How Well Can A Fish Recover (with photos)

[AKKADIAN]

Hi. I have...had a really nice looking Geophagus Brasiliensis, he had excellent colour and finnage. For the most part he was left alone by other fish - in fact, at one stage he was probably the bully of the tank.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I introduced a True Parrot into the community. From my understanding True Parrots are supposed to be docile fish and for the most part, that is true. The True Parrot seems to ignore most fish, all except one - the Geo.
The True Parrot put the Geo into a blender, as you can see from the photos.

I have now seperate the Geo from the True Parrot, is it likely that with time he will completely recover?
Funnily enoigh, the Geo never stopped eating - he’s a fighter.

 

[tlindsey]

Hi. I have...had a really nice looking Geophagus Brasiliensis, he had excellent colour and finnage. For the most part he was left alone by other fish - in fact, at one stage he was probably the bully of the tank.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I introduced a True Parrot into the community. From my understanding True Parrots are supposed to be docile fish and for the most part, that is true. The True Parrot seems to ignore most fish, all except one - the Geo.
The True Parrot put the Geo into a blender, as you can see from the photos.

I have now seperate the Geo from the True Parrot, is it likely that with time he will completely recover?
Funnily enoigh, the Geo never stopped eating - he’s a fighter.

View attachment 1346511 View attachment 1346512

Keep the water in pristine condition and the Geo Brasiliensis should recover.

 

[duanes]

I agree with Tom.
True parrots are generally considered less aggressive, but I've seen many very aggressive ones, and many alpha personality cichlids will attack the closet tank mate that seems to them to be capable of challenging its dominance, and it sounds to me like the parrot plans of taking over the tank. Maybe none of the others would be even remotely challenging.
The Geo will probably never be let back in the tank, and you may need to watch the parrot, if it deems other cichlids down the hierarchal line need to be dispatched, it may start on the next likely candidate, now that the Geo if gone.

 

[Rocksor]

It will recover, although you will notice some slight discoloration in the new scales that grow back. With the last picture, my preference would be to put him in quarantine (55g minimum) and treat with Seachem paraguard to prevent any infection.

Don't bother trying to put it back a few months down the road or even years later unless you remove the parrot. I've tried this, and it rarely works, and not really worth he effort.

 

[AKKADIAN]

I agree with Tom.
True parrots are generally considered less aggressive, but I've seen many very aggressive ones, and many alpha personality cichlids will attack the closet tank mate that seems to them to be capable of challenging its dominance, and it sounds to me like the parrot plans of taking over the tank. Maybe none of the others would be even remotely challenging.
The Geo will probably never be let back in the tank, and you may need to watch the parrot, if it deems other cichlids down the hierarchal line need to be dispatched, it may start on the next likely candidate, now that the Geo if gone.

I suppose that’s how it is for most cichlids, each have their own personality and temperament of a species is to be used more as a guide. I’ve seen an Oscar that was peacefully living with Neon Tetras.
Right now, the Geo is still in the same tank, albeit segregated from the rest, so as far as the Parrot is concerned, he’s still there to be challenged - which is probably taking his mind off the other fish (for the moment).

It will recover, although you will notice some slight discoloration in the new scales that grow back. With the last picture, my preference would be to put him in quarantine (55g minimum) and treat with Seachem paraguard to prevent any infection.

Don't bother trying to put it back a few months down the road or even years later unless you remove the parrot. I've tried this, and it rarely works, and not really worth he effort.

I was afraid that might be the case, with regards to the recovering. I had a Vieja who was badly attacked once and while he did recover is colour was never the same again.

I’ve already decided that this tank is not big enough for the both of them (I say this as a expression - it’s a 6ft tank), so I will have to decide which fish is the better option to keep. That being said, I will wait untill the Geo has recovered.

So what does everyone think? What is the better option for a community tank?
A 12 inch True Parrot or a 8.5 inch Geo?
Which is more likely to turn rogue?

 

[Rocksor]

If it was working fine with the brasilensis before, then your best bet is to rehome the parrot. Your parrot is an unknown at this point.