Appalling...

[ooSho]

Oh I know....I have another home for my parrot fish Im gonna miss him though...lol

I need to update my sig.....my 2 tetra's are in the 14g now with the other tetra's...

I dont know if my catfish is a channel cat or not...he is albino and not very big....

I was going to get another cory but my son started getting sick when we was leaving to go to the pet store and then last night the stupid truck messed up (we need a new motor now!! ) so I'll have to wait until next week to get some more.

 

[silver]

Aberdeen, please read


Sucess Story!!

A woman named sue on the PJ Tropicals Freshwater Message Forum had a post titled: New Blood Red Parrot Mom!!!! Of course Here is excerpts of her story taken from the message board:

3-14-2000
Fry was noticed in the tank. The parents came from an lfs. They are the result of her 2 blood parrots breeding at the shop. The parents have perfectly formed-bodies, mouths, and fins.

Sue

3-16-2000
I bought these fish 2 weeks ago(tomorrow). When I saw them(3 pair), I ask if they were Blood parrots because they look like parrots, but they are perfectly formed. The owner of the lfs said they were Blood parrots and the offspring of her two that mated. I was immediately taken by them and bought the largest pair. Both are light pink. The male is about 3" including tail;the female is about 2". The female has light orange mottled markings on her abdoman and the base of her tail. Both have a light tourquise coloring at the edge of their fins-kind of irredescent. Both have light blue eyes with large black pupils. I think they are between 4 and 6 months old. Their parents are about 1 year old and are still a creamy pink color(I'm waiting for the shop owner to call back with more info).I went to several cichlid sights last week trying to identify them(color aside) and didn't come up with a match. On the site you sent me to, the closest Red parrot would be #02270"Blood parrot king kong", but still mine have no beaks or lumps on the head. The closest picture as far as body form was #02500 "Cichlasmoa maculicauda".

Sue

3-17-2000
They are American citizens. I am trying to get more info on their lineage, but I havn't heard from the lfs. The 75G tank I set up on Feb. 13th. Did a fishless cycyle. Cycle was finished on March 1. I did a 100% water change on 3/2 and added 1/2 cup salt.I added 3 pair of long fin rosey barbs(about 3")and 1 pair black marble angels(about 21/2->3")on 3/3. I added the pair of blood parrots on 3/4. They immediately made a nest under a big piece of driftwood right by the Fluval 404 intake(I keep a sponge on the intake).I never saw the eggs-of course I really wasn't looking for any. On 3/11 I vaccumed the tank with a HOT Magnum, but decided not to move their driftwood since they were new and didn't need any more stress. On the night of 3/15 I realized they had fry!Thank God I didn't vaccum under there!!The temp of the tank I keep at 82F and the PH at 6.8.In the week before the fry, they had 1 meal of live brine shrimp, 1 meal of frozen blood worms,and a combination of Hikari Cichlid staple pellets,Nutrafin Max complete pellet food,Wardley total tropical,TetraMin Pro tropical crisps, and Nutrafin spirulina flakes. I never really saw them eat much, since one of them usually stayed in the cave and the other was guarding it.I think this was "just let nature take its course". The only plants were a couple of fake ones(Plants+)-since I'm still waiting on delivery from ThatPetPlace. The sustrate is black gravel with a little dark blue mixed in(1/4" size). For filtration I am using a Fluval 404 and a Penguin 1140 powerhead(mechanical).I shut off the power head because there was so much current. I turn it on for about an hour a day. I am feeding them 1 cube of frozen baby brine shrimp 3 times a day. Nitrates are 5-10ppm. I'm going to order Omega One fish food from B.J. soon.

Sue

3-19-2000
They have been eating since the first night I saw them. They evidently get "stuff" off the driftwood and gravel, because they are always grazing. And, of course, I'm giving them the frozen baby brine shrimp. I think I should vacuum some of the gravel, but I'm a little hesitant.

Sue

3-23-2000
Boy, do they eat and grow! They are beginning to resemble real fish. The are getting wider now(not just longer). They are about a 1/4" long.I can see their little guts pretty well now. I think a couple of them have been hogging the food. Still no casualties.

Sue

3-25-2000
They actually have fins and tails today. All have two eyes,one head and one tail. Some are still small compared to the others-maybe females-but no deformities that I can see yet. I still think 50 is a closer number. I started feeding Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets(soaked in tank water) along with the frozen BBS.

Thanks and Congrats Sue! Keep us posted.


ALSO:

"Most commonly found in the trade is the Red Blood Parrot. Despite the name, these fish are generally a gold-orange color with a small amount of pink found on the throat and behind the head of the males. They can obtain sizes up to 10 inches. Females are usually smaller in size and lack the pink coloration.

The second most popular type seems to be the Purple Blood Parrot, like the latter, it's name is also deceiving. This fish is a bright red color with some parts of the coloration so deep and brilliant it appears to be a purple, hence the name Purple Parrot. There is some controversy as to whether or not these fish are "dyed". To my knowledge these fish are NOT dyed but are just a different color morph.

The following four types I have not been able to obtain any information on other than the pictures. If anyone keeps any of these, or has information pertaining to these types, please e-mail me. As far as I can tell, these fish are larger in size and have a little different body shape, but this is just speculation. I have e-mailed azoo.com requesting more information, we will see what they say":

Lo-hann

King-Kong Red

King-Kong Purple

Dar-mo

Jelly Bean Parrots and BubbleGum Parrots (like the very top picture in this thread):

This type of Parrot is not a true Parrot Cichlid at all. What I have gathered is, Jelly Bean and Bubblegum Parrots are a cross between a male convict and a female blood parrot. They are then usually died bright colors like, green, blue, pink, red, purple, etc.

There's been many cases of Jelly Beans and Bubblegums being able to mate and produce fry. This breeding is often mistaken for true Blood Parrot breeding, so don't be mislead by these reports.


Just a little more info!!



Silver

 

[silver]

Yes, here is even more information:

The following article was provided by Shing Lam.

The red blood parrot was first "created" in Taiwan back in the late eighties. Little is known about it outside Taiwan. According to Cher Chan in "Cichlids in Taiwan", it first appeared in 1986. The parents of the hybrid was a mystery back then, now many fish farms in Taiwan can produce it from a male "Cichlasoma citrinellum" (midas cichlid) and a female "Cichliasoma synspilum" (redhead cichlid). The author doubts the purity of the parent stock, though.

According to the author, the hybrid spawns but the eggs fail to hatch or cannot develop normally. (See the Breeding Page for more information on this topic.)

The tone of the author - the editor of the Taiwanese AquaLife magazine - seems to praise the "creation" which is just opposite to what serious aquarium journal editors or authors often do. A comparison is Riehl and Baensch, Aquarien Atlas, p. 636 on Macropodus chinensis x M. opercularis, the author warns the reader to keep away from the hybrid with the phrase "Haende weg von Kreuzungen!" emphasized.


More info from a man who runs a Parrot site:

My female laid eggs and the roles did indeed reverse. The female is guarding the eggs in the cave and doesn't come out unless she wants to eat. The male has been guarding the area around their cave. (Which he thinks is 3/4 of the 65 gallon tank.) He will occassionally join the female in the cave, but she will nudge him out after a few minutes.

Parrot Cichlids are substrate-spawners, meaning that they lay their eggs on the ground or on a hard surface like the leaf of a plant or on driftwood. Eggs that are not fertilized will turn white with fungus. It's the job of the parents to eat the fungused eggs so it does not spread to the fertilized eggs. It's a common occurrence for all the eggs to be eaten because most males are sterile and the eggs are never fertilized.

Parental care then consists of guarding the eggs, fanning them to provide oxygenated water, then caring for the hatchlings (called wrigglers) which eventually become free swimming fry. Parrot cichlids are often devoted parents and the length of parental care may extend for weeks or even months. They are biparental, meaning both parents take care of the fry, though their exact roles may vary. In some South American species, there is a mixture of substrate spawning and mouthbrooding. We call these delayed mouthbrooders: they lay the eggs on the substrate, guard them for a while, and then pick up the young and mouthbrood them. This is exactly what Parrot Cichlids do.





Silver

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Ugh. They're so lumpy and malformed.

They may be sold as them, but they are not cichlids as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Ugh. They're so lumpy and malformed.

They may be sold as them, but they are not cichlids as far as I'm concerned.

Still fish though and deserve the respect of any living creature.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Still fish though and deserve the respect of any living creature.

I can't agree, I don't give a manmade monstrosity any respect at all, and I would euthenize one before putting it in my tank.

Now, a natural fish that is the result of many, many years of natural evolution - that deserves respect!

 

[silver]

Whatever!!!!!!!

I still love them!



Silver

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Still fish though and deserve the respect of any living creature.

I can't agree, I don't give a manmade monstrosity any respect at all, and I would euthenize one before putting it in my tank.

Now, a natural fish that is the result of many, many years of natural evolution - that deserves respect!

People like you piss me right off. Fine, you don't like them. I don't like bettas but I don't go around banging on about it. Hybrid or not, they are around. Simple as.

That comment was way out of order Mr Moderator.

Your attitude towards defensless creatures makes me sick.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

People like you piss me right off.  Fine, you don't like them.  I don't like bettas but I don't go around banging on about it.  Hybrid or not, they are around.  Simple as.

That comment was way out of order Mr Moderator.

Your attitude towards defensless creatures makes me sick.

I can't agree, I don't give a man made monstrosity any respect at all, and I would euthenize one before putting it in my tank.

Even better, just send them all to the grinder, at least they would be fertilizing plants that people eat
after all, we kill cows, who are "defenseless" in a hardly humane way, so why not just do the same to these fish? I think a dead cow is a lot more sad than a dead mutant , and they would be helping improve the environment for other natural animals. B)
I don't think it's out of line at all to be disgusted at the thought of these fish, and wanting them dead. After all, I bet a parrot cichlid burger tastes mighty good, along with some flowerhorn sauce.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Still fish though and deserve the respect of any living creature.

I can't agree, I don't give a manmade monstrosity any respect at all, and I would euthenize one before putting it in my tank.

Now, a natural fish that is the result of many, many years of natural evolution - that deserves respect!

Oh and say what you mean, euthenasia is painlessly killing something because it has an incurable and painful disease, not because you don't like it.

How can you hate something that is totally innocent to the point of killing it?

I don't understand people like you, who have no respect for life other than your own belief of what has a right to be alive.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

People like you piss me right off.  Fine, you don't like them.  I don't like bettas but I don't go around banging on about it.  Hybrid or not, they are around.  Simple as.

That comment was way out of order Mr Moderator.

Your attitude towards defensless creatures makes me sick.

I can't agree, I don't give a man made monstrosity any respect at all, and I would euthenize one before putting it in my tank.

Even better, just send them all to the grinder, at least they would be fertilizing plants that people eat
after all, we kill cows, who are "defenseless" in a hardly humane way, so why not just do the same to these fish? I think a dead cow is a lot more sad than a dead mutant , and they would be helping improve the environment for other natural animals. B)
I don't think it's out of line at all to be disgusted at the thought of these fish, and wanting them dead. After all, I bet a parrot cichlid burger tastes mighty good, along with some flowerhorn sauce.

Yeah well, just as well I don't believe in killing cows either, isn't it.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I don't understand people like you, who have no respect for life other than your own belief of what has a right to be alive.

I think anything natural has a right to be alive, even if I don't like them. These things are not natural.

My comment was my opinion on these fish, and it is the truth of what I would do. It is not out order in any way, it was actually right on topic.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I don't understand people like you, who have no respect for life other than your own belief of what has a right to be alive.

I think anything natural has a right to be alive, even if I don't like them. These things are not natural.

So, you don't think it has a right to be alive.

As I said above - say what you mean.

What other fish do you wish dead?

Can you not see my point? Even if you do think that IMO you should keep it to yourslef rather than saying on a forum that you would like a particular fish dead, especially when there are people responding who have that fish.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

But a hybrid is not natural, right? So, you don't think it has a right to be alive.

Sure, that sounds good. Man chose to create it, why should man not choose to destroy it?

I didn't say I'm going on a mission to destroy these things, I"m saying if I happened upon one I would kill it. Lets say I bought a tank from a friend and it came with some cichlids including a blood parrot. I would destroy the blood parrot and keep or find homes for the rest.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

But a hybrid is not natural, right? So, you don't think it has a right to be alive.

Sure, that sounds good. Man chose to create it, why should man not choose to destroy it?

See the edited version.

So, you don't think it has a right to be alive.

As I said above - say what you mean.

What other fish do you wish dead?

Can you not see my point? Even if you do think that IMO you should keep it to yourslef rather than saying on a forum that you would like a particular fish dead, especially when there are people responding who have that fish.

Oh and you still make me sick, I'd rather have those fish than people like you.