Mank thanks and REALLY WEIRD QUESTION ABOUT BP'S !?!?

FishRCool

Well, to all of those who have been helping me I want to say thank you. You have made us come so far. You saved our fish's lives from the tragedies that WalMart and PetsMart's advice had started. You'll be glad to hear that we have a much more powerful filter now. 40 gallon tank - rated for 70 gallons and we sadly gave away all the fish (mixed cichlids (african and southamerican) and kept the blood parrot and added another blood parrot. So now we have 2 blood parrots and we're going to let them have the tank to themselves. Also, I couldn't find any biro spira....i think that is what it was called so we had to buy some Cycle (beneficial bacteria) and the water is reading good....for now. Will it stay that way? Started tank 5th....added fish 6th....had bad ammonia problems until we used the Cycle.

Ok, here's the question. What in the world !?!? Our fish have been scared, having changes done to the tank and being new - totally freaked out for 3 or 4 days. Finally yesterday they started coming out and getting comfortable. The BP that has been here the longest (around 15 days) took over the planter (pot) that I put in there for the new BP. He/she picks at the other fish (new one) whenever he/she comes into the pot with him/her. lol. ...looks kinda like a bite but not really. Well, I was just starting to get worried because he/she was doing it more and more and then all of a sudden something REALLY WEIRD happened. They started connecting at the mouth over and over and over and chasing eachother in a circle.....going upside down over and over. They did this for 20 minutes straight. Are they FLIRTING?? DOES THIS MEAN I GOT A GIRL AND A BOY? Oh, I hope so. ha ha. Don't tell me what I want to hear. Give it to me straight. lol. Also when they were done their colors were WAY DARKER than before .......WAY WAY WAY DARKER. ....so weird. I am guessing they were kinda making out and then they parted their ways and are hiding again and they act like young people all in a huff trying to calm down. lol. I don't know anything about fish though. This is my first tank. It's so sad they can't have babies. One more thing the older BP's mouth is open wider now than it was before. His mouth is bigger. ?? Please tell me what's going on. ...fingers crossed....
Thanks to all.

herefishy

My guess is that you have two males and that thier little struggle was match to see who had more testosterone. If both colored up, I would almost bet one it.

FishRCool

I don't know if this makes a difference or not but when they were going in circles over and over it wasn't violent....it was actually kinda graceful but I could be totally off base with my opinion. They weren't chasing eachother...they were going upside down over and over with eachother. ? Thanks alot !

FishRCool

This saddens me.

okiemavis

I don't think I'd worry too much- it sounds like just a display of dominance, not too violent, so just keep an eye on it for now. I mean, as long as the other guy stays out of the planter pot, is he not being harassed? Do you have more than one cave so they can both establish their own territory?

FishRCool

I bought another planter-pot and sometimes they each go into their own and are fine and sometimes they fight over the older one. Maybe they just like to squabble. ha ha. So ALL of you think they are males? ha ha. Thanks alot.

Oh, I've been thinking about it and I'm wondering if I have a 55 gallon tank can I but 3 blood parrots in it and it be big enough for them even in adulthood? Is there any way to sorta guess which fish is a female when you buy a fish from the store? Thanks.

NaomiiSmith

Usually the females are lighter and slightly smaller than the males, but taht does depend on whether they have been injected with dye or not.
Parrot fish do have a nasty nip to them, when im feeding mine the frozen bloodworm or hoovering the tank iv two that love to chase me arm around the tank and give it a good headbutt type nip, which can be a bit sore at times..!
As the parrot fish can range anything between 8inch and 3 feet I would be a bit wary of how many to add, if you were to add a female id say that if you have two males already its going to make them bicker even more, as they would have to fight over the female, probably causing her vast amount of stress too.!!
However, the person who sells you your fish should be able to tell you the sexes if you were to go and add another one, obviously it depends on the age,,,,hope this helpss..!!x

iamntbatman

I've never heard of a blood parrot reaching three feet. The usual figure is more like 9" when full grown, but I've personally never seen one bigger than maybe 7".

Your biggest concern with adding another fish (even in a larger tank) is that if they do pair up and breed, the odd fish out might get quite beaten up. However, due to the massive amount of genetic manipulation that went on in the creation of this fish, it's widely believed that many of them are sterile and cannot breed, so it might not be a problem for you after all.

okiemavis

They are mostly sterile- but that wouldn't prevent problems from arising if two of them paired up and laid eggs, which is still possible. They'll go through the same territorial behaviors as if they could actually produce fry.

FishRCool

Thanks so much for the added info. :)