Orange and white Parrot Fish

Question
Hi,

I was in a pet store once and saw an amasing Parrot fish. He was orange and white and darting in and out of caves being all excitable! I fell in love with the little guy but unfortunatley he was not for sale!

I would love to buy a fish just like him! but I want to go about it right and make sure it will be happy and healthy. can you give me some advise about habitat, diet etc and also some advice on price and where is a good place to start looking??

Any help would be appreciated,

Kind Reagrds,

Jenna

Answer
Hi Jenna;

If it was a fresh water Blood Parrot Cichlid, he will need at least a 30 gallon tank just for one fish, 50 or more is better. They can be an aggressive fish and grow to be about 8 inches or larger. You will an aquarium heater and good filtration from a power filter that hangs on the back of the tank or a canister filter that connects to your tank by hoses. Parrots are big fish that can get messy so they need plenty of room and strong filtration. Your new tank will also go through a break-in period so here is my web page about it to help you know more about it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

Parrot fish are very cute little guys but their very existence is rather controversial. They are a "man-made" fish from breeding two different types of cichlids together. Sometimes they are quite deformed because of their crooked spines and mouths and can have a difficult time moving around and eating. Also, the colors you see on them may fade because it is not always natural. Some parrot fish are actually dyed, a rather cruel process. Below are some sites for you to do some research about them;

http://www.geocities.com/parrotcichlid/main.html

http://parrotcichlid.com/

http://www.petfish.net/articles/Cichlids/blood_parrot.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_parrot_cichlid

http://cichlidresearch.com/parrot.html

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins