Can Anyone Help?

[Ben Harper]

Can any help me please? I have got 2 blood Parrot fish in my 300 litre tank, one of them is a fully grown adult about 8 inches in lenght and the other is still quite young and about 3 inches long. Every 2 to 3 months the small one starts to go black, it starts off as small black dots on the back and then his mouth and nose area go really black. This will last for about 2 weeks then he goes back to his normal colour. I have tested my water and all appears well. All my other fish look healthy and well and this never happens to my large parrot fish.

 

[jonny_dw]

Im not an expert on parotts or cichlids in general but could this possibly be breeding colours? Your larger one may not have done it because its female or vice versa.

 

[Ben Harper]

Im not an expert on parotts or cichlids in general but could this possibly be breeding colours? Your larger one may not have done it because its female or vice versa.

But he is quite young would he be showing breeding colours?

 

[~T~]

Young parrots often show these juvenile markings when stressed or excited and this can happen when breeding. It seems to lessen as they grow. It can be a sign of bad water quality so you should test to see if your params are in check but for the most part its nothing to be worried about.