East Lansing, United States
nicolemcintyre
I'm a certified pet trainer and a pet care specialist, and I collect animals on the side because I can't get enough of them at work! I've also been a foster for a rescue for 3 years.
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 in my tank, so my Acei is mixed with 2 Oscars, 3 Jack Dempsey's, 2 Blood Parrots, and a Peacock Cichlid. Even though he is one of the smallest fish, he still acts like he owns the tank. He will even act aggressively towards the Oscars, who could both eat him in 2 bites if they wanted to. When I siphon the gravel in the tank, he actually tries to attack the siphon. <br>Besides that, they are pretty hardy, they obviously stand their own even with aggressive fish, and they are easy to feed. <br>They stay pretty small, like many african cichlids, they usually max out around 4-5 inches, which is how big mine is. I have read that you are generally supposed to keep same-size cichlids together to reduce aggression, however in my tank it tends to be the cichlids that are around the same size as my Acei who get picked on by him. <br>I recommend them to people with cichlids that can handle this obnoxious fish.){kind=link}
. So they can definitely be territorial, but not if you have them in the right size tank. <br>Parrots are pretty easy fish to take care of. They're very hardy, they are the only cichlid that I haven't ever replaced out of the regular cichlids I keep normally. They deal with stress well, they survived a move that included an hour drive with them in buckets. <br>They're easy to feed, especially if you're someone who doesn't want to have to buy feeder fish. Their mouths are too small to eat fish, although they would like other smaller feeders like ghost shrimp. They like pellets, frozen foods like blood worms, and flakes. <br>My favorite thing about my parrots is they have great personalities and they interact with me. If I come by the tank, they follow me. If I try to take pictures of any other fish in the tank, they like to follow me around it and go right in front of the camera. They're attention hogs. <br>The main downside to Blood Parrots is that they are a man-made breed, so unfortunately it can be common to get fish with deformities. Luckily, I managed to get two perfect fish on my first try, even though I got them as babies. Some people don't like what they look like already, I think they are unique and silly, and I love the bright orange in my tank it really rounds out the colors of my fish, it especially compliments the orange in my Oscars. It even accents the colors of my decorations and gravel, which are mostly blues and purples. <br>They are really fun fish to keep and I recommend them to anyone who wants to have a cichlid tank, especially those who have Oscars and are looking for a compatible fish.){kind=link}