Parrot Fish / Cichlid Tropical Fish Information

Parrot Fish / Cichlid Tropical Fish Learn all about the Parrot Fish / Cichlid's feeding habits and food types, its behaviour, its origins, its natural habitats, is it male or female, breeding advice and information, suitable tank mates, its sizing and growth range, minimum tank size, water PH and more. Use our fish community creator tool to plan your tank set up and ensure that the Parrot Fish / Cichlid is the right fish for your aquarium.

The Parrot Fish is not a natural fish but is a man made cross between several cichlid species, a practice that presents many ethical concerns. The Parrot Fish exhibits a number of deformities including a bent spine, miss-shaped and small mouth, and organ deformities such as a malformed swim bladder. These deformities give the fish difficulties in feeding and swimming.

Because the Parrot Cichlid has varying degrees of deformity and genetics, its behavior is unpredictable. As this fish should not be sold, or kept, in aquariums, it is not included in the compatibility checker below.

The history of the production of the parrotfish is vague although it is safe to assume that the practice of crossing fish species produces a number of deformed fish, of which most would be culled. It is the opinion of Think Fish that the practice of producing fish such as the Parrot Fish is unethical, cruel and has no place in modern fishkeeping. If you see these fish for sale we urge you to print this page and show it to the offending shop, and take your custom elsewhere if they continue to stock these fish. Do not support this activity by purchasing these fish; there is a vast number of natural fish species to choose from and no need for human interference of this kind. If you already have Parrot Fish, they should be cared for in the best possible way, as you would any other fish.

This fish is excluded from the Compatibility Checker as it is unsuitable for community aquariums or may require expert care.