can someone help me with my parrotfish?

Question

first off before you get self righteous on me i know a 10 gallon isnt big enough this isnt my first rodeo with fish except parrots so before you start cussing and telling me i need to get a bigger tank and so forth i already know i'm just waiting for a couple more days to get it and now on with the show i have 2 parrotfish neither one wants to eat that i'm seeing i clean there tank and the ph ammonia and everything is right but they just sit around one at the bottom one at the top of the water is this normal because its been a little over a month and it doesnt seem like anythings wrong with them except where i dont see them eating also what is good to feed them i've been trying bloodworms shrimp ect. thought maybe that might be it i just wanted to make sure and i should have there new home up and running in a week thanks for any help

Answer 1

I have a few parrot fish(fresh water, guessing that's what you're talking about), and they are very active. They're never just laying around like people say. One used to do complete sommersaults in the water lol. I bet once you move them to a larger tank they'll perk up for you.

Also, you said the water parameters were right, but make sure the ammonia and nitrites are reading 0 ppm, and nitrates under 20 ppm. Some kits and pet stores will say that a small amount of ammonia is ok or safe, but it's not true. Just wanted to point that out, because that could also be why they're just sitting at the bottom.

I feed mine a variety of stuff, and they love it all, flakes, veggie flakes, spirulina, pellets, cut up shrimp pieces, frozen/thawed bloodworms, brine shrimp, krill, meal worms, peas. I've even fed them some crickets from the Can O Crickets lol. That was kind of messy though.

Also, it's kind of hard to do in a 10 gallon tank, but for the new one, make sure they have some hidey holes/caves to establish their territory. Those terra cotta pots work well, can pick them up fairly cheap at the store. Hopefully they'll become more active with the new tank, good luck!!

Answer 2

I assume you are referring to freshwater Parrot Cichlids.

As already stated, these fish can be sedentary.
The bloodworms and shrimp are good foods (as long as the shrimp are small enough). I prefer the small plankton sized shrimp (many companies sell this such as Rain One)
A good pellet food such as Sanyu Tropical/Cichlid or Hikari Cichlids pellets is good.

*Check your temperature, I have generally kept these fish between 75 to 82 F

*Is your pH stable (this is usually more important than the actual number)?

*Also keep a KH of at least 50 ppm; and a GH of 100 for necessary trace minerals

*Try changing 25-30% of your water
Here is some info about Parrot fish: http://aquarium-answers.blogspot.com/2006/12/popular-hybrid-fish-flowerhorn-and.html

Answer 3

its the whole situation thats probably stressing them out. being in a new small tank... the whole thing would stress them out.

Parrot fish(i ammusing were not talking about the wild parrot cichlid and talking about the hybred) are very skittish at first. but aftermonths they will become more friendly.


my parrots are very large and ive raised them from babies and now they friendly, i had them for 8 years and about 2-3 months after i get them they started to be more friendly.

Answer 4

Well parrot fish are active and in the ocean eat coral and actually poop sand so i don't see why they would eat meat in your tank and not in the ocean. Try buying them some coral to eat see if there activity pics up.

Answer 5

Parrotfish aren't very active. Did you see them at the aquarium or wherever you bought them from? They usually just "chill" out I guess you could say. They really don't do much, even if you've got more of them for tankmates. They just look at you.

Answer 6

I'll assume you mean the freshwater parrot cichlid. I would say if you aren't seeing any signs of disease it would be related to the cramped quarters. Once you get the larger tank and they have some more room to move around they will get more active and eat accordingly.

MM

Answer 7

They usally just chill and dont do much