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origin: Amazon river basin in the black and white waters.
Size: 8-10" reports of 14" not unheard of.
Tank size: 90 gal min
Temp:77- 85F
PH: 5.0 -7.5
Diet: Omnivore These guys are not picky once the settle in. They like meaty foods best like Blood worms.
Temperament: Peaceful for a large cichlid. They don't tend to want to fight but can hold their own when they need too. I have heard some people say they can be aggressive but for the most part they have a temperment like a severum.
Breeding:HARD maily due to them being so hard to sex. also they take a few years to mature. They tend to need to be 3+ Years before they start to spawn. They also like solf Black water. more and more hobbiest are breeding these guys so getting tanks raised is not unheard of.
Tank set up:
Substrate Sand or gravle. when they get larger they like to decorate. These guys will move things around to their likes. SO make sure decor will not fall on them. Plants are ok they don't tend to show much interested in them. BUt might up root them when they move things around. They love to have wood around and caves. They needs a place to hide when young.
Tank mates: Severum, oscar, uaru, blue acara, Festivums, LARGE tetras, Pictus cats, plecos, and most other semi aggressive fish that are not smaller then 3".
Sexing: Just about imposable. Unless you see a proven pair together its hard to tell whos male of female. The males get much larger then the females. Males tend to have a larger almost boxy head.
color: They can be bright green to a awesome Blue. Wild caugh fish have a red chest mine is getting more red everyday. they are kind of a bland olive green with hints of blue when young. at 5" the colors start to come in more and more.
Personality: Shy at first but warm up quickly. Very smart and strong fish. They should not be kept in a high trafic zone. My wild caugh Parrot tends to spook easy.
Note: You can not skimp on the WC. these guys can get HITH easy. they have LOTS of sensory pits around the head that will open up if kept in poor conditions. Not a fish for the first timer. Keep Nitrates under 20ppm. clean water and good food will keep them healthy.
Here is mine she is only 5" and starting to show some good color. It takes some times for them to mature. once they hit 6-8" they slow down growing. this is a very rewarding fish to watch grow. T
