Parrot cichlid info wanted

[parrot_man]

i have just purchased a breeding pair of parrot cichlids off ebay, but they have not arrived yet! (probably because i only bought them yesterday!) i was wonderin if you guys could help me with a few questions which i have about parrot cichlids!

1. What are the water parameters for the parrot cichlid?

2. What is the minimum tank size for a pair?

3. what is the best food to feed them?

4. will they survuve the journey in the post? if so how do i minimise stress once i recieve them?

5. Finally, will they ever breed in my 26G aquarium!

Thanks!

 

[WILDER]

http/www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/nicaragua.xml

 

[Torrean]

Do not take my advise I do not own parrot fish and have never recieved fish through the mail but this is the heresay that I have gathered through my limited experience

I believe parrot fish are hybrid and aren't supposed to breed. My sister has several in a ten gallon, and her's breed regularly though so there are exceptions.

1. Very hardy fish, don't know the parameters but my sister hasn't done a water change in months so they must not be very picky. (not recommended)

2. My sister has them in a ten right now but they will need a larger tank soon, (wait for some other answers on this one, don't trust me.)

3. Cichlid gold works

4. open the box in a relatively dark room, acclimate the temp for about 30 min then open bag carefully and check water parameters with your test kit. If they match up pretty good then I say put a little tank water in the bag and tie it up again, acclimate for another 15 min, then fish them out of the bag and put them in your tank. If the measurements don't equal out very well then over the course of oh 2 hours add 2 strawfulls (or whatever) to the bag every 15 minutes, then retest the water in the bag and see if they match up any better. (Don't listen to me this is something that I read on here. I did use it with some newts that I was putting in a tank from a local pond so maybe there is some truth to it)

5. The answer to number five is yes if they are really a breeding pair, and they get along.

 

[SirMinion]

Blood Parrots or Jellybean Parrots?

I understand (correct me if I'm wrong) that Blood Parrot males are sterile so there's no such thing as a 'breeding pair'

Jellybean Parrots, which are a blood parrot/convict cross can breed though.

And 26g is far too small for even on parrot. let alone two and still expect them to breed.

 

[Dwarfs]

Do you mean the true parrot cichlid (Hoplarchus pssiticum), or those hybrid parrots?

You are probably getting the hybrids, and although they may lay eggs, they cannot raise fry because they aren't fertile

 

[Synirr]

There have been a few fertile blood parrot males popping up recently, but most are sterile... If the parrots you bought are the offspring of a fertile parrot pair, then they should be fertile as well; if not, then you're probably out of luck if you were planning on having fry any time in the future unless they're a proven pair.

The minimum tank size for one adult blood parrot is 55 gallons, so I'd eventually upgrade to a 75 gallon for the pair.

 

[freddyk]

Are they a true Parrot cichlid, or are they the blood parrot.

Unfortunately, 26 gallons is an inappropriate tank for a pair of either of these.

 

[Synirr]

I thought this thread got moved?

 

[Dwarfs]

I thought this thread got moved?

I think there's more than one thread

 

[littlefishie]

I thought this thread got moved?

I think there's more than one thread

I think there were 5...

 

[SirMinion]

I thought this thread got moved? 

I think there's more than one thread

I think there were 5...

Fixed. I merged them all into this one thread.