# Flowerhorn with Blood parrot



## WarTank (12 mo ago)

My FH seems to be pairing up with my red parrot. Any advise on whether they mate for life?
Any possibility of dithers? 🤔


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Hello,
and welcome to Cichlid-Forum!
And no, they won't mate for life. That Flowerhorn is still small. When he (or she?) gets bigger in size, it won't have as much patience with anything else in its tank.
And dithers are kind of a snack. Flowerhorns like to chase and eat them when they get bored.


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Auballagh said:


> Hello,
> and welcome to Cichlid-Forum!
> And no, they won't mate for life. That Flowerhorn is still small. When he (or she?) gets bigger in size, it won't have as much patience with anything else in its tank.
> And dithers are kind of a snack. Flowerhorns like to chase and eat them when they get bored.


That's a bummer🤦‍♂️ Thought it might work out. Guess I'm just wishful.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

How big is this tank with the Flowerhorn and Blood Parrot in it? The Flowerhorn can be kept alone, in minimum 75 gallon sized aquariums. A great fish with a lot of owner interaction and personality when kept as 'Wet Pets', they unfortunately tend to just flat out destroy anything placed in the tank with them. So, if/when things get dicey in the tank with the Flowerhorn? The Blood Parrot could go into another 75 gallon tank with some more friends if you like, or a 40 gallon 'breeder' size tank if you just want to keep that one as an individual 'wet pet' kind of fish also.


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Auballagh said:


> How big is this tank with the Flowerhorn and Blood Parrot in it? The Flowerhorn can be kept alone, in minimum 75 gallon sized aquariums. A great fish with a lot of owner interaction and personality when kept as 'Wet Pets', they unfortunately tend to just flat out destroy anything placed in the tank with them. So, if/when things get dicey in the tank with the Flowerhorn? The Blood Parrot could go into another 75 gallon tank with some more friends if you like, or a 40 gallon 'breeder' size tank if you just want to keep that one as an individual 'wet pet' kind of fish also.


Yup. It's a 75gl. Shall have to monitor them intently from now on. I hope the BP can get along well with 3 severums and 4 geophaguses in another 75gl. They are currently only 3"-4" with dither barbs and a pleco..and this guy below growing out.








I'm in such a mess. Seems a no brainer to get another tank soon.
The thing is.. I've got another "wet pet" in the form of a 9" jag x RD hybrid in a 5'x2' setting. He's simply the meanest of the mean. Attacks anything. Even what he views outside the front glass panel from 8' away, and jumps out to intercept my fingers when feeding.








Dunno why I love personable wet pets. I might need to get my head examined.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Oh wow.... your Cichlids are awesome! That Jag/RD Hybrid is gill flaring at..... the camera?!!!! And yeah, THAT Boy is gonna be a BEAST (sounds like he already is).
Thanks for sharing out the photos. And, I think you're gonna do just fine - you gots skillz, yo'.


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Thank you so much for the compliment, yet I still need advice from experienced fishkeepers on what's best for my fish. Mainly on the BP.. Would she be compatible with the aforementioned milder community, or better off with a vieja?
Btw, here's another pic of my "beast". Here, he's NOT smiling for the camera. I think he wanted to fight off the cat. 😂 LOL!


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Whew man......

_* 'BEASTY BOY'! * 
-_
I personally would place the BP in with the milder crowd. In community tanks, those things tend to try punching much higher than their weight class will actually permit. This has the inevitable result of having someone step up to all that bluffing, pushing and aggression, with somewhat predictable (sad) results for yet another thrashed Blood Parrot.....
The milder crowd will probably give your BP Boy or (Grrrlll...) a pass on that - rather silly - Tank Boss behavior stuff. 
Whereas your meaner, more serious sorts of Cichlids folks, will definitely not.


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Ok, thx. I guess the FH and vieja shall grow out to be wet pets just like Beastboy. A new larger tank shall accommodate the severums, geos, barbs and BP.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Just curious, is your Vieja, a _Vieja maculicauda_, Black Belt Cichlid?
Youngish, but it's already looking like a very nice one. Back in the day.... my Black Belt had this freaking WAR going on with an individual _Parachromis motaguense_, Red Tiger Mota - in a 180 gallon tank!
Knuckleheads.....
They never solved anything, and I got tired of healing constantly shredded fish. So, I finally gave up on 'em and just kept a wild caught school of 17 _Atsyanyx fasciatus mexicanus_, 'Ol' Nasty' or Mexican Tetras, with a single male _Vieja synspilum_. My own sort of 'Wet Pet' monster! (He kept his own 'herd' of carnivorous Tetras as pets). 
And oddly enough... that was one mean old Cichlid those 'Nasty's' chose not to do any tail nipping or scale biting on.


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Frankly, I got no freaking idea. I got it at around 1" last July and the LFS attendant was almost clueless. It just looked like a neat little cichlid that I wanted to grow out. I only knew it is a vieja when it reached 3". It soon outgrew its tankmates in size and personality.








These vieja breeds are tricky. I guess I'll need to wait a bit longer to determine the breed.


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

WarTank said:


> Frankly, I got no freaking idea. I got it at around 1" last July and the LFS attendant was almost clueless. It just looked like a neat little cichlid that I wanted to grow out. I only knew it is a vieja when it reached 3". It soon outgrew its tankmates in size and personality.
> View attachment 140983
> 
> These vieja breeds are tricky. I guess I'll need to wait a bit longer to determine the breed.


Hmm.. It seems from your experience with a vieja, they would accept dithers in their tank. This provides me with an added option. Great.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Hmmmm......


WarTank said:


> It seems from your experience with a vieja, they would accept dithers in their tank. This provides me with an added option.


Indeed.
It may help to inform that my own _'SENOR' BUDFY'_ was placed in a six foot long, 180 gallon tank. With a species of carnivorous Tetra that has a well, rather 'Nasty' reputation as being a scale and tail nipper in community tanks. They were also an extremely FAST species as well. Too fast and tough it seemed, for him to bother much with 'em much. Ignored. In a four foot long tank, though? My mileage and successful keeping experience with those Tetras, may have been Radically Different.
I suspect a large Vieja Cichlid if given the right opportunity, would have found those Tetras rather delicious, actually.....


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Auballagh said:


> I suspect a large Vieja Cichlid if given the right opportunity, would have found those Tetras rather delicious, actually.....


IME with Black Belts, small fish are not safe with young growing fish. But large adults are about the least inclined of any cichlid i have ever had as far as eating smaller fish.
I had a group of young growing balck belts that devoured all of my young Kenyi. The kenyi were large enough that most of the black belts had a tail sticking out of there mouth for a couple days. Large adults are the only cichlid I've kept that won't eat feeder goldfish or rosy reds. They are fairly vegetarian and often only like pellets. Even eating Black Brush algae when I went periods of time just feeding chopped up frozen fish. As large adults they won't even eat that!


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

BC in SK said:


> IME with Black Belts, small fish are not safe with young growing fish. But large adults are about the least inclined of any cichlid i have ever had as far as eating smaller fish.
> I had a group of young growing balck belts that devoured all of my young Kenyi. The kenyi were large enough that most of the black belts had a tail sticking out of there mouth for a couple days. Large adults are the only cichlid I've kept that won't eat feeder goldfish or rosy reds. They are fairly vegetarian and often only like pellets. Even eating Black Brush algae when I went periods of time just feeding chopped up frozen fish. As large adults they won't even eat that!


Useful info going forward. 👌👍


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Auballagh said:


> Hmmmm......
> 
> Indeed.
> It may help to inform that my own _'SENOR' BUDFY'_ was placed in a six foot long, 180 gallon tank. With a species of carnivorous Tetra that has a well, rather 'Nasty' reputation as being a scale and tail nipper in community tanks. They were also an extremely FAST species as well. Too fast and tough it seemed, for him to bother much with 'em much. Ignored. In a four foot long tank, though? My mileage and successful keeping experience with those Tetras, may have been Radically Different.
> I suspect a large Vieja Cichlid if given the right opportunity, would have found those Tetras rather delicious, actually.....


👍 I like your Señor Budfy already. 
Meaning a 180g for single BB with fast, boisterous dithers like tetras, tiger barbs or giant danios? No cichlids, not even Severums or Geos? 
I might have to think of a custom made tank with lots of borders and barriers using objects and cut out partitions which can be removed once the vieja is fully grown and turns vegetarian.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Could be good! And yes, that Synspilum was definitely a Big Boy. Surly and mean, I'm not sure he would have tolerated anything in that tank big enough to push back at him. But little ones, like Convicts or other small Cichlids? He probably would have just ignored them (I still woud have placed some various small, hiding places for the littles to escape to when the big guy got grumpy or something.
And yes, you want FAST dithers to go with something like that. The Tiger Barbs just don't work, as they have a tendency to get complacent at adult sizes and sort of hover around and do the 'flick thing' with each other (fin and tail nipping). I've never heard of Tiger barbs kept with large (10 inch plus length) Cichlids that didn't eventually end up on the menu.


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Auballagh said:


> Whew man......
> 
> _* 'BEASTY BOY'! *
> -_
> ...


This keeps having me imagining Floyd Mayweather taunting a prime George Foreman in a dark alley. Lol 😂


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

The shy..









The inquisitive..








&
The badass!


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Whew.... Those are some very nice looking Cichlids. 
Love the pics, and thanks for sharing!


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Auballagh said:


> Whew.... Those are some very nice looking Cichlids.
> Love the pics, and thanks for sharing!


Welcome, bud. Sharing is part of the fun in the hobby! 👍


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## WarTank (12 mo ago)

Actually, also to illustrate why I just can't give any away..after all the time, care and efforts growing them out. 
So, keep adding tanks..and more time, care and efforts. 😅


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Whaaaa......?


WarTank said:


> Actually, also to illustrate why I just can't give any away..after all the time, care and efforts growing them out.


How can that be?

I mean that one with the flared out gills? Waaayyyyy too mean and aggressive, right?_ TOSS IT!!!_
The shy one lurking by the terracotta pot? Too many blue spots, right?_ TOSS IT!!!_
And jeeeze, for crying out loud... the Flowerhorn isn't even the *'Double Monkey Down, Hybrid Celestial Dog'* variant (LOL)! So, it's obviously worthless.... _ TOSS IT!!!
_
_

 *JK* _
Of course_._
And, NO ONE has to be happier with the fish you clean, maintain and feed.... than YOU, right? And personally, I think you've got some wonderful, well-maintained and quite healthy Cichlids.
Nice job!


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