Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Ah! Now, I work for a vet that also sells fish. A majority of our fish clients think 70 litres is huuge, and we spend a lot of time explaining that "your fish died because you've got 3 comets in 10 litres. No really, there is no way around that, and yes it costs money" I just had someone come in and say they thought the parrot cichlid we have in our display tank is the coolest fish ever and can we get her a 400 litre tank (um, my guess as to a good tank size?) and what can they live with? Money appears to be no object I'm having a look on the mighty internets but really, what would be an ideal set up for a parrot cichlid? I wouldn't have a clue beyond other cichlids... ha, and no live plants. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 OK... maybe not other cichlids... edit: OK, never mind, found a site with great info. Still interested in opinions though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Parrot's don't generally get very big. They're usually an accessory fish to other larger cichlids, like oscars. Something you probably already know, is that they're man made and do not occur naturally in nature but are of South American origins. So for other cichlids look for others in the region such as oscars, convicts, etc (although I'd be cautious with severums, and likely think angelfish are a bad pick). Redspot or Common Plec are good cleaners in these setups. You could get a 400 litre tank built easy enough, even with wood trimmings, talk to Peter at Port Nicholson glass in Petone. Will save you big money and does a good job (often his tanks are wholesaled to other retailers). I don't think you'd need 400 litres unless you wanted a couple of oscars in there as well. More space is good though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Awesome, thanks. I saw the bit about being man-made and it's a bit sad really, breeding fish that have non-functional mouths (yeah, they can eat but still) and in some cases no tail! Yeah, I pretty much pulled 400 out of my arse but she was pretty happy with that so bigger is better IMO! I'll say 3-400. Would Oscars be good with them? I just read they tend to get picked on a bit Thanks for the tip about Port Nicholson Glass, will put her onto it if she comes in again (who knows, maybe it'll be a passing fancy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Oscars would definitely be fine with it. At the pet shop I work at we used to have a parrot in with three oscars and various other cichlids and fish in our 2500L tank. The parrot got along fine and even tried to breed with a gold severum (she laid eggs but they never hatched). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Oo, cool, I hope she comes back. Now I'm getting excited about the idea... No no no, no parrots for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Eric ,2500L tank, where's the pics!! Parrots are fairly tough and easy from what I've heard. Should be fine with most medium-large size fish. BTW I presume we are talking about the hybrid parrot fish, not the true parrot cichlid Hoplarchus psittacus... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Why yes, indeed we are. Don't know what the hell you call them scientifically, they will have a scientific name but because they're hybrids it's not all over the sites I've looked at and I'm laazy :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 I've only got one pic of it, I took this with my phone. It's the display tank in Animates (ex Jansens) botany. It's gone through many incarnations, this was before the Oscars etc, when it was planted. The cichlids are gone now too and it's got a bunch of silver dollars, rainbow fish and some barbs which are all pretty boring IMO. There's a school of clown loaches that've always been in there and the GBA is still around too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 That is a cooool picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Ah, I know the tank, didn't realise your worked there. It was cool when it had the big emperor snapper in it! If ever they decide to sell the loaches PM me! The latin name of the hybrid parrot fish would depend on the parents. If its an inter-generic hybrid (ie the parents are from different genera) then the convention is to have the genus name as a mix of the two, with either the mother or father first (can't quite remember). Eg if it was Heros severus crossed with Amphilophus labiatus, it could be called Herolophus 'Parrot Cichlid'. The origins are a bit of a mystery though, and its not really that important because it is a hybrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 The latin name of the hybrid parrot fish would depend on the parents. If its an inter-generic hybrid (ie the parents are from different genera) then the convention is to have the genus name as a mix of the two, with either the mother or father first (can't quite remember). Eg if it was Heros severus crossed with Amphilophus labiatus, it could be called Herolophus 'Parrot Cichlid'. The origins are a bit of a mystery though, and its not really that important because it is a hybrid. Are there not specific rules about which fish gets to be the pre-fix and which the suffix in the genus? Say, sire is the first half? (Ha, patriachy! :lol:) Thanks anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 I think its the mother. It is in botanical Latin (for plants) and I would expect it to be the same through-out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leviathan Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Im keen to know what the minium size tank for a red parrot would be also.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 I think its the mother. It is in botanical Latin (for plants) and I would expect it to be the same through-out. Ahh, that's screwy since with the common name for zebra-horse hybrids is the sire's prefix first, ie: hebra's are horse over zebra. Not that that indicates anything when it comes to scientific nomenclature but still Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 Im keen to know what the minium size tank for a red parrot would be also.. Well this very useful site said 42 gal (~160 litres) as bare minimum, but OK for 2 or 3... I personally think they'd benefit from a good 300 litres but that's just me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leviathan Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Cheers I kinda like them! they are so cheeky looking. Although yes, i do wonder about the ethics of them being 'man made'.,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Yeah, I was feeding the one at work today (he's about 5-6") and he's pretty hard case. Sooo painful to try and get bottom feeder tabs to the bottom feeders though! Mr parrot cichlid seems to like them more than any other food! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Yeah, I was feeding the one at work today (he's about 5-6") and he's pretty hard case. Sooo painful to try and get bottom feeder tabs to the bottom feeders though! Mr parrot cichlid seems to like them more than any other food! :lol: Yeah when I had my giant gourami (sold last weekend) feeding the plec was almost impossible. Pleco tabs *munch*, courgette *gone*, the only way to get food to him was to put too much food in, enough that the GG simply couldn't get it all and some would get lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 Arh, cute but annoying! Our clown loaches do OK, they just eat flake if they have to, but I'm just hoping our shy pleco is getting some! I don't usually feed them, our fish person's away. It's too entertaining to pass up feeding them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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