Anybody keep true Parrot Cichlids (Hoplarchus psittacus)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Thanks, Alex.

What would be a minimum stocking level including dither fish to control aggression? My parrot can be quite aggresive towards other fish.
 
I have a pair in a 100 with 2 large silver dollars and they come right out in the open. Silver dollars are good because they are tough enough to hang with the cichlids and fast enough not to get caught :) Also, other large relatively peaceful cichlids are good with them as well, like Uaru or big severums.
 
Sounds good, since SDs are from the same region. I'm looking at getting a pair as dithers.

Tried feeding romaine lettuce last night...it wouldn't touch it. In the end, the pellets won...
 
Yeah, I tried spinach with no luck. The silver dollars tore it up though. I might get some peas like people have been telling me. The pellets seem to be ok, but I would like to mix it up a little.
 
K C;755564; said:
I have a 5" kept in its own tank. How can I make it less skittish, any suggestion? I feed mine bloodworm and pre-soak pellets, what do you guys feed them?


Mine was extremely skittish until I put him in my 180. The 180 has a monoculus pbass, 3 uaru, and a black arowana. He hid for the first day, then was interacting with all the other fish and begging at the front glass for food. The change from a small tank by himself to a large tank full of tankmates made a real difference in his personality. He also grew about 5".
 
Duckman77;760548; said:
Mine was extremely skittish until I put him in my 180. The 180 has a monoculus pbass, 3 uaru, and a black arowana. He hid for the first day, then was interacting with all the other fish and begging at the front glass for food. The change from a small tank by himself to a large tank full of tankmates made a real difference in his personality. He also grew about 5".

Seems like they do better in the company of others.

How is it getting along with the uarus, so far?
 
The parrots chase my Uaru a little but nothing major. I have never had them actually hurt the Uaru, even the smaler Uaru. Hell, I have 2 parrots in with a small altum angel and have not had any problems. I kept expecting the altum to disappear but so far so good. I eventually want to put some large severums in with them too.
 
I've tried adding my dollar sunfish as dither fish, they ended up fighting and I had to remove it. DS can be pretty aggresive for their size, it wouldn't back down.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com