Parrot fish: description, features of keeping in an aquarium

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Experienced aquarists are hard to surprise. Often, amateurs themselves, who have reached certain heights in their business, begin to feel sad because they cannot diversify a small ocean created at home and inhabited by various inhabitants. Watching fish and admiring their unhurried existence is an activity that causes not only aesthetic pleasure, but, according to psychologists, can calm the nervous system, which is very important in the busy life of the modern world.

Those who already have a good collection of fish sometimes want something exotic, but it's not always available in pet stores. It is worth noting that many fish are quite expensive in terms of cost and troublesome to maintain. But there is one "live option" that wins hearts, differing not only in an affordable price, but also in incredible beauty. This choice becomes a parrot fish that brings the seapleasure to their breeders. It is to her that we dedicate today's article, after reading which, every amateur will be able to understand the rules for keeping this individual in an aquarium and find out its main characteristics.

Skin

Fiery or intense orange is the standard for amazing parrotfish. They are descended from a family called the Cichlids. By the way, experts say that as a result of the selection of three types of cichlids, such peculiar individuals were obtained that are loved by aquarists all over the world. Among artificially bred parrots, there are representatives whose coloration is dominated by other variegated colors: lemon, milky, blue, purple, or double combinations of the listed shades. The fish was named so for an unusual head, huge and reminiscent of a parrot's beak, as well as a variegated color. Usually these aquarium fish grow to impressive sizes - from 15 to 30 cm.

You can keep the color of the main color, but you cannot breed individuals at home

It is noteworthy that pet stores offer customers a wide variety of colors of this representative of the aquarium world, but today there is practically no amateur who would be able to see their eggs at home. In other words, we can safely say that few people have been able to observe the reproduction of this individual in home conditions. Rumor has it that breeders keep information about the species in the strictest confidence, not giving since 1991 (the time of breeding fish isparrots) to anyone to independently engage in their full-fledged breeding.

By the way, experienced aquarists who have kept such fish for a long time noted that their color can change depending on certain features of the food. For example, if there is a high content of carotene in an industrial dry concentrate, then the color of the individual, its red and orange pigments will acquire a more saturated, special color. But the fish will fade from excessive lighting and from old age.

Contents

In general, keeping a parrot fish at home does not require any special sophistication. It is only important to keep the aquarium clean, as well as feed the waterfowl on time. But the main thing nevertheless lies in the volume of housing provided for the selected individual: at least 200 liters of water are required for two adult fish. We list the main requirements put forward for the comfortable existence of motley fish in a human home:

1. Water temperature is between 21-27 degrees Celsius.
2. Water hardness level 5-7 mEq/liter.
3. PH 6, 5–7, 5.
4. Aquarium fish need constant aeration (saturation of water with oxygen bubbles).

By the way, in order to make it easier to clean the aquarium with a sufficiently large amount of water, it is recommended for the parrot fish to renew it daily at the rate of 50% of the entire volume.

Gender characteristics

Male parrotfish have little difference from females. Sometimes determine genderbelonging to a particular individual is possible only under spawning conditions. During this period, a sharp and narrow canal becomes clearly visible in males, through which seminal fluid is transmitted, but in a female parrot fish, a wide ovipositor. By color, size or any other features characteristic of other natural representatives of a diverse water world, it is impossible to distinguish variegated fish.

By the way, many novice exotic lovers in their own home, looking forward to admiring the beauty and originality of the species for a long time, are interested in the question: how long do parrot fish live? So, in comfortable conditions, such beauties are able to please their owners for about 10 years, and in nature their life can be several times more than the indicated figure.

Aquarium setup

In order for a motley and unusual fish to live as long as possible at home, it is important to create a comfortable and properly equipped place for its habitat. Sometimes nuances such as the presence or absence of pebbles, for example, can shorten the lives of the inhabitants of a miniature water world.

A special moment of keeping parrotfish in an aquarium is their natural desire to equip family houses. This is especially evident during the spawning period. The fish, whose head resembles the beak of a parrot, among lovers of the exotic is considered an adherent of disorder and chaos, because in search of the best materials for building a family nest, it is able to dig through the ground and even pull out vegetation planted for beauty. To avoidconstantly cloudy water and glass pollution, preference should be given to medium fraction pebbles and weighty decor: snags or locks and dark shelters made of safe material. Vegetation can be excluded altogether; for colored parrots, it is a provocateur to the immediate development of nests.

Compatibility of parrot fish with other aquarium individuals

Bright, but rather large fish, called parrots, like their other counterparts, require a competent approach to the content. It is important to understand that such a fish will get along quite comfortably with its species. This is especially true when all pets were purchased on the same day. This representative of the world of aquatic creatures can coexist equally well with both predators and "peaceful" aquarium fish. Also, cohabitants of parrot fish should be individuals of the same size as it, otherwise the motley entertainers will simply swallow small relatives. We list those who are most suitable for living together in the same area with parrots:

1. Labeo.
2. Aravans.
3. Black knives.
4. Medium soms.
5. Barbs.

It is strongly not recommended to settle snails and other mollusks with parrot fish, because the motley fish, which is a predator by nature, will gnaw through the snail shell and get hurt by fragments from it. By the way, during spawning, males are extremely aggressive. They prefer to swim almost on the bottom, so you should always give preference to those of their neighbors that prowl on the surface or in mediumlayers.

Basic diet

Fish with a parrot-like head are inherently omnivores. You can even call them gluttons. But overfeeding for representatives of the colorful inhabitants of aquariums can be fatal. In specialized stores, you need to buy cichlid food for such pets, as well as add "live" representatives to their diet: bloodworms, for example. Shrimps, boiled fish and lean meat - all this must also be offered to the pet, not forgetting that due to lack of food, the parrot is able to eat algae and other vegetation in the aquarium.

Experiential Secrets

For those who have decided to have a parrotfish at home, but have not yet had enough experience in keeping one, we have collected some useful tips:

1. If the fish begins to lose activity, then it is worth considering the issue of the conditions created for it. Analysis of the situation gives a good picture: temperature, filtration, aeration are important points in the content.
2. Parrot fish is a jumping creature, so you should think about the aquarium lid, on which, by the way, you can perfectly place the backlight.
3. Due to the fact that the motley fish are quite sneaky and very nimble, they should be planted only with individuals of a similar temperament. Otherwise, the parrot fish will constantly prey on amorphous creatures and eventually kill them. By the way, since 1991 there have been disputes about the comfortable existence of parrots with angelfish. Someone claims that such a union is ideal, while others notice that the scalar,hiding in the algae, becomes the prey of large motley fish.

Conclusion

Parrot fish in aquariums, properly equipped by amateurs or professionals, will be a real masterpiece and decoration of any home. Their content, however, as well as the content of other fish, should be taken seriously. Indeed, only in this case, a person can count on a long admiration for the life of an exotic pet, which is still able to bring peace and relax its owner, giving a quiet cozy evening alone with their thoughts and dreams.