Parrot Cichlids

These misunderstood fish are a great addition to any home with the appropriate aquarium set up. A lot of people think they are ugly, or refuse to get them because they are deformed and man-made. Well, the truth of the matter is, they are going to be here rather people want them or not, so we might as well accept them and give them a loving home.
They are a hybrid form of red devil cichlids and severums that were in captivity in Taiwan by scientists. They were crossbred and as a result, the parrot cichlid was made. It has a deformed spine, which gives it the hum on it's back and it cannot close it's mouth. This seems hazordous to the fish, but it's actually not, they are perfectly healthy and have no difficulty eating. They have adapted to these changes and do not experience any problems. They are very avid swimmers as well. To eat, they crush the food up in their throats instead of using their mouths. If happy they will swim and do little 'dances' to get your attention so you will give them food.
Tank requirements are, you need at least 42 gallons for 2-3 of these fish, the temperature should be 70-82 degrees fahrenheit, and the p-h should be 6.5-7.4, but closer to 6.5 is better though. Be sure to include things they can hide behind, in, or under because they are very shy at first and feel comforted by having the ability to hide. Also, these things are usually where they sleep and breed as well, although most males are sterile so the eggs may not hatch. If you have any fake plants, make sure they are anchored down good and have some heavy rocks or other heavy items on the base as these fish like to re-arrange their tanks per-say. Same goes for live plants, you may find the fish like to jerk these up. Also, it seems the less lightig they have the better. With bright lights it makes their color duller, but in darker lighting, or none at all, their colors really come to life. It's okay to have the lights on the tank every now and then, just don't over do it, maybe an hour or 2 a day would be good.
Ideal tank mates are any fish that are not smaller than them and not overly agressive. Some good tank mates are cory cats, angel fish, and other types of cichlids, but none of the malawi kinds.
Foods include floating or sinking pellet food, flake food, freezedried bloodworms, or brine shrimp. Try to give them a mix of all of these for a healthy diet.
(these are jellybean/bubblegum types)
If you do decide to buy these fish (which I recommend you do), be sure you are aware of the
ones labled jellybean and bubblegum parrot fish. They have been given a bath in chemicals that removes their slime coating, injected with die, then bathed in another type of chemicals that puts their slime coating back on, all for the simple pleasure of giving them more colors. This is very in-humane and should not be allowed. You can purchase them if you want, but due to all of the stress and trauma they went through their lifespan was shortened to only half of that of a regular parrot fish. (lifespan of regular parrots are 10, the jellybean/bubblegum are 5) So if taken care of properly these wonderful fish can live a long, happy, healthy life.