How do you keep parrot fish so their colors stay vivid?
Parrot fish, also called parrotfish, are tropical fish that live in coral reefs. They are named for their vivid colors and their mouths, which closely resemble a parrot's beak. The body is long and deep, the head round and blunt, the body color bright, and the scales large. Their palatal teeth have hardened and evolved into a parrot-beak shape, used to scrape algae and the soft parts of coral off the reef; the teeth are hard and can leave conspicuous grazing marks on coral.
The living habits of parrot fish
Parrot fish weave their own pajamas. They weave them the way a silkworm spins silk to make a cocoon: they spit white threads from their mouths and, with the help of their pelvic and caudal fins, spend one to two hours weaving a complete shell. This is their pajama. Sometimes the pajama is woven so hard that in the morning, after waking, they cannot bite it open and suffocate inside it.
1. Feeding habits: Parrot fish are omnivorous. They eat almost anything, including artificial food, flakes, pellets, bloodworms, brine shrimp, and water fleas, and they are quite greedy. They have a special digestive system. Parrot fish use their plate-toothed beak to gnaw coral polyps off together with their skeletons, then grind the polyps with their pharyngeal teeth and swallow them. Nutritious substances are digested and absorbed, and coral debris is expelled from the body. The pharyngeal teeth of parrot fish are not sharp like teeth but have evolved into a stone-slab shape; the upper surface of the upper pharyngeal teeth is raised and fits exactly with the depression below. On the upper and lower jaws grow row after row of fine, sharp small teeth. The small teeth are packed densely together to form many plates with sharp edges. Whenever a large school of parrot fish swims past, the tips of coral branches are cut off.
2. Physical characteristics: Parrot fish themselves are not poisonous. It is just that some of their food is poisonous. Parrot fish have organs in their bodies that break down and digest toxins. So parrot fish are not harmed by these toxins. However, if people catch parrot fish at this time and the toxins in their bodies have not been completely cleared, then the toxins from the parrot fish's food will be passed on to the humans who eat the parrot fish. Therefore, many fishermen advise greedy diners not to eat parrot fish.
3. Behavioral habits: Parrot fish are tropical fish that live in coral reefs. Whenever the tide rises, parrot fish large and small, clad in green and yellow coats, swim from the deep water of the slopes outside the coral reef to the shallow reef flats and lagoons. Parrot fish have a special digestive system. Parrot fish use their plate-toothed beak to gnaw coral polyps off together with their skeletons, then grind the polyps with their pharyngeal teeth and swallow them. Nutritious substances are digested and absorbed, and coral debris is expelled from the body. The pharyngeal teeth of parrot fish are not sharp like teeth but have evolved into a stone-slab shape; the upper surface of the upper pharyngeal teeth is raised and fits exactly with the depression below. On the upper and lower jaws grow row after row of fine, sharp small teeth. The small teeth are packed densely together to form many plates with sharp edges. Whenever a large school of parrot fish swims past, the tips of coral branches are cut off, exposing mottled white stubs.
4. Personality traits: The Romans and ancient Greeks particularly valued this fish and regarded it as a treasure, not because parrot fish are beautiful, but because they have a spirit of unity and mutual help. Researchers have found that if a parrot fish unfortunately runs into a hook, its companions come to help. If one is surrounded by a fishing net, the other companions will bite its tail with their teeth and desperately pull it out through the gap. Therefore, it is generally difficult for fishermen to catch this fish.
Rearing and management
1. Temperature: Parrot fish are relatively undemanding about water temperature, and their bodies have a fairly strong ability to adapt to temperature. People often think parrot fish can tolerate low temperatures, so they keep the water temperature rather low. In fact, blood parrot fish are quite “sensitive” to temperature. Among tropical fish, they are relatively easy to keep, but being easy to keep is relative: keeping them healthy and alive is easy, but keeping them well is somewhat difficult. Under low water temperatures and drastic temperature fluctuations, parrot fish easily lose their bright body color or even fade due to physiological reactions, and in more serious cases black stripes or markings appear. Maintaining the water temperature at around 28 degrees can give the fish a bright body color and full vitality. Parrot fish that live in low water temperatures for a long time will develop fading problems and are prone to illness and death.
2. Frequency of water changes: In my experience, within the first 2-3 hours after a water change, the color of parrot fish becomes lighter, but they quickly return to red. Likewise, if no new water is added for more than 4 days, parrot fish will lose color. So generally change the water once every three days, one quarter at a time. Keeping the water fresh can ensure parrot fish do not fade.
3. Feed
① These fish must never be fed small river fish. Perhaps the color of small river fish activates their atavistic genes; as soon as you feed small river fish, the color of parrot fish will definitely become lighter. Feeding small fish to blood parrot fish can also stuff them, because these fish are greedy and do not know when they are full. Small river fish are also bad for the gills; the gills of parrot fish are very fragile, and small river fish easily carry pathogens. I once kept parrot fish together with large fish, and they also competed to eat small fish, but every time they ate small fish they had some problem. Even more, do not feed loaches; no fish can stand them, they are hard to digest, and the risk of contamination is greater. I have done several experiments, and even fish like dogfish cannot stand loaches.
② The feed should be color-enhancing feed. “Astaxanthin” can promote the body color of blood parrot fish. If they can fully take in astaxanthin, it is only a matter of time before the body color of blood parrot fish becomes a dripping vivid red. Special feed for blood parrot fish, with astaxanthin and “β-type carotene” added, can keep the body color of blood parrot fish a brilliant red. Gradually adding pellets (color-enhancing ones) to the feed will improve the color of blood parrot fish.
③ Fish used to eating live bait will not much like eating pellets. Some hobbyists may have fed live worms ever since they bought their parrot fish, so the parrot fish will not eat when switched to pellet feed. You can take a step-by-step approach: before feeding live worms, first give a little pellet (color-enhancing), a small amount, to let the fish adapt; after they finish, feed the live worms they have always been fed; once the fish have adapted, gradually increase the amount of pellets and reduce the amount of live worms, and finally adjust to pellet feed. In addition, change the brand of feed frequently; do not feed only one kind.
④ Some people feed live shrimp or brine shrimp, which is of course very good, as it can enhance color, though the cost is a bit higher. But also pay attention to disinfection, and cut off the hard spines on the heads of live shrimp to avoid injuring the parrot fish.
4. Light: Parrot fish are quite sensitive to light. They need strong light given on a fixed schedule and in fixed amounts. Keep 1-2 hours of strong light each day, then let them spend the rest of the day in a darker environment. If the room is fairly bright with no lights on, the light is sufficient. But keeping the light the same for a long time will also make parrot fish fade. That is: give light on a fixed schedule and in fixed amounts rather than relying only on natural light. Remember: the light should not be on too long, and after turning off the light, keep the fish tank environment dim the whole time. This way, once the light comes on again, you will find the parrot fish much redder than before. If the fish tank is in a room that does not face the sun, add two hours of light each day, then turn off the light. If the room is fairly bright, after the light period, appropriately block the light in the room so the fish tank stays dim. I have used this method repeatedly with great success; you might as well give it a try.
5. Light color: Some fish tank lights are white; you can switch to a red-emitting tube. Switching to a red-emitting tube can fully bring out the red of the fish, whereas ordinary fluorescent lights make the fish's color look bluish.
6. Environment
You may also have noticed that in the first few days after the fish first arrive in your tank they lose some color; that is because they are not yet adapted. As their adaptability increases, they will gradually improve. So do not let them be frightened; this is another piece of experience for solving the fading problem.
In addition, if the color of parrot fish becomes lighter for more than three months, they basically will not return to their original color.
Raising parrot fish with a robust constitution and vivid body color is not an easy thing. You must feed bait on a fixed schedule and in fixed amounts every day, reasonably match the nutrition of the bait, and regularly feed fresh small shrimp and small fish. It is best to choose artificial bait specially formulated for parrot fish; this feed, with astaxanthin and D-type carotene added, is not only convenient to feed directly but can also make the body color of parrot fish more vivid and attractive.
When new fish enter the tank, they will change color because of the sudden change in water quality; after they adapt to the environment and the water quality is adjusted, they will gradually improve. It is best not to keep other species of fish together in the parrot fish tank at first. In the aquarium, it is best to set up large aquatic plants, clay pots, and driftwood for the parrot fish to hide in. But parrot fish that have been trained by people can change their timid habits: tap the aquarium often so that the parrot fish get used to it; you can feed only half the food to force them to come out to forage; keep them with bolder fish to encourage them to move about.
Parrot fish have a strong sense of territory, and you will often see them fighting among their own kind; increasing the number kept will reduce the fighting. Because they are lively and active by nature, parrot fish also like to mess with the bottom sand. They can be kept with mollies, pearl danios, swordtails, and lyretail fish. They can be kept with gentle large fish. They can also be kept from a young age with somewhat smaller flowerhorns; this is because they have a strong sense of territory. Adding penicillin and methylene blue will also make the body color of parrot fish become lighter. Increasing light, strengthening filtration, thickening the filter material, and raising the temperature to 28 degrees are all practical and feasible ways to maintain body color. When changing water, pay attention to keeping the water quality consistent. When you find parrot fish fading, you can feed color-enhancing feed or shrimp meat, but artificially dyed parrot fish will certainly fade after being kept for a period of time, and it is irreversible. Be sure to regularly add yellow powder, clear bacteria from the water, and promptly clean up feces from the sand and mud.
Common diseases
Skin mold disease, also called water mold disease and white hair disease, is one of the most common diseases of ornamental fish. When catching or transporting ornamental fish, if you are slightly careless and injure the fish's skin, or if parasites invade and damage the skin, mold spores invade the wound, absorb nutrients, and rapidly germinate; one end of the hypha goes inward into the muscle, and the other end grows outward, forming cotton-like hyphae. When the mold first parasitizes, it is not easy to see with the naked eye; by the time it can be seen with the naked eye, the hyphae have already invaded through the wound on the fish body and are growing from the outside inward. The hyphae twine around and adhere to the cell tissue of the wound, causing tissue necrosis. As the cotton-like hyphae increase day by day, the burden on the fish body becomes too heavy, causing abnormal swimming, reduced appetite, gradual emaciation, and death. Treatment method: To prevent water mold disease, pay attention to doing things as much as possible
to prevent injuring the fish body and bites from parasites, and you can put a small amount of table salt into the water. When you find that the fish body is infected with water mold disease, you can soak and wash it with 3% salt water, once a day, 5-10 minutes each time, or soak it for 20-30 minutes with a 2 ppm (2ppm) potassium permanganate solution plus 1% table salt, or soak and wash it for 20-30 minutes with a 1-2 ppm (1-2ppm) malachite green solution, or soak it for 20-30 minutes with a 1-2 ppm (1-2ppm) methylene blue solution, or soak and wash it with a 5 ppm (5ppm) nitrofurazone solution, or directly splash a 0.02 ppm (0.02ppm) malachite green solution or a 0.3 ppm (0.3ppm) formaldehyde solution into the aquarium to inhibit the breeding of mold. You can also raise the water temperature to inhibit the growth of water mold. Install a 15-watt ultraviolet lamp at the top of the aquarium and irradiate for several hours each day, which can effectively inhibit or eliminate the breeding of water mold.
White spot disease is caused by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. Tropical fish can be infected in all four seasons, and the morbidity and mortality rates are very high. Symptoms and lesions: In the early stage of the disease, white spots are scattered on the pectoral fins, dorsal fin, caudal fin, and body surface skin. Although the sick fish still forage as usual, they often gather in the corners of the fish tank and rub against each other. After a few days, the white spots cover the whole body, and the sick fish often float listlessly at the surface. Treatment method: Raise the water temperature to 28 degrees Celsius, and after a few days the Ichthyophthirius multifiliis will rupture and fall off. At this point, change the water and maintain the water temperature, and the sick fish will basically recover. Or choose a 0.05%-0.07% concentration red mercury solution and soak the sick fish for 5-15 minutes, continuing for 2-3 days, with good results. Soaking the fish in salt for 24 hours will show results after a few days.