Hi thereI bought two parrot cichlids a week ago and have a couple of questions which I'd really appreciate some advice on please... The female has laid a batch of eggs and I'm just wondering how long they might take to hatch (if they do actually hatch) and how I should best care for them if they do. I know that the general opinion is that the eggs rarely hatch but I want to make sure that I'm prepared just in case they do! :-)The second question is about the male parrot. When I first got him, he was bright yellow but has changed colour quite considerably over the past week. He is pink all around his gills and along his back. Having done some research, I have discovered that the male can change colour around his gills during breeding but ours has taken it to the extreme! I'm just a little worried in case he's unwell. I've attached a photo in case that helps.Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Comments
Re: Breeding
pink/ red around the gills can also be ammonia poisoning. test your water for ammonia to rule this out. as far as breeding, if your eggs did hatch, you would need hikari first bites or flake food that you grind into powder. they should start to hatch about 72 hours after the eggs are laid. then they will eat off their yolksac for another 3 days and then you feed them. most likely, if you have only 2 parrots in the tank and no other male cichlids in there, your eggs will just mold over and make a huge mess. maybe the "parents" will eat them, but most likely you will have to vacuum them out.
breeding
males do go pink when they are in spawning mode, there is also the chance that he may have been dyed or fed colour enhancing foods before you got him,normally they are dyed more vibrant colours , as long as your water tests ok, dont worry,as long as he eats and swims normally ,my male is a pale orange almost cream and has been for two years if youe eggs do hatch, you can feed them crushed flake ( see koltons post, his jellybean eggs have hatched,) and then give thought to what you are going to do with all the fry