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New Owner Seeking Help and Advice

Wed, 09/02/2009 - 06:01 — A_Allaire

Hello, I just purchased my blood parrots yesterday, and brought them home.  Not knowing much about them, but have them suggested by a sales person, I was shocked to find that black spots can be a disease.  One of my blood parrots is almost entirely black.  Does this mean that he or she is ill, breeding or tattooed?  How does a person tell the difference?

Thanks for any help!

Comments

Wed, 09/02/2009 - 09:34 — shaz

new owner seeking help, black fish

gosh, this is a big subject, firstly,black spot is not actually a disease,and is not catching, rather a sign of something not suiting, normally,parrots are not dyed black although its possible, if so it will slowly revert back to orange over several weeks, tattoos are used to give patterns ,so its not that,black spot can be spots, streaks or splotches or nearly all over the fish,,it can appear if the fish is unhappy, just moved to tank, spawning, has a change of diet,water,tank mates, decor removed or added, owners gone on holiday, etc, etc,etc, but the overwhelming reason is water quality,you need a test kit if you haven't already got one and should test at least monthly as part of routine maintenance, so he was black when you got him? he was probably kept in the wrong conditions, is your tank cycled? if so I would just do 30% water changes every other day or 2 until improved,it will most likely go away anyhow due to improved living conditions, it can take a long time, often its a sign of ammonia in the tank, rather like a burn, don't worry, whatever the reason the answer at this point is the same, good water and tank conditions, more often we get a worried owner saying, "my black parrot is turning a mucky orange, is he ill" no, hes getting better,and if by any chance, in spite of the above measures, he stay black, you have perhaps got a "oddity"as long as he swims, eats and is active,

Fri, 09/04/2009 - 02:48 — A_Allaire

Water

I went to the pet store in town (I live in a little town) and they don't have any test kits. I was recommended to buy these fish for their "easy" care--essentially I was offered parrots or guppies... I realize how crazy that must seem now. Anyways, the water that is in the tank is bottled water as our tap water is from a well and it isn't necessarily safe to drink, let alone for fish to live in. Anyways, it has been in the tank about a week and a half. I don't know what cycling a tank is. Could you tell me, or perhaps send me a link to where I could find out? I ordered all the stuff to test the tank, but it won't be here until Tuesday or Wednesday. I can try to take my water down and have it sampled at the store. Bizou (my 'black' parrot) is pretty lively still and definetly has an awesome appetite. I have been giving him tropical flakes, blood worms and a bit of zucchini too. This is what I understand is recommended. How am I doing so far?

Wed, 09/02/2009 - 09:05 — shaz

pale fish,hope someone can help

the paleness is a sign of stress, the trick is to figure whats going on, I know you have tested the water but it is still the first thing to come to mind, did you test for ammonia? and PH? I would do 30% water changes every other day until improved anyhow, if your fish ever goes and lies on the bottom of the tank, do water changes as described, it could just save its life, check your filter and o2 is working and make sure nothing can get in to the tank ,does it have a lid? one member lost all their fish and only found a pile of copper pennies when dismantling it to store, his nephew had "posted" them, and I once put my hands in the tank after having fabric conditioner on them, and lastly, watch for parasites and signs of disease, this may be a waiting game to see what happens,

Wed, 09/02/2009 - 06:27 — Tman

Sorry I screwed up, I tried posting my own, but here's some info

Sorry I screwed up, I tried posting my own question but somehow ended up sending it to you.

Try this website, they have some great info on black spots. Go into the Healthcare section and it will tell you more about the blackspots.

http://www.geocities.com/parrotcichlid/healthcare.html

Hope this helps you :)

Wed, 09/02/2009 - 06:19 — Tman

Hope someone can help.

I have had 2 red parrots since March of this year. Everything was fine, then Monday one of them turned a peach color, and then by Tuesday night was about 90% back to it's normal reddish/orange. Wednesday when I got up, the other one was a peach color and remaining pretty much on the bottom of the tank. By late afternoon it was dead. PH and nitrate levels are normal. Temp of the tank is normal also.

Anyone ever have this happen?