# Blood Parrot questions...



## locomouse (Aug 11, 2010)

Hello to everyone... 

Please forgive me... I don't know where to post this question. I'm a little more than stressed at the moment and I could sure use some sage advice.

My brother was downsizing from his 100 gallon aquarium and I wanted two of his blood parrots... which he gave me. He quickly sold the rest.

Please don't flame... I know a 10 gallon aquarium is not big enough for two parrot fish but I had to act quickly and that's all I had.

I've since acquired a 30 gallon tank... all I want is the two parrots and maybe an algae eater... but...

Since the two parrots landed here in their 10 gallon tank... the female (I'm guessing) "sucked" clean the piece of driftwood that came from my brother's established tank. I thought she was doing that for nutritive value as both parrot fish refused to eat for the past three days.

I had to go to the store today and when I returned home I watched as she laid hundreds of eggs on that piece of driftwood. Now, both she and the male are fanning the eggs. Neither one of them will eat anything. And that concerns me very much.

I realize that these fish are man made and that the eggs are not likely viable. But I don't know what to do now.

I bought a 30 gallon tank today but I'm nervous about moving them because all they care about right now are the eggs on that piece of driftwood and the surrounding coral.

So... I have two questions, really.

#1. Is there anything I can do to help these two with their eggs?

#2. Will they eat again anytime soon? This really bothers me... that they won't eat. I spent most of last night in tears... and I just don't know what to do.

This is my first encounter with fish. But I love these two dearly and don't want to make huge mistakes that will result in their unhappiness.

Any and all advice will be absolutely appreciated.

I'm looking at them now and all they do is fan those eggs. They will not eat. Not even one flake.

This is killing me...

Thank you for reading...

Helen


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

Stop worrying about them not eating, they can go for quite a while before they will starve to death, and they probably won't let that happen. Let them parent the eggs for a while, if the eggs are not fertile they'll figure it out and eat them or the eggs will go bad (turn white or even grow fungus either way remove them from the tank)... However you should worry about fouling the water by overfeeding, especially when they show no interest in eating at the moment. You probably need to vaccum the gravel and do a partial wc to get the uneaten food out of the tank.

Is the 30 gallon cycled? if not, get cycling so you can move them into it... If this is your first encounter with fish you may be setting yourself up for heartbreak (sorry to say)  ... Do some research. I'll try to help you as much as possible, but first need to know what you know about fish keeping...


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## locomouse (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks so much for your response... I truly appreciate your time.

I have been vacuuming the gravel and doing a 10-15% water change every two days because the tank is so small. When I offer them flakes, I wait for a few minutes and if they don't show any interest I net the flakes out before they can sink.

The first couple of days they ate voraciously... which is why this sudden lack of appetite bothers me so much. But I'll stop worrying about this issue.

The eggs are still clear and they are still fanning this morning. Flakes offered, refused, netted out.

I will have the 30 gallon tank fired up by this afternoon. My brother is bringing over 20 gallons of established water (from the tank these two lived in for a couple of years... it's how we moved them to this tank... with established water and decorations) and I'll top it up with dechlorinated water and let it run.

I'm wondering how stressed they will become during the move. Should I put the piece of driftwood with all the eggs on it in the new tank undisturbed?

I've been researching online pretty much constantly and have learned a lot. However, I wasn't at all prepared for these two to lay eggs right off the bat.

Again, thanks for your post... I'll stop worrying about the not eating issue.

Helen


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## locomouse (Aug 11, 2010)

And... if you're still willing to work with me through this... do you know how long it should take for the eggs to turn white and rot/decompose if they are not fertile? I'd just like to know what to watch for....

At this writing all of the eggs are still clear... two of them turned white during the afternoon and the female ate them pomptly.

Both the male and the female are fanning the eggs... the male looks exhausted and is slowing down considerably (he's huge... somewhere around 5" long and 3 1/2" in girth) whereas the female does her bit and then zooms through the tank... sideways... upside down... crazily swimming and attacking plants... and then resumes her fanning. She's very pale now... almost white. Neither of them will eat.

I vacuumed the gravel and did another 10% wc today. Offered food... nothing doing.

They just continue to undulate... back and forth over the egg laden driftwood and coral... they can't seem to be lured from that no matter what.

When I do the wc, I rinse the filter in the drawn tank water... just to maintain the eco balance.

I hope I'm doing things correctly... please let me know if I'm in error here...

Any and all ideas/direction is more than appreciated.

Thank you.

Helen


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

locomouse said:


> When I do the wc, I rinse the filter in the drawn tank water... just to maintain the eco balance.
> 
> Don't rinse too much as you will deplete the bacteria colonies...


The fish know what they are doing, you see how she ate the bad eggs... They are acting purely on instinct.

When you set up the 30 gallon use all the current water and decorations and the current filter, you want as much bacteria as you can in the new tank. However I fear that you are going to have a mini cycle in the tank... you may want to leave them in the 10 gallon until the 30 is fully cycled... Do you have a test kit?


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

How are your fish doing?


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