"~*~ Vosklady ~*~" wrote in message
...
Hello . . .

Today I went to the LFS to get a few fish for my newly setup 55. As I
was
perusing my choices (not sure which way I wanted to go with this tank)
I
found some small "jellybean" parrot cichlids. A few tanks down, there
was
another tank with much larger, brightly colored "jellybeans".

I spoke with the sales attendant, who told me how the bigger ones were
brighter in color because they were "dyed" and explained the process to
me .
. . I was shocked to say the least. I thought this type of fish was
very
cute, but there was no way I was going to purchase a fish that had gone
through that process.

When I asked him about the "small" ones (they were about the size of
maybe a
.50 piece) - asking why they weren't as brightly colored as the larger
ones
he told me "those parrots had been raised in the store" from a spawning
of
the (larger ones) already there. They are not colored in the manner of
"Easter eggs" as were the bigger ones, they are more of a
lightish/pastel
color . .. one is pinkish/peachish, one is yellowish and the other is
whitish with a bit of blue along the dorsal fin. So, figuring they
hadn't
been exposed to the horrid "dying" process, I bought all three of them.


After arriving home and placing them into the tank I started
researching
them. I am having a very hard time finding information on this type of
fish.
I am however finding a lot of postings against these "hybrids".

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gparrot.html
http://www.geocities.com/parrotcichlid/general.html
http://malawicichlids.com/mw01013.htm
http://cichlidresearch.com/parrot.html
http://cichlidresearch.com/hybrids.html
http://bloodparrot.aquariahobbyist.c.../ikonboard.cgi

My bookmarks, as they were many months ago, so some might be 404.

So I guess I'm asking . . . did I make a bad decision in buying these
fish?

'Bad' is a subjective term. Will you have trouble researching them -
yes. Can you get them to coexist with other fish - sure.

One of the problems with researching them is they don't have a lineage
you can look at. They are a cross between 2 fish, possibly the Red Devil
& Severum. These two fish have very different personalities, so which
one the fry will take after is a bit of a gamble.

Also, I was told that I could only have other cichlids in the tank with
these fish or a pleco. Now I know I've read before of people keeping
(some
types) of cichlids with other types of fish . . . any suggestions on
which
other types I can keep with them?

If they have a good disposition, they will often leave smaller faster
fish alone. If they have a bad disposition, then equal to larger sized
fish would not be safe.

How large with these fish become? I was told four inches max, but after
research online I've read eight inches and sizes in between.

The lineage problem again. You can expect 5" easily.

Are these the fish that as they get older won't be able to close their
mouths? (As I've mentioned I've been doing online reading and came
across
something that mentioned this but am not sure it was in regard to these
fish).

They can't close the front of their mouth, but the teeth are in the back.
I don't know if the teeth can close. Don't give them anything too big
that they would need to chew smaller, if you are worried about it.

Is there any way to "sex" these fish, I'm really curious as to whether
I
have two males/one female, one male/two females, three females or three
males.

With either lineage, the male typically has a longer dorsal & anal fin,
but this is not easily evident until much older, and when compared to
females of the same age. The thickness of the ovipositor during spawning
is a better indicator.

NetMax

Many, Many Thanks in Advance & Best Regards,

~*~ Vosklady ~*~