Parrot cichlid aggression or courting?

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M

mahsfish

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 19, 2012
1,043
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Calgary, AB
I just picked up a pair of blood parrots. I know males are usually sterile but I decided to purchase them as a pair even though they've never bred before. But the previous owner had then in a large tank with other blood parrots and a couple other fish.

They are a male and female. The last owner said that they started cleaning a cave a bit. And the females tube is showing.

Anyways. They get along and swim around decently. However at times the male kinda nudges her or bugs her a bit. And hell flare up sometimes and smack her with his tail sometimes.

There isn't any real chasing. But sometimes if the move apart the male will race up to get in front of her and swim beside her or nudge her.

I know parrots don't have useful teeth so damage isn't an issue. But I know stress can be a factor.

Also just watching them now. There is one pot that the female was in and the male kinda pushed her out and is in it. When the female came back over he nudged her away. It looks like he's cleaning it. But he seems to keep nudging her away.

Is he cleaning his territory or making a nest?
And is this aggression or courting behavior. Should I worry

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Also provided is a pic of my tank. It is a 55 gallon and both fish are about 6" long.
He seems to be nudging her a bit more now aswell

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May I add. That sometimes if the male starts swimming up to the female will sorts swim kinda around him with he tail up to avoid getting nudged. I don't know if this is avoiding being pushed or if the head down swimming is a submissive thing.

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When I mean pushing. I mean like pushing/biting but their mouths aren't fully functional.

Also the male seems to swim around a lot more than the female. She tends to stay in the same spots above the cave unless the male comes and nudges her away.

Also the female tends to swim with her head slightly pointed down. Would this be because of submissive state or just because blood parrots are odd swimmers sometimes?

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The male now bothers the female only a bit. But he has started digging below the female behind the cave. Looks like breeding behaviors

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crush329 said:
It's always good to let them try at least once. Share a vid. Good luck

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Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I will let the try. Then at least even if they dont hatch the female has some breeding experience so I can cross he with other fish.

And if they do hatch, then I am extremely lucky and may be able to make some decent money of the fry if they turn out to look like parrots.

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I came home and the pit he dug is a little larger. And the female is still staying above the pot or near it. She went in it once or twice.

I noticed the male swimming around the tank more. He was also at the other end of the tank and he seems to be swimming g at the glass maybe he sees his reflection. Also he seems to bug the female a little bit more. And I did see him make a run at her once but it ended right after he pushed her

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Also. I was told that the male might be kkp as his mouth isn't triangle shaped and he doesn't have the notch.

Does this mean I should worry about damage. As he does "bite" her sometimes.

Also it seems like he will bug her more if she is closer to the gravel by his pit or in and around the cave.

Is this more aggression and territorial defense?

Would adding 2 more blood parrots their size help distribute aggression? Or is 2 more 6" parrots too much for a 55 gal with 50% weekly water changes? Would maybe a convict work as a dither than? Or just one more parrot?

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Due to some factors I have decided to divide them. Lack of some response and I didn't like what was going on so I divided them so I don't have to worry about anything. Also I and going away this weekend. I wanted to divide them that way I don't need to worry while I am gone and that even if they did breed while I was gone I don't have to worry about it as much since the possibility of the males sperm fertilizing the eggs from where he is are low even if he is fertile. And maybe dividing them will make the male "want" her more for in the future.

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