Blood Parrot Fish
Pictures of Blood Parrot Fish
Blood Parrot fish are very unique fish because they are actually a hybrid (man-made) fish, which was first created in 1986 in Taiwan. Usually these fish have a bright orange color but they can be dyed various colors. This dying process will shorten their lifespan though. However, most blood parrot fish will live to be between 10 and 15-years-old and between 8 and 10 inches long.
These fish have a lot of anatomical deformities, including:
1. A beak-shaped mouth, which cannot close all the way, is compensated for by this fish crushing its food with the muscles in its throat.
2. A swim bladder that makes them swim awkwardly.
3. An abnormal spine, which is caused by their deformed swim bladders, cause them to have a unique shape with big eyes.
Male blood parrot fish are infertile, however there have been rare cases of successful breeding. Usually this happens on fish farms when the males are injected with a hormone that makes them fertile. Otherwise, eggs are laid on a hard surface and guarded until they are overgrown with fungus, at which time the parents will eat them.
Unfortunately, it is unknown which 2 fish were crossed in order to create this hybrid fish. Some speculate that the Midas cichlid was crossed with the redhead cichlid to form 1 parent. Then the severum was crossed with the red devil cichlid in order to create the second parent. These 2 parents are then crossed to create the blood parrot fish.
As was mentioned above, there are a great deal of of anatomical deformities within the blood parrot fish. For this reason, a lot of people debate whether or not breeding this fish is ethical. This has resulted in several organized boycotts against the pet stores that still sell them.
Blood Parrot Fish Pictures
