Help And Advice Needed

[Ben Harper]

Over the few days i have notice that one of my Blood Parrot Fish had beed hiding in her cave and today after a closer look i have noticed that the cave is full of eggs. The eggs are main grey colour apart from the odd few white ones. What do i need to do because i have been told that it is very rare for Parrots to bread? Do i have to remove the eggs from the tank or do i leave them there? Are they likely all to die and be eaten by the other fish?

 

[Wills]

Do you have a male to go with the female? If not the eggs are unfertilized, saying that though even if you have a male there is still a chance he is sterile. The reason it is rare is because in all the line breeding, inbreeding etc to get the right "look" they sacrifice some other aspects of the fish and in the case of parrot fish its often the fact they are born sterile. Its upto you but I would get rid of those eggs as the fry are likely to be quite weak and will be born with even more messed up genes than their parents.

Or I could be talking complete rubbish and you actually have true blood parrots? And these are infact a gorgeous rare South American cichlid as opposed to a man made hybrid fish?

Wills

 

[Ben Harper]

Do you have a male to go with the female? If not the eggs are unfertilized, saying that though even if you have a male there is still a chance he is sterile. The reason it is rare is because in all the line breeding, inbreeding etc to get the right "look" they sacrifice some other aspects of the fish and in the case of parrot fish its often the fact they are born sterile. Its upto you but I would get rid of those eggs as the fry are likely to be quite weak and will be born with even more messed up genes than their parents.

Or I could be talking complete rubbish and you actually have true blood parrots? And these are infact a gorgeous rare South American cichlid as opposed to a man made hybrid fish?

Wills

I was told when i brought my larger Parrot from my LFS, as a fully grown fish that it is a male and my small fish i believe is a female.

 

[Ben Harper]

My plec has eat the first lot of eggs but now there is more.. My Parrots are chasing anything that goes any where near their cave..... Would it be a better idea to remove the egg and the cave and put it in to a different tank?

 

[Amberleaf]

Well, unless, of course, you have another cycled tank for fry or whatever.... No, I would just leave it. Your parrots sound like they're doing a pretty good job. ^^; Of course, what do I know; I've never actually *kept* any cichlids and just stumbled across this thread by accident. But, still.... ^^; >8D

 

[Bella]

My Plood parots lay eggs almost every month or so.. no fry have come of them at all. I'm guessing the male are sterile in my tank. I just leave the eggs in there till the day to clean the tank.... the blood parrots will knock off or eat the white eggs to protect the good ones from fungus... but in my case none are good. My blood parrots are very protective of their sterile eggs. lol.