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Post by frankfishmonger on Feb 8, 2013 8:06:08 GMT -5
My son brought home a young Blood Parrot cichlid last week. It's a very nice looking fish and I really enjoy watching him swim around and investigating his domain. Since he's still small (about 1 3/4"), he's OK in the 55 gallon community tank. I know that situation will change some day. As it turns out, if you were to put a large cichlid in a community tank, Blood Parrots are a good choice. Appropriate tank mates are medium sized barbs and black skirt tetras for instance. There is controversy as to whether this fish should be sold. Apparently, it is a man made hybrid that has deformities that some people find cruel or unnatural. Their mouths are very small for a large fish and their spines and swim bladders are deformed which causes a strange swimming motion. That being said, they have a 10 year life expectancy if well maintained. Our Parrot is mostly black with orange streaks on its face. Kind of looks like a hotrod with the flame markings on the hood. I'll send a pic soon.
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Post by FishManDan on Feb 8, 2013 17:02:22 GMT -5
They are really cool. I want one
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 9, 2013 14:18:40 GMT -5
The pet smart by our town has them but they are all orange solid thats the same in every store that I've seen them in . It would be cool to see a diffrent one .
As for the breeding of them being wrong I dont really agree with the people that say that , if it wasnt meant to be it wouldnt work out in the end . In other words if God didnt want the fish species to be here and us to keep them then he wouldnt let them exist. He did and they live for a long time considering tropicals typical life expectancy so I think they are great contrabutions to the world of aquatics and should be treasured as uniqe fish and loved as such .
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Post by frankfishmonger on Feb 9, 2013 14:52:34 GMT -5
I agree 100%. Our Petsmart usually has a pretty good variety. My son, Martin, said he picked ours because he looked the healthiest.
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Post by FishManDan on Feb 9, 2013 20:42:33 GMT -5
The petsmart always has good ones.
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 10, 2013 1:44:08 GMT -5
Lol ,
Well I have to take back my original post lol I just got back from petsmart and thinking about your post I went looking at the parrots and they had them low an behold two tones for the first time . Absolutly beautiful they had orange and black and orange an green with black dots to , very handsome fish .
I maybe adding them in the future to a community species cichlid tank idea IM working on in my head . I went originally to get Cassies oscar's but on arriveing at the store she decides she no longer wanted them so ...at the age of 6 she has already adopted the female brain wave of last minute no warning changes lol .
But lucky for me my son the cold water nut wanted plain tiger oscars lol go figure , so he got one a black an orange he named "Bob" lol I love my son . He picked it the most aggressive fiesty one in the tank its a juvie and very full of life , hopefully does well .
We put him in a tank a little small for him but will do for a few months and added a few grass shrimp and guppy fry for snack time when he calms down and gets hungry .
My cassie wants julie cichlids now in place of the albino oscar , I had to explain that they were a little tough for her first cichlid and the oscar were a working fish for us we needed them for population control of guppy fry (deformed). The julie's didnt have big enough mouths to eat the fry since we only buy juvie fish when possible .
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Post by frankfishmonger on Feb 10, 2013 5:53:30 GMT -5
I always buy small, young fish also. It's fun and rewarding to watch them grow and develop. The small Oscars have to be one of the cutest fish there is with their appearance and the way they behave. So is River turning into a tropical man or is this in addition to his cold water specialty ?
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Post by FishManDan on Feb 10, 2013 8:30:37 GMT -5
I need oscars...
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 10, 2013 12:28:04 GMT -5
I do believe he has broadend his feild of interest in our little hobby, lol . He's a little boy in every sence of the word , his favorite thing about his new fish is watchin it hunt and eat the fry and shrimp lol . Its kinda strange though "Bob" has been going after the baby snails in the tank more than anything else I mean hes after them like a kid with candy ! Im kinda scared hes gonna eat himself sick really .
But on the bright side it keeps River from trying to get into my ghost shrimp for him lol . I am keeping a close fathers watch on my son and my shrimp now lol .
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 10, 2013 12:31:03 GMT -5
The same reason as us ? population control ? Or just because you need atleast a pair of every fish lol thats how i feel lol I need atleast one of everything  If I throw out the kitchen table I could put a huge tank in the kitchen   |
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Post by frankfishmonger on Feb 10, 2013 16:06:51 GMT -5
Dan, you need to put a very large addition onto your house !
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Post by FishManDan on Feb 10, 2013 21:24:56 GMT -5
Don't add things to the list Frank!
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 11, 2013 2:17:40 GMT -5
lol
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Post by frankfishmonger on Feb 12, 2013 7:31:03 GMT -5
Just trying to make sure you have room for all the fish, Dan. Ya know I'm always lookin out for ya. As a matter of fact, if you follow my idea, you could become our "Breeding / Grow-Out / Distribution Center". Pretty impressive, huh ? I'm sure Charlie wouldn't mind giving you an extra 1 or 2% to cover your expenses. Notice I just mentioned Charlie. My great idea should be worth something !
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 12, 2013 8:49:22 GMT -5
lol , Franks has taken up marketing and retail position for self lol and me and Dan get the labor fields gotta love that lol
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If I throw out the kitchen table I could put a huge tank in the kitchen 
