# pH for Blood parrot cichlids



## nstanford99 (Feb 6, 2012)

What is the pH level supposed to be for blood parrots? and does that level affect their color or behavior at all? thanks for the help guys


----------



## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

A blood parrot is a very aquarium strain fish, quite removed from the wild. It is either a Central American hybrid of primarily red devil/midas ancestory or simply a deformed, line bred red devil/midas mutant. Like other aquarium strain CA cichlids, it is not too particular about pH as long as water is kept stable. It is likely to do well in anything between pH 6-9, though possibly some what better on the alkaline side(?), since it's ancestors originate from alkaline waters.
Looking at it's ancestors, RD/midas, they almost certainly originate from lake Nicaragua. Red devil(RD) is endemic to lake Nicaragua, and aquarium strain midas are thought to have originated from this lake as well. I looked at numerous academic papers in the past, that took pH readings on this lake.....one in particular took readings every month over a period of a year, on a number of locations on the lake.... the range was pH 7.7-8.8.


----------



## 799cemiller (Feb 6, 2012)

I keep mine at about 7.6, I feel that they do the best around there.


----------

