Aggressive Blood Parrot Tank Mates

HI I have a 90 gallon tank with 1 blood parrot, 1 green severum, 1 blue MoorI Cichlid,mSnow White cichlid, and a common pleco. I know some people will say that I really shouldn't be keeping the African cichlids with the sa cichlids but it's been going fine. I'm planning on getting rid of the Africans despite them bothering my sa cichlids or them bothering the Africans. I've noticed the African cichlids being aggressive towards each other and am going to be giving them to my lfs. But I'm not sure what I want/can get for my tank. I've had my blood parrot and all the other fish in my old 50 gallon but before I got the Africans I had the blood parrot and the severum and the pleco. I also had a Kribensis Cichlid, blue acara Cichlid, and a pictus catfish that my blood parrot Louie has killed and 2 goldfish that I had before him but when I got him I still had the goldfish but he killed them. He's very aggressive and has bit me on several occasions. He is more red devil than blood parrot. I was thinking an Oscar or maybe a jack Dempsey. Any replies will be appreciated

 

HI there,
I agree you should re home the Africans. They are incompatible water parameters wise. The Africans prefer a higher PH which the American cichlids can't handle.

A 90 gallon tank is a decent tank to work with so we'all work something out.

How big are your fish at the moment?
How big was your BP when he killed the other fish?
What type of Pleco do you have?

A jack Dempsey could work, but the Jack will most likely become the king of the tank, but hey all fish are different.

 

Both the Africans are 2-3 inches and the severum is 3.5-4" the blood parrot is 5-5.5" the most recent fish he's killed was the blue acara a couple weeks ago. When I got him in late November he was maybe 4.5". The blue acara was maybe 3.5" and the Kribensis was 4".

The pleco is a common pleco I know people will say he doesn't belong in a 90 gallon but he isn't too big. He's around 6" and when I got him on Boxing Day he was 5" so he's grown an inch in 4 months

 

Alright, you could go for a Jack Dempsey. I think that he is killing the fish that are smaller than him just because he is the biggest in the tank.

When you get a JD make sure that they are both at similar sizes or preferably larger.

IMO, the Africans don't belong there and they might get killed once the BP or JD matures. Your best bet is to re home them, unless you have another tank for them.

Most people say that the common Pleco can get up to 2 feet. However, most common Plecos only reach up to 15-17 inches. What are your tank dimensions?

Did the other fish that the BP killed ever bother the BP?

 

Yeah I'm going to be re homing the Africans them because my only other tank is a 20 gallon saltwater tank. My tank dimensions are 4ft long 2ft high and 18" deep and I've never seen the fish he's killed bother him non of the fish bother him except for the blue MoorI he's been nipping fins lately

 

Yeah I'm going to be re homing the Africans them because my only other tank is a 20 gallon saltwater tank. My tank dimensions are 4ft long 2ft high and 18" deep and I've never seen the fish he's killed bother him non of the fish bother him except for the blue MoorI he's been nipping fins lately

Alright. I think for now you'll be fine.
Just see how big the common Pleco gets and if he outgrows your 90 gallon, which he might, I would recommend upgrading to at least a 125 gallon.

 

I was just looking up some other cichlids and found a green terror cichlid. It has some amazing colour and doesn't get too big. Would that work instead of the jack Dempsey

 

I was just looking up some other cichlids and found a green terror cichlid. It has some amazing colour and doesn't get too big. Would that work instead of the jack Dempsey

Green Terrors can grow up to 12 inches a pop, I wouldn't consider that as "they don't grow too big".

However, the females do grow smaller than the males which means that they can get up to 8 inches a pop.
Both a Jack Dempsey and a Green Terror could work but, remember to get them bigger or as big as the Blood Parrot or else the Blood Parrot might end up killing them as well.

 

Yeah my lfs usually has some larger species of cichlids like jack dempseys green terrors and oscars not full grown but bigger than my blood parrot maybe like 6-8"

 

Not an expert on cichlids, but I'd imagine anything similar in size that could stand up for itself could work. Dempsey's, terrors were great ideas. Maybe a firemouth?

 

I was thinking of one of those or a Texas Cichlid but I've read that they can be difficult to care for

 

Not a fan of the Texas myself, but to each their own. I would recommend the firemouth to almost anyone as long as they can deal with the aggression. I've seen them lock lips with full grown oscars.

 

I don't think I will get a firemouth because the only place around where I live that has them is my local pet smart but I won't buy my fish from there. Well I can't say I haven't because that's where I got my blood parrot from but I had to get him because he was right at the front staring at me and moving around trying to get my attention and he still does it to this day.

 

Cichlids have personalities like that. It's like they recognize you, kind of like a dog would. Or they want to be fed. But I prefer to think that they like our company.

 

Yeah that's the reason I even wanted cichlids. It's also why I got a puffer fish for my saltwater tank and it's kind of funny because sometimes he will do a little dance and make noises to get my attention

 

Always wanted cichlids too, but I've been stuck with my Colombian Tetras for 2 years now. They'd get torn up by almost any cichlid, especially since they're in a 20 g. But I can't part with them, in an odd way.

 

Not an expert on cichlids, but I'd imagine anything similar in size that could stand up for itself could work. Dempsey's, terrors were great ideas. Maybe a firemouth?

A FireMouth only grows up to 6 inches.
Once the Blood Parrot matures (10-12 inches) the same thing might happen.

I was thinking of one of those or a Texas Cichlid but I've read that they can be difficult to care for

Do not get a Texas Cichlid. They grow very big and are way more aggressive than your BP, your BP will get torn up to shreds.

 

I knew parrots got big, but that big? Wow. Some guy at an LFS tried to get me to buy one for my 20 gallon long today. Immediately left the store.

 

Do not get a Texas Cichlid. They grow very big and are way more aggressive than your BP, your BP will get torn up to shreds.

I'll definitely stay away from those then

 

I'll definitely stay away from those then

Sounds Good then.
Are you going to go for a JD or GT?
I have a FireMouth with my bigger Cichlids and they do fine.
But your BP already killed some other cichlids with similar temprement so you'll have to go with something a little more agressive.

 

Some stores are just all about the money and don't care if the fish has a happy life or not. I live in Canada so I have a few Big Al's Aquarium Super Centres nearby and I can always trust them for info about fish. One of them has a 125 with maybe 10 African peacock cichlids and 3 blood parrots and there is no aggression between them.

 

Some stores are just all about the money and don't care if the fish has a happy life or not. I live in Canada so I have a few Big Al's Aquarium Super Centres nearby and I can always trust them for info about fish. One of them has a 125 with maybe 10 African peacock cichlids and 3 blood parrots and there is no aggression between them.

Peacocks are generally more peaceful than other Mbuna cichlids and the only reason the peacocks aren't disturbing the BPs are probably the Blood Parrots are far bigger than them.

 

Not really the bp were about the size of mine the peacocks were a bit bigger

 

Not really the bp were about the size of mine the peacocks were a bit bigger

Okay then, sounds like they've already established a good pecking order then.

 

Yeah I was thinking if I were to get peacocks that they would see that my bp is dominant in the tank and be less aggressive towards him but still get decent sized peacocks

 

Yeah I was thinking if I were to get peacocks that they would see that my bp is dominant in the tank and be less aggressive towards him but still get decent sized peacocks

I don't think it could work in your tank now, since you already had the common
Pleco and the sev

 

Yeah my mom wouldn't give up the severum for some peacocks. And can't some plecos stand a higher ph? My ph is at 8.0 and would that be good enough for African cichlids like peacocks because I have crushed shells at the bottom of the tank mixed in with the sand to raise the ph.

 

Green terrors, JDs - it's only a 90. It sounds like a lot, but not for those fish.

Remember your bloody parrot was intentionally handicapped - in spite of its aggression, it still has a deformed mouth. It can easily lose in the crowded tank wars, if the new fish are naturally shaped. It may have some of its ancestral character (or all of it), but in a fight, it is severely handicapped.

 

Yes I understand that he can't defend himself against other cichlids due to his deformed mouth that's why I was thinking of getting something a little less aggressive like an Oscar. I've just found out my severum has hole in the head disease so I set up a quarantine tank for him but it looks pretty bad so that means all I have in my tank is a blood parrot and pleco

He's too far gone to cure the disease I think I might need to euthanize him what is the most peaceful way

 

He's too far gone to cure the disease I think I might need to euthanize him what is the most peaceful way

Probably overdose him on clove oil. But I've also done a mix of vodka and water in the past that was pretty quick. (But it was for a honey gourami).

 

I read that if you put him in a bag in the freezer they will die peacefully

 

I read that if you put him in a bag in the freezer they will die peacefully

I wouldn't do that. It's a huge temperature shock, even if it knocks them out quickly. Pretty painful too. Think of it this way: Would you like to be frozen to death?

 

Ok how much vodka would I need to euthanize him

 

I think it's something like one part vodka for four parts of vodka, but I added more vodka than that. It's a big fish, so you'd need a good amount I guess. But I still think you should do clove oil instead.

 

Where can you get clove oil

 

Online probably. I've never seen it in my local LFS.

 

I'll try vodka then

I'm taking a trip to my closest fish store nearby other than petsmart which is big Al's and as of tomorrow I will only have a blood parrot and a pleco. I have euthanized the severum with hole in the head disease and will be giving my Africans to big Al's tomorrow. I'm thinking of stocking my tank with

1 blood parrot Cichlid
1 firemouth/convict
1 Jack Dempsey/Oscar
1 pleco

does this seem reasonable for a 90 gallon tank? I would like to keep 3 cichlids but I don't think I'd be able to keep a bp, Oscar, and Dempsey peaceful in that small of a tank. If you know if I could I'd like to know because it will be really hard to decide between an oscar or jd

I also don't need to keep the pleco too if it could be a problem I can always take him to the store too

 

I also don't need to keep the pleco too if it could be a problem I can always take him to the store too

If you are willing to upgrade to a bigger tank in the future to keep him there is nothing wrong with that.

However, if you would like to stick with your current tank, I would just return him because he can reach up to 2 feet.
You can return him and get a BN Pleco instead if you'd like

 

Ok I'll do that then because I don't think I want a 2 ft pleco in my tank. My lfs had a big one before and they had a lot of trouble selling it. It was maybe 22"

I'm back from the store and I got a 7" Jack Dempsey and a 3" convict x jaguar hybrid. I also picked up some cobalt aquatics Cichlid flakes because apparently they're good for the fishes digestive system and have vitamin flakes

I have now finished acclimating them and put the fish in the tank. It turns out that the Jack Dempsey isn't really a Jack Dempsey, but also a jag/con hybrid. Does anyone have any information on these fish? I couldn't really see the fish well because he was in a bucket but there was a jd in the tank he was in unless the worker got the wrong one.. It was a hard tank to look into because it was at floor level

Does anyone know how big they can get?