very unhappy tank

Question
QUESTION: "hi, i have a 55 gallon with 2 blood parrot fish,an angel,3 high fin tetras,and an algea eater.i got the bps about 21/2 weeks ago and the big 1 wont stop harassing the littler 1 my question is, just today i looked into the tank and the smaller parrot has what looks like dirty smudges on his nose and uo by his top fin. i dont know if this is some problem,or disease. i dont know what to think, please help. and if u could also maybe give me some advice on what other fish i can put in there, that would b awsome.im having a horrible time with fish that wont get along,even when i do my research. i brought home 3 other angels the other night (a little smaller than mine)and when the light was off 2 of them were killed (eyes plucked out) sorry to be graphic,but because of that i think it was my angel and if thats the case can i never have any more angels? i just dont know what to do. any advice to all these questions (i know theres alot) would be helpfull. thanks

ANSWER: Hi,
Blood parrots are one of the only fish I wouldn't keep if I got the opportunity. As you may know, they aren't even fish in some people's opinions. They are classified as "man made" because they are a huge mix of other fish that shouldn't be hybridized. As a result, they are often extremely unpredictable. The dirty patches are a result of the parrot fish attacking the other. they are wounds. The parrot fish also did the same thing with the angels, only ended up killing them. I would separate the fish if possible.

Parrot fish are something that is loved by many many people. I don't mean to make them seem like a bad thing, and I am sorry about this. People usually need to know these things in order to understand their behavior. I actually wanted one for ages. Hope this helps and again, sorry if I made them seem bad. I don't think that.

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QUESTION: thank u 4 answering me,and i understand the controversy over the blood parrots,but someone needed to give them a home i just thought i could make a good one.but, the black spots dont seem to be wounds,there on his fins as well as his body and when the other one (who i think i have to take back) harasses him he usually just rams his side. and i have 1 angel in there now and they dont even seem to notice him. anyway,what i really want to know is if i take back the bully bp then ill be left with 1,and 1 angel. what else could u recomend getting that might get along with them? im really having a hard time getting good tankmates. i just want fish that will get along so i relax and so can they. thanks

ANSWER: Hi,
Regardless if the spots you are seeing are wounds or not, there is a consistent cure to nearly every wound or disease. The first thing is make sure the water is top quality in  terms of being clean. The second thing is to make sure the fish have a good, varied diet. this will help them recover.

Another thing I forgot to mention about the angelfish. Unless they are the wild, Altum angels (witch are very very sensitive), captive lines are often prone to dying over night, the first night you have them in your tank. The fish eating they're bodies would be the cause of the wounds on the dead fish.

Most fish attacks happen at night. This may explain the wounds on the blood parrot if they are wounds. A picture would be fantastic but not necessary. I could then tell you exactly what it is.

My choices of tankmates work in an order of fish I like the most starting at stingrays and working there way down. What I would recommend for that tank would be an oscar fish and a striped rapheal's catfish in addition to the 2 blood parrots (you probably don't need to get rid of that one.) and the angel. Hope this helps.

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QUESTION: this is my last question i promise! :) i dont mean to bother u. i dont want to get rid of the bigger bp but hes so relentless im sure hes stressing the other one out. do u think getting an oscar will help that? even if the oscar is smaller ( thats all i see 4 sale) and will the angel and oscar get along? also will the oscar outgrow my 55 gallon if i keep all of them? i dont think ill have any money (or room;) 4 a bigger tank. thank u so much 4 being patient with me and answering my questions.

Answer
Hi,
I really enjoy answering your questions. You are one of the only people who ask intelligent questions.

Have you heard of the concept of dither or target fish? They are basically a fish that some of the aggression will go too, cutting some slack to the fish that is getting bullied.

The oscar won't outgrow the tank in my opinion, as tank size is all about opinions. The trick is to get the oscar small, so from a young age he learns that the other fish are in change and he will leave them alone. Be careful, as he may nip the angels fins if it is a long finned variant. Like I said, BPs are unpredictable, so they shouldn't hurt the oscar, but there is a very slight chance. Cichlids are one of the most amazing fish. For example, I had 2 breeding pairs of oscars (which were VERY aggressive towards each other)  in one of my larger tanks. One of the fish lost their mate when the tank crashed. I was sure the widow fish would've died, but the other pair actually nursed her back to health. once she was better, they continued to beat her up. Expect anything and keep in mind, there is no such thing as a cichlid tank without some aggression.