red blood parrot problems

[ColeFishing]

my red blood parrot has been having trouble lately. She stopped eating, turned a very pale orange/white, and will be sitting upside down in the tank at night(not floating, just under drift wood or plants). the water parameters are in check, water changes done once a week, no aggression and the water is oxygenated with a 16" bubble wand. tank is 75 gallons. she is roughly 4". she also has trouble eating most pellets. i tried to feed her 1mm NLS cichlid pellets but she had trouble swallowing them. she also has what looks like mild gill curl(similar to what a rtc gets?).

PS: i don't know if she is a female but thats how are family adopted her so i don't want to know what sex it is. and we call her ruby. here is a usual pic of her.

 

[ColeFishing]

Bump.


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[Chrisplosion]

What are you feeding? Is she literally upside down or just vertical? Any bullying in the tank from other fish?

 

[lilpendragon]

What is your water testing like?

 

[lilpendragon]

Also more pics!

 

[ColeFishing]

What are you feeding? Is she literally upside down or just vertical? Any bullying in the tank from other fish?

Mostly vertical but occasionally upside down. No, she is usually the bully of the tank. As far as feeding, this is we're it gets complicated. She has a hard time eating most foods. Stuff like pellets are a challenge because they don't stay in her mouth. Lately she has been picking apart mushy pellets that have been sitting. I've also been feeding bloodworms but I try to avoid this.


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[ColeFishing]

What is your water testing like?

Water is clean as usual.


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[JteSchertz]

I think what everyone is asking is about water testing is what are your parameters(Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate)? What type of kit are you using to test the water (sticks, or master test kit). I have had blood parrots for years and haven't had one yet that had problems eating pellets. Even the small ones seem to latch on to bigger pellets and bite off chunks. Blood worms aren't really bad as long as they aren't there only food. Have you tried flakes to see if she can eat anything? As far as vertical/upside down floating....almost sounds like it could be a swim bladder issue. The pic of her you posted is nice, but please post what she looks like now. Thanks and good luck.

 

[lilpendragon]

Mine carry algae wafers around the tank until they get mushy then they swallow them whole.

Try soaking the pellets first?

 

[lilpendragon]

I think what everyone is asking is about water testing is what are your parameters(Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate)? What type of kit are you using to test the water (sticks, or master test kit). I have had blood parrots for years and haven't had one yet that had problems eating pellets. Even the small ones seem to latch on to bigger pellets and bite off chunks. Blood worms aren't really bad as long as they aren't there only food. Have you tried flakes to see if she can eat anything? As far as vertical/upside down floating....almost sounds like it could be a swim bladder issue. The pic of her you posted is nice, but please post what she looks like now. Thanks and good luck.

+1