New blood parrot is a very picky eater . . .

[JodieOf1987]

First Id like to note that I know a lot of people dislike hybrids, my question has to do with keeping this fish healthy so any posts to the contrary will be flagged.

I have a 45G bowfront that has been properly cycled and is currently over filtered by a wet/dry system, although I haven't tested the ph watersoftener was added 24 hours prior to my BP being added. I have heard that they are quiet finicky for the first week and to allow time for them to get used to their surroundings. My problem is I've tried feeding her chiclid flakes, tropical food and blood worms. She wont touch anything but the blood worms and I don't won't her to get used to getting it all the time. She has been staying at the bottom of the tank and my only option has been turning off the pump on the wet/dry so I can get everything to sink properly. Even then she won't move to much out of her way to eat, although usually when I walk back into the room I'll find her swimming around only to have her hide from me once she spots me.

She was the only one in the tank until yesterday when we needed to move one of our red tail sharks, they seem like they are fine with each with no noted agression. I thought by adding him she might have a bit of competition for food and shed step up her game, but she doesn't seem to care. I'd hate for her to not eat if I just put flakes in so Ive been feeding her the blood worms. Any advice?

[mistahoo]

I don't really like hybrids

How long has the BP been in the tank? If it's newly introduced, they may take a week or two to be comfortable with their new home. Have you tried feeding anything else other than flakes and the bloodworms? Some fish are more likely to eat if the food isn't floating at the top, at least my fish didn't want to eat the food at the top. Have you tried pellets? Maybe soak the pellets for a few minutes if it doesn't chew it completely? Also, how old is it? What was it eating before you had it?

I recently changed my fish's food over to floating carnisticks a couple months back. The first few days, the fish didn't bother looking at the sticks because they were floating on top. I guess the fish were scared/hesitant to go to the top? They would swim and look at it for a bit, swim close, and dart at it. If they missed, they would repeat until they got the food. After a few weeks, all of my fish were eating the sticks like no other!

[JodieOf1987]

Well she's been in there since Saturday so only a few days and I have absolutely no idea what she was eating before I bought her but I'm sure I can find out. Hybrids arent for everyone, but I did make sure that I bought the BP from a sponsored lfs and talked to the owner about the treatment of the fish they buy. As for age she looks like a juvi from her size, have just tried the cichlid flakes, tropical flakes and bloodworms. I've heard they also enjoy shrimp brine but I'm trying to get her by with what I have on hand at the moment.

I had heard that soaking pellets was a good option, think I might look further into it.
Shes just really lazy and acts like if it isn't in front of her then shes not going to eat lol

Ill give her a few more days before I become really worried about it, just trying to be proactive.
Part of the problem is yes the lack of her seeking out food but the circulation being a tad to much, which I intend to try to fix in the near future. I have no problem with babysitting her and turning the pump down/off but it's not something I want to have to make a habit.

[ScorpiosWife]

Mine took a very long time to come out of their shells. The female basically lived inside of a volcano decoration for the first 6 months & the male guarded the volcano. They eat the pellet leftovers from the Oscars but I've come to notice lately that they actually like frozen shrimp, too. It will come around. Maybe call the pet store & ask what they were feeding her and go from there?

[mistahoo]

Well she's been in there since Saturday so only a few days and I have absolutely no idea what she was eating before I bought her but I'm sure I can find out. Hybrids arent for everyone, but I did make sure that I bought the BP from a sponsored lfs and talked to the owner about the treatment of the fish they buy.

That could be your problem there. It helps to leave the light off on the tank when you introduce new fish to reduce stress. She might be stressed. Is she bloated?

They aren't for everyone, I was just poking fun at you. I have a hybrid in my tank atm, but he will soon go.

Which "sponsered" lfs was this? Most lfs feed their fish live feeders if they will eat it. It would help greatly if you could find out what the lfs was feeding her.

I had heard that soaking pellets was a good option, think I might look further into it.
Shes just really lazy and acts like if it isn't in front of her then shes not going to eat lol

I do it for fish that are new to pellets. It helps them get used to it, and after a while of doing so, I just toss the pellets in. Have you checked your nitrates? High nitrates could cause your fish to be lethargic and cause lack of appetite. Do you overfeed? What is your water change schedule?

Ill give her a few more days before I become really worried about it, just trying to be proactive.
Part of the problem is yes the lack of her seeking out food but the circulation being a tad to much, which I intend to try to fix in the near future. I have no problem with babysitting her and turning the pump down/off but it's not something I want to have to make a habit.

Usually the fish will settle down after a week. If any longer, there could be something wrong. What return pump do you have? I'm sure circulation is not the problem with your BP. There's no need to turn off your pump or dial it down. I've seen a BP do perfectly fine in a tank with a much faster circulation that yours and do fine.

Reply in red above. Also, how long as the tank been "cycled"?

[JodieOf1987]

Good to know I'm not the only one with a picky eater, that's exactly how she is . . . I have some slate that I setup and she sticks under it and has made herself at home. Ill shoot the owner a message tomorrow, I asked him quite a few questions but it's obvious I wasn't very through lol

[JodieOf1987]

I'll go ahead and turn off the light, shes looks healthy not bloated but somewhat lethargic. My heater broke and it got down to 72, have since replaced it and she seems a bit more active.

I haven't tested the nitrates either, need to get around to testing it . . . We have quite a few tanks and use the same method on all of them and haven't had a problem. Maybe I'm just overreacting but I like to err on the side of caution, I'm very cautious about over feeding and haven't done a water change on that tank since it was setup on Friday. I have the quite one 4000 and a fairly big overflow probably overkill for that tank but I prefer the filtering power of a wet/dry.

Forgot the name of the store, it's late ha but it's off of 242 . . . Tank was cycled for two days, like I mentioned we haven't had any issues with any other of tanks and I've heard BPs are pretty hardy so I assumed that that cycle was long enough.

[mistahoo]

I'll go ahead and turn off the light, shes looks healthy not bloated but somewhat lethargic. My heater broke and it got down to 72, have since replaced it and she seems a bit more active.

Yeah they seem to like water around 77-80

I haven't tested the nitrates either, need to get around to testing it . . . We have quite a few tanks and use the same method on all of them and haven't had a problem. Maybe I'm just overreacting but I like to err on the side of caution, I'm very cautious about over feeding and haven't done a water change on that tank since it was setup on Friday. I have the quite one 4000 and a fairly big overflow probably overkill for that tank but I prefer the filtering power of a wet/dry.

It could just be overreaction but you never know. The more filtration, the better. I also favor wet/dry filters over other filters, but nothing beats a wet/dry + canister combo.

Forgot the name of the store, it's late ha but it's off of 242 . . . Tank was cycled for two days, like I mentioned we haven't had any issues with any other of tanks and I've heard BPs are pretty hardy so I assumed that that cycle was long enough.

I have no clue which store that is. The cycle is quite short and would affect any fish. Although, I've never once waited for a tank to fully cycle and I've never lost a fish due to it. I don't believe in that mumbo jumbo. As long as you dechlorinated the water, it should be fine.

I honestly don't think anything is wrong with your BP. Just give her some time. It would help if you had pics or better yet, a video.

[JodieOf1987]

Hah that sounds like news I don't mind hearing, I'm working at the fire department tonight but I'll be sure to get one tomorrow.

It was properly dechlorinated and I'm right there with you on cycling, basically just trying to figure out if I can use the flakes I have in another method for the time being.

[ScorpiosWife]

First and foremost, test the parameters.

That's Fish R Us on 242. Owner's name is Jason.

I don't let a tank run for weeks before adding fish either. I fill the tank, dechlorinate, check the parameters in one of my established tanks, snatch a filter pad from it, put it in the new filter & let it run for at least a few hours (most of the time overnight). Test water parameters again, then add fish.

Of all the different kinds of fish I have, my parrots are the most shy. I'm with Hooey on this one. I don't think there's anything wrong with her, she may just need an adjustment period.

[jsbaker]

It's a quiet one 4000 pump and a 600 gph single utube overflow or somewhere around there, pump has to be dialed back slightly to allow the overflow to keep up. If you don't shut the pump off or turn it most of the way down when feeding all the food is down the overflow as soon as it hits the water. He's got some media (sponges / filter pad) in the wet/dry that has been cycled in mine for a couple of months.

[allysangels]

i'm lucky enough to have a job (jobs?) where people bring me unwanted fish. as such, i have acquired a few "rescues" and one of them is a large male blood parrot. i'm not a big fan of hybrids, but my issues lie with irresponsible breeders. my parrot is the opposite of what i've read here, he lives with 2 large oscars, a baby jaguar, a foot long bichir, and an unknown breeding colony of convicts in a 75g tank with a bare bottom, mopani wood pile, and a couple cave-type decorations. he's always right up in the top corner with the Os snatching pellets at feeding time. my thoughts are: needs more time to settle in, please check/post your parameters as nitrates may be the cause, and also many of these fishes have mouth problems, they are frequently unable to close their mouths or eat properly. can you call the shop he came from to ask what they were feeding?

[JodieOf1987]

Yeah I'll PM Jason in a bit, allysangels your parrot sounds like a beautiful fish. She seems to feed just fine and from what I've seen she's an American BP as the Malyasian ones have a bigger v shaped mouth.

[mistahoo]

I housed a BP for a while and it was pretty active. It was actually completely the opposite of yours. It was lip locking with my Pink fenestratus and fighting for the food.

As I stated before, there's really only two things it would most likely be, it's not settled in its new home or abnormal nitrates. What it was eating before is something that would be great to know. That way you can feed it the same and hopefully it'll eat. If it was being fed feeders, I would try to get the BP used to some pellet foods.

[mistahoo]

It's a quiet one 4000 pump and a 600 gph single utube overflow or somewhere around there, pump has to be dialed back slightly to allow the overflow to keep up. If you don't shut the pump off or turn it most of the way down when feeding all the food is down the overflow as soon as it hits the water. He's got some media (sponges / filter pad) in the wet/dry that has been cycled in mine for a couple of months.

What I do with flakes is soak them in some tank water before feeding so I don't have to shut off the pump during feeding time. It'll cause most of the flakes to sink instead of float at the surface.