Blood Parrot

[shuhu]

Hi

I just went to this LFS that has Blood Parrots, they were still 1.5 inches and they looked like greenish with some black shades. The store guy told me that this is their "birth color" and the "orange/red" comes later when they are a bit bigger, but since I've only seen then bigger and with the red/orange color I'm not sure I will get the right fish.

I did noticed that the body itself looked like a blood parrot, you know, that distinctive mouth and the weird tale.

So, can someone please let me know how they look like when they are growing, or if you have pictures it would be even better. )

 

[GuppyDude]

I myself have not seen baby blood parrots before, only adults. But im fairly certain that even the younger fish display the bright orange coloring that the adults do. I have seen lighter colored parrots that had definately been dyed and were sold under the name (assorted parrots fish). They looked much like how you have described the fish at your lfs, they could quite possibly be dyed. Ill try to locate you some pictures.

Im not sure how big the fish at your lfs were, but this young BP is 3 inches long and displays a bright natural orange.

These parrots are dyed, they are un-naturally bright and kind of creep me out

I was not able to find pics of the kind of parrots you had seen, but i know what you are talking about, i have seen them in my lfs as well. I apologize for the poor quality of teh pics, they were the best i could find

 

[shuhu]

thanks

I just found a picture from azoo that shows them under 5cm, so I guess they do are different in color as they grow. I'll have to memorize this picture just to be sure its the same fish, hehehe

this is the cheapest place I've found them at (around $8)... the other place (in which they are already big and redish) sells them at around $30.... what to do??

uncertainty+cheap OR certainty+NOT cheap

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

That sort of looks like a parrot.. they can have a greenish tinge and stripes.. I've even seen all black ones.

 

[Synirr]

They do indeed begin life as a different colour. Most of the time they turn orange, but lately I've been seeing some that don't, or are calico. Here's a "black" morph that retained the original colours:

http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...horn&1138592197

 

[Soaup]

I too see fish that are calico. I can now rarely find any parrots with a solid coloring.. The black fish is beautiful.. Now Which parrots are dyed and which arent.. That i never understood?

 

[Synirr]

Any parrot that isn't either orange, black, or other natural tones is dyed. Purple, pink, blue etc are unnatural colours.

 

[afireinside]

They do indeed begin life as a different colour. Most of the time they turn orange, but lately I've been seeing some that don't, or are calico. Here's a "black" morph that retained the original colours:

http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...horn&1138592197

Hey! I got one of those!

Any parrot that isn't either orange, black, or other natural tones is dyed. Purple, pink, blue etc are unnatural colours.

Uh, I got a little yellow guy. He dosen't seemed dyed, as he has these very natural looking color and he has hardly visisble little black verticle stripes on his side. You can see his lateral line pretty good, and the inside of his mouth is yellow too. Is he dyed?

 

[valleyrich]

Any parrot that isn't either orange, black, or other natural tones is dyed. Purple, pink, blue etc are unnatural colours.

I totally agree with this statement. I just wanted to add that Jellybean Parrots are usually a cotton candy pink color naturally. Blood parrots come in a wide variety of natural colors but not colors like "hot pink" or "Bright blue" As a general rule if you have to wonder, assume the parrot(either type) is dyed.

 

[tidytourniquet]

I thought the Jellybean parrots were what the dyed ones were called, thats what I have always seen anyway

 

[afireinside]

No, it's a different type, and they are rarely found undyed.

 

[valleyrich]

No, it's a different type, and they are rarely found undyed.

I have 2 females and 2 males able to breed that are undyed...only problem is they are all related to each other. I'm doing my best to find a suitable mate for any of them. I did sell about 100 undyed babies at LFS before the dad was killed. I'm doing my part. They are such a beautiful color naturally I don't know why they dye them!

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

pink convict X parrot cichlid = jellybean parrot... dyed or undyed... I'm assuming the name came about because of the dyed ones, but now everyone calls the undyed ones jellybeans as well.. Hope that made some sense

 

[shuhu]

No, it's a different type, and they are rarely found undyed.

I have 2 females and 2 males able to breed that are undyed...only problem is they are all related to each other. I'm doing my best to find a suitable mate for any of them. I did sell about 100 undyed babies at LFS before the dad was killed. I'm doing my part. They are such a beautiful color naturally I don't know why they dye them!

do you have pics of these babies???

 

[Synirr]

No, it's a different type, and they are rarely found undyed.

I have 2 females and 2 males able to breed that are undyed...only problem is they are all related to each other. I'm doing my best to find a suitable mate for any of them. I did sell about 100 undyed babies at LFS before the dad was killed. I'm doing my part. They are such a beautiful color naturally I don't know why they dye them!

Wonderful! I'd set up a breeding program if I had a suitable tank. How inbred are the fish you currently have? If their parents were unrelated it's perfectly safe to cross them together without worry of deformities; it's actually a common practice. You don't have to start worrying about inbreeding depression until about the 3rd generation of inbreeding, I'd say.