can you identify these fish?

[violetmoon]

I am very new to fish, tanks etc but am trying to learn fast as we've inherited two fish recently and unfortunatly they were left by a previous tenant so we have no info on them.
They were in a tiny ten gallon tank that was covered in a brown rusty looking goo. The filter was full of mold and no way was it even working a little bit. We got a new 36 gal tank and are in the process of setting it up for them.
So my question, and I will probably have a tun lol, but what kind of fish are these and what would be best to put in the tank with them? Eg; plants, decorations etc.

Thanks to everyone who replies, we are hoping to give these guys a great new life!

 

[coralbandit]

parrot fish(fresh water).

 

[violetmoon]

Thanks for identifying them. Is there anything special this type of fish needs?

 

[demo]

Hello Violet Moon,

Thanks for saving the little fishies . I think those are parrot fish and/or parrot cichlids..I don't know much about them . I've found good information here,Wikipedia , utube and Google search , .of course there is a lot of bunk information out there too.
Have you heard of the nitrogen cycle ? You tube videos helped me remember a lot about it.you don't have to geek out on it,but a basic understanding some patience will go a long way in successfull fish keeping
Wish you the best in this amazing hobby

 

[violetmoon]

Thanks demo, we've been watching a lot of youtube vids today. I bought my oldest a betta four years ago and that was our extent of fish keeping, so its definatly a new learning process. We are going to get some live plants tomorrow and a decoration or two.
Im glad I found this forum, there seems to be a lot of info shared which is great for us!

 

[demo]

Your welcome
Never thought I would be recommending any thing from the web,other than stay away the man is tracking you but here I am.life is full of seprises
Sorry I can't spell well and auto correct enjoys making me look stupid

 

[violetmoon]

Haha I totally know what you mean.

 

[aok]

The Blood Parrot Cichlids can get fairly huge, 8" max. How big are they right now? Here's a website with some info for your new fishy friends. Parrot Cichlids

 

[Jaeroo]

They, as everyone has already said, are parrot fish. I don't believe they can go with any tropical community fish as they can be aggressive towards them so maybe a species only tank would be best. If you look at the top of the list of threads (to where you posted) there is a "sticky" thread that lists (almost) everything you need to know to get started with this hobby. Good luck!!

 

[cgthebeast]

Parrot cichlids get fairly large, and can have a nasty temperament when they get older. I believe they also tear up plants with in a degree to becoming swimming lawn mowers. Do you have any idea how long these fish were in the 10g as there might have been stunted


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[violetmoon]

The larger one is about four inches, the smaller about three and a half. I really wish I knew more about them from the previous owners. Can you tell their approx age by size?

 

[violetmoon]

Im hoping I have a handle on their care now, I have read a lot of info on general care so far. They seem to have adapted quite well. They hadn't eaten for the first four days but now seem to eat every little scrap of food. I did get cichlid pellet food for them, which they seem to really like. They runt through the rocks to get at any that have sunk.
We did get a pleco and they poked at him a few times the first day but they have left him alone since. If they do get aggressive with him we will move him to another tank.

Thanks so much for all the replies! We are really enjoying these fish and can understand the attraction of fish ownership!

 

[cgthebeast]

What type o pleco did you buy? If it's a common, I'm afraid that might added on to your trouble as commons get 18in. An Nope, no way to tell a fish by size to there age


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[violetmoon]

Yikes! Thats a whole lotta pleco! And yes it's just a common pleco. I guess we should be on the look out for a larger tank in the future then. Which really isn't a bad thing because they are fascinating to watch.

 

[Fishobsessed7]

It would be cool to see a huge species only tank with parrots! I think they are quite cool, they just don't work for my setups!


Fishobsessed7

3 tanks and counting! (6 if you count the bettas)