Tank mates for blood parrots?

[priyasha_m]

Hello, i have a 55 gallon tank, am thinking of getting two blood parrots (they will be small, will move to a bigger tank when they get older) So i visited the LFS today and this is what they had :

Powder blue cichlid
Salvini
Ice blue cichlid
five color cichlid (not sure which one this exactly is but google says its "Aulonocara" )
flowerhorn
blue dolphin
red jewel
Red Kadango
oscars

Would love some advice as to which ones i should go for as these are really the options i have right now! Just dont want a lot of fighting in my tank!
I am just worried about putting the wrong fish as the last blood parrots i had were quite aggressive! Thanks!

 

[priyasha_m]

There are a few changes, i am getting only one blood parrot. He is 3 years old. What tank mates should i get him?

 

[Nimo]

There are a few changes, i am getting only one blood parrot. He is 3 years old. What tank mates should i get him?

In my opinion unless you can find a tank mate of the same size as the blood parrot I wouldn't add any thing. The 3 yr old parrot is already sexually mature and will be aggressive to any tank mate you put with it so if the mate is not already of equal size the parrot will most likely kill it.

 

[priyasha_m]

Thanks.. I thought so. So i think i wont add any more cichlids. What about a couple of pearl gouramis with the blood parrot? Will he be aggressive towards gouramis as well or just other cichlids?

 

[Nimo]

It is risky, and really depends on the parrots attitude. If you try the gouramis they need to be in the tank before the parrot is introduced and even at that it is hit and miss

 

[Malawi Freak]

Gouramis are still cichlids. Blood parrots are not aggressive fish.

 

[HUKIT]

Gouramis are still cichlids.

I beg to differ, they come from the same order(as do close to 45% of all fish) but they are not in cichlidae...they're in anabantoid.

 

[Malawi Freak]

Hmm. I always thought Gouramis were part of cichlidae.

 

[garfy]

I thought they belonged to Osphronemidae

 

[HUKIT]

I thought they belonged to Osphronemidae

That's the family, Anabantoidei is the sub-order.

 

[garfy]

Okey dokey

 

[Jetstorm369]

Hello, i have a 55 gallon tank, am thinking of getting two blood parrots (they will be small, will move to a bigger tank when they get older) So i visited the LFS today and this is what they had :

Powder blue cichlid
Salvini
Ice blue cichlid
five color cichlid (not sure which one this exactly is but google says its "Aulonocara" )
flowerhorn
blue dolphin
red jewel
Red Kadango
oscars

Would love some advice as to which ones i should go for as these are really the options i have right now! Just dont want a lot of fighting in my tank!
I am just worried about putting the wrong fish as the last blood parrots i had were quite aggressive! Thanks!

Hey, I know this isn't exactly advice, but would you be interested in adopting two blood parrots that I'm giving away?

 

[priyasha_m]

Gouramis are still cichlids. Blood parrots are not aggressive fish.

Gouramis are not cichlids. And the last blood parrots i had used to fight a lot as they grew older. Maybe it was a special case.

 

[priyasha_m]

Hey, I know this isn't exactly advice, but would you be interested in adopting two blood parrots that I'm giving away?

Hiya I would have loved to, but my friend didnt have space for her 3 year old in her tank so she gave it to me. Its about 4.5 inches already, im afraid i dont have space for two more in my 55g

 

[linds3y]

I have my blood parrot with a dwarf gourami, angel, black ghost knife, peacock eel, 4 silver dollars, 5 african dwarf frogs and a random platy that I put in and now can't catch lol and a swordtail, along with 6 danio. I can honestly say that she/he bothers none of them, aside from being greedy with food. But she's not so good at getting food anyway, I hand feed her.

 

[brannon]

Gouramis are more similar to beta fish. They can get oxygen out of the water on their on. Tough fish. I have 2 in a tank with mixed african cichlids. They do well with them. With my parrots ive had a lot of tankmates. Theyre very silly fish big enough to not be picked on. And bc of their mouth they seem to be not too big a threat to anything else.

 

[Nimo]

There's a number of peaceful fish that can successfully be kept with aggressive cichlids, it is just a good idea to put the least aggressive fish in the tank first and then introduce the more aggressive fish to the tank.
I have a rainbow shark gouromies and black shirt tetras in a mbuna cichlids tank and they do fine but the rainbow, gouromies and tetras were put in there first before the cichlids were introduced.

 

[lorihallfrisch]

when I got my parrot fish he was in with a bunch of cichlids. he was pushy and aggressive but never could do more then posture. I moved it to a community aquarium with baby angels, various tetras and it is the most peaceful silly fish. I don't think they( at least mine) is aggressive at all.

 

[ronnieroach]

i've had parrots with tons of other cichlids. kribensis, firemouths, severums, africans, pikes, an oscar (they hid from him, but ate with him too) .. as well as shovelnose & redtail cats

obviously each fish's aggression is different so i wouldnt recommend an oscar, africans or firemouths.

IMO kribensis, severums and a nice catfish are the way to go (until the cat eats your kribs like mine did lol)