I didn't read the part where you said your friend needed to rehome them or her hubby would use them as bait :eek: Would he really do that with babies they had bred? That's odd to me.

sorry for being judgmental.

[jm1212]

wait a sec...
parrotfish are steril hybrids. they cant breed.
did i miss something? is this the other parrot cichlid from S.A? did your friend have a female and did it breed with another cichlid? othewise, two parrotfish cannot breed. all males are steril and only about 75-50% of females can have bables

[plah831]

I'm guessing this thread is talking about the "true" parrots, the green ones. I've heard of some instances where blood parrots do breed, though. They can spawn with each other (if the male is also fertile), or hybridize with other species of closely related cichlids. It's actually not as uncommon as you'd think, unlike fertile mules that are a true oddity :)

[jm1212]

ive read accounts of blood parrot females mating with convict males and producing true "jelly bean" parrots. they are much smaller, only making 4" and they are pale white, if you can find them in their "natural" color. they are also supposedly fertile. these jelly bean parrots were first bred specifically to be dyed, because they could be dyed at a much younger age than the regular blood parrots. now people want them undyed, and i cont blame them. they look basically like a fish with a convict head on a blood parrot body.

and im telling you, they have daddy's bad attitude ;)

[plah831]

cute! I'd buy a smaller, white jelly bean :)