Strange looking parrots

Jayoco

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2018
27
10
3
40
Calgary
A1E91771-FC88-4D48-B1DE-ECB0B3538D55.jpeg 2FD4E325-B071-4747-8063-E4D91E0CC02E.jpeg 578DBEC5-DF6A-4589-83E7-E98303544601.jpeg 7023C465-B1C6-4B2C-B4FE-FD3F2107ABCC.jpeg Hi all. So I bought these parrots because 1 they look amazing and 2 they are a pair. When I got them on had a slightest tinge of blue now he’s coming out in a lot of blue. I was told they where zebra parrots but thinking myself their a cross with convicts.... what do you people think and on the behaviour? One is defiantly a dominant male. Unsure if the other is female because they won’t get jiggy.
 

~T~

Piranha
MFK Member
Dec 18, 2006
504
112
76
Hanoi, Vietnam
They look more like short body HRP. Just because they have the short body and parrot style mouth does not mean they are part parrot. Looks like you probably have 2 males. Interesting looking fish. I would own them. Also did you post these on a FB group recently? I saw similar fish on one.
 

Jayoco

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2018
27
10
3
40
Calgary
Hi T. Much appreciated when I got them the guy said they was zebra parrot An they do have similarity’s I just took them as young parrots. He was breeding them had a separate pair with fry so when he told me they was a breeding pair I assumed he knew what he was talking about. What are the HRP you mentioned? These are very perculiar behaviour I’m trying to upload a vid but it won’t allow me. It looks like breeding but then one looks like it is giving in to dominance. They defiantly have me confused. No I’m not on any fb pages too.
 

~T~

Piranha
MFK Member
Dec 18, 2006
504
112
76
Hanoi, Vietnam
Hi T. Much appreciated when I got them the guy said they was zebra parrot An they do have similarity’s I just took them as young parrots. He was breeding them had a separate pair with fry so when he told me they was a breeding pair I assumed he knew what he was talking about. What are the HRP you mentioned? These are very perculiar behaviour I’m trying to upload a vid but it won’t allow me. It looks like breeding but then one looks like it is giving in to dominance. They defiantly have me confused. No I’m not on any fb pages too.
Basically some cichlids throw out a short body fish now and again, sort of like a dwarfism in humans. They sometimes have the funny mouth that parrots have too. The gene is recessive so you have to breed one to another short body to get short body fry. This is probably what the guy is doing. It's very common for people to have short body pink cons breeding and due to them resembling parrots, people will sell them as them (knowingly or unknowingly) short body striped cons are less common but do pop up now and then. As I said, yours look like HRPs (Honduran red point cichlid) which are a close relative of convicts. They are usuallty more blue but also can be sort of smokey looking with less defined stripes and also have red on the tail fin. Yours look at least part HRP, the other part more than likely being convict. I don't think they are parrot as breeding short body convict to a parrot yields infertile fish which look mostly like large chunky convicts. The fact the guy has a breeding pair suggests they are short body pure fish (or con crosses which are also fertile). I'm not 100% sure on sexing HRP as they are a little more variable than convicts. If you you can get the vid uploaded then maybe we can tell.

Here's a few vids of a HRP pairs.



HRP x convict


Short body convicts



And here's the pic I saw on FB. It looks a lot like your fish.

 
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Jayoco

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2018
27
10
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Calgary
Hi T. Thanks again they do look very similar but I’m not sure still. I have uploaded the video to YouTube so here is the link.

I must stress this is only when together and when the light is turned on that the bumping happens so I don’t belive theirs a issue with ich or anything we are keeping an eye out for signs but I can’t fathom that it’s only when they are together this behaviour happens.
 

Jayoco

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2018
27
10
3
40
Calgary
Hi convict cichlids. What are they? Do you know because they was described as parrots and have a look of parrots but now being told their not. The place I got them had them bred with fry in the next tank. He was adamant not to sell me that pair. I bought the breeding pair in the video but I’m dubious on wether they are. But as far as I know yes they breed.
 

Jayoco

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 12, 2018
27
10
3
40
Calgary
Their lovely looking fish their behaviour is strange when I first put them in they kept hiding. To the point I had to hide to watch them come out. They watch me as much as I watch them. I’m gunna get everything out of the tank and let them be alone hope this gets them to breed.
 
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