Sorry but you have a pie in the sky assumption that you can take a bad situation and fix it all with another bad situation. 10 gallon tanks are not made for large Cichlids. You can use them as a temporary holding tank but they are not a permanent solution. ( I believe I went over that with you back a few pages. ) To give you a visual, you can go hide in a closet. You can even stay in the closet for a day or two but how well can you live permanently in the closet? That is the situation your Parrot is in. If you want to save your Silver Dollars, you need to remove the Parrotfish. If you want to keep the Parrot for the rest of it's life, you need to get him a tank at least as big as the tank you are taking him out of. If you can do that, great

That will make everybody happier. If you can't do that, you have to decide just how much you want to save your Dollars and/or your Parrotfish. I'm only thinking about the health of the fish. I've dealt with many large fish so I have first hand experience of their needs and space is their #1 thing they need after a healthy tank to live in. That's just the facts. The sooner you come to the realization that that is the truth, the better off all your fish will be.

The decision obviously is yours but you've already seen how bad this situation is so there is no sugar coating it.
First, based on this post and my previous one, I just want to express that I'm not a fool and when I say my silver dollars have intuition I'm not actually thinking they do. It's a way of coping under this really stressful situation, writing in humor that perhaps they sense that salvation is coming. I'm not an idiot, I know they don't actually sense things like that.
The fact is, I am truly devastated about all that's been going on and doing my best under the circumstances. This is a situation I didn't expect to have to deal with, and I'm very distressed about it for various reasons. Maybe I'm crazy but I've cried tears. Because yes I do care. I'm just really kind of stuck and need to make some decisions.
I will update you here but I really hope that when you respond you can consider the fact that I am not just randomly doing whatever I please, I'm trying my hardest and the circumstances are not in my favor so it's really tough. I need to gain some clarity on what to do going forward. And any option just makes me so sad and worried.
On Friday I transferred my blood parrot to my 10-gal tank. I literally cried doing it. And I cried afterwards. Because he is a strong and healthy fish and really feisty with a lot of personality, and the last thing I want to do is jeopardize his health. But first, he needed to get out of that tank if I wanted to save my silver dollars. He put up a fight. It broke my heart!!!

I'm in tears as I'm writing this. I shouldn't have pets.
On Saturday evening the ammonia in the 10-gal was at 0.25ppm so I did a 25% water change. Did not feed the parrot.
Today during the day, the ammonia was above 0.25ppm so I did a 30% water change. I did not feed him.
I am afraid to test it tomorrow. I will, of course. But can you tell me what to expect, and is this normal and is it possible the tank is cycling well even though the ammonia is there?
He is acting normal. I yearn to hold onto him. But at the same time I want to rehome him in a healthy, big tank. I haven't even found anyone yet that would take him. But I'm also very devastated to give him away - I would have much rather just had him remain in the old tank. He's really pretty and entertaining. It's heartbreaking. I don't know if I should have rather transferred my silver dollars and left him there. But I was afraid to stress them out more.
I don't know if the solution would be to set up a 20-gal tank. I don't know if this filter I'm using is the answer for the 10-gal (the one I sent you the link). I'm using the filter with one compartment since the one with 2 hasn't arrived due to weather delays in shipping. But it has the bio-media of the old tank's filter. And it's supposed to be good for up to 30gal tank.
I don't know if there is anything else I should be doing to make sure my blood parrot stays healthy.
I need to check my PH - stupidly I haven't checked it in a while. Also, this means I might have to add some crushed coral in the 10-gal tank.
Gosh, what do I do now. How do I do best for my parrot but not lose him. I'm devastated.
My silver dollars, at first, were so happy in the tank without him. Bumpy Fish even came up to the surface to eat, although I don't think she actually ate. Today, though, they were scared of the light and they huddled in the corner like the times when they were bullied. Is it possible they're still used to being scared and it takes a few days for them to realize they can relax? I don't know. I'm not sure Bumpy Fish ate today at all, I haven't really seen her eat in a while. She swims around fine but rests also.
I'm nauseous from all of this. I hope I didn't remove my blood parrot for nothing. He definitely bullied them into this situation, but I hope they get better and gain back their weight and happiness. I guess time will tell? What do I do about my parrot in the meantime
My LFS said he knows someone who has a huge tank filled with parrot fish. He would ask if the person would take my fish. What if he does, at least till I figure out what to do.. do you feel it's better that my parrot be rehomed even if temporarily, rather than doing this new tank thing...? I just don't know how soon that would even happen, and I don't know yet if the person will agree either way. I'm just so confused. I guess I will know more once my LFS asks him, but I'm wondering if that's a smarter route to consider.
Please, when you respond can you be gentle. I'm no idiot, I know the situation is not good. I'm devastated as it is. I've cried, I've lost my appetite. I care about my fish tremendously. But I also have a lot going on in my life which just makes this that much more stressful and is the reason I can't just randomly start a brand-new huge tank. I wish I could. I'm trying my best. I really am.

