Keeping Parrots

[Vengeful Silence]

I have a 100 gallon tank which will house various rainbowfish and a species of loach. I'm torn between severum and blood parrots for the centerpiece fish. I'd love to keep a pair or group of either, depending upon what temperament will permit. I'm familiar with basic fish husbandry, so keeping them alive won't be a problem. My question is will a group of blood parrots work, or would I be best to get a pair (I know they can't breed, but from what I understand, they do still pair off). What special considerations will their temperament require from the tank? I've kept mostly only peaceful community fish, and I don't like a lot of bickering in the tank, so are there measures I need to take to prevent that? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Ficious]

a few things to consider when buying them are their size...i believe they get a bit bigger than severums. if you do get a pair then be careful during "spawning". the female will continuely lay eggs and deffend them in a rage. as long as you have enough tank space for her and her nest youll be ok. also they will "shove" other fish away but will do no harm.

ok...soo if you end up buying the non dyed parrots...you wont be disapointed. they turn a few different shades while growing, right now mine is a stunning pink/orange neon color. ive also seen deep reds which look very good too. they are a fun loving fish because they always look happy. they are very friendly and will come up to you when its feeding time. good luck!

 

[Vengeful Silence]

Thank you for the reply, Ficious. I'm definitely going with the non-dyed parrots. So would I do purchase the fish the same as with angels, where you buy about 6, let them pair off, and return the extra 4 fish?

 

[Bella]

if you want to make sure they get along then dont buy them too small.. I've had two pairs that I purchased small and seem to be the ones that fight eachother more in the tank as they grew.. The larger one's I purchased seem to get along great.. thats just my opinion/ experience.. I'm not sure if that was just my luck. lol.

Also smaller one's take a while to show if they will pair off. If you start with one's about 3 or even 4 inches long then you'll have better luck seeing them pair off sooner or hate eachother. lol. Generally they are very peacful unless spawing.

 

[Ficious]

yea i would search around...the females will have that white egg tube sticking out when theyre ready to lay eggs so thats a good way to find females...lately mine has it all the time. but yes buying 6 would be a good thing to do...just dont get attatched to all of them!

 

[Vengeful Silence]

Thank you both for the replies. It's such a darn hard decision whether to go with the severum or the blood parrots. At least now I feel confident in keeping either choice. Thank you again.