Blood Parrot Cichlid

The blood parrot is a hybrid cichlid created in the ornamental trade rather than a natural species. Its exact parentage has never been published; the cross most often cited, and the one on this listing, is a Vieja and Amphilophus pairing, but that is a widely repeated attribution rather than a confirmed fact. What is certain is the look: a rounded orange body, large eyes, and a small beak-like mouth held permanently part-open.

Aquarium care

• Reaches around 20 cm and is heavily built.
• The deformed mouth cannot close fully, so it feeds less efficiently than a normal cichlid. Softening sinking pellets helps.
• Needs a large tank with strong filtration; it is a messy feeder.
• Digs and rearranges substrate.
• Territorial, though generally less so than the parent species.
• Males are usually sterile, so breeding attempts rarely produce fry.

Keep them in a large tank with other robust cichlids of similar size, or as a group of parrots. Dyed and tattooed parrot cichlids exist in the wider trade, so if colouring matters to you, ask our staff about the individual fish before buying. Provide caves — they are shy fish behind the bold shape.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is available for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. See the Central American cichlid collection.