Blood Parrot (Heros severus X Amphilophus citrinellum)

Common Name:

Blood Parrot

Other Name:

Parrot Cichlid (a misleading epithet as Hoplarchus psittacus shares this name and the Blood Parrot is technically not a cichlid).

Scientific Name:

Heros severus X Amphilophus citrinellum (Man Made Hybrid).

Family:

Cichlidae (Blood Parrot it is a hybrid between two species of the family Cichlidae).

Distribution:

World Wide, it is a man-made hybrid.

Size:

Approx 8 inches.

Diet:

These are omnivores and, as such, do well with standard flake and pellet foods, mixed with greens.

Water Temperature:

72 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit (22 to 28 degrees Celsius).

Water Chemistry:

Almost any chemistry which is apropos for American cichlids will do.

pH:

6.0-8.0.

Lifespan:

10 years.

Description:

These fish generally come in a pink or red color. Reminiscent of the Balloon Molly, these, too, look over inflated and seem to have trouble swimming. Their thick, full bodies are comically accented with a beak-like mouth. They have a spine deformation, which accounts for their curved back and most have a swim bladder disorder, which impairs their swimming. Some do have coordinated swimming patterns, though.

Behaviour:

These either behave peaceably like the Severum (Heros severus) or angrily like the Midas (Amphilophus citrinellum). Some like the company of groups while others like being lone fish. They generally do best when kept with smaller fish that don't pick on them. Nippy fish may harass a shy BP to death. They will not win many battles for food with their irregular swimming and small mouth, so they need to be fed directly when kept in a community tank with better competitors for food.

Sexing:

Since there are many varieties of Blood Parrot, there are only a couple of sure-fire indicators of sex. The female's egg tube will appear immediately prior to the spawning ensues. The male, once in breeding condition, may show pink coloration in his throat and gill cover regions.

Breeding:

Many of the Blood Parrots available at pet shops are sterile, but fertile BPs will be either cave spawners or substrate spawners (depending on which species' spawning tendencies are prevalent in the particular BP pair). The eggs and fry may be raised by the parents and siphoned out if spawning behaviour starts again. I do not recommend the removal of a spawn from cichlid-type fish because of the intra-pair aggression which it may cause and because these fish are usually superior parents. If they are, in fact, inferior, it might be best to let the poor parenting genes die off.

Natural Conditions

Not applicable; this fish was artificially created.

Miscellaneous:

The Severum has long been cited as one of the ancestors of the BP, but some of the guesses with regard to the other ancestor have been quite insane. My favourite: the Goldfish (Carassius auratus). These are in some ways analogous to the fancy egg-shaped goldies (especially with regard to the body shape and swimming abilities thereof), but they were not the result of a bizarre pairing of Sevs and goldies.

It was only in the last few years that reported spawning between BP X BP pairs has occurred on a wider scale.

Jellybean "Cichlids" are the result of a BP X Convict (Cryptoheros nigrofasciatus) cross.

Photo Credit:

Photos 1-4 supplied courtesy and ^©Bob Hart (Rab).
Photos 5-8 supplied courtesy and ^©Pei.