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Recently, having found myself wading through several pages on the subject of a fish called the "Parror Cichlid", only to find that I was dealing with hybrids, I set out to find the ORIGINAL Parrot Cichlid that I had breifly encountered in a book in the 1970s. Lamebtably, I have never seen this fish in the flesh, and it's apparently a rarity in the US too, but for those looking for something different in the Cichlid line, I'm going to act as it's marketing agent for the purposes of this post.

The more intricate details regarding husbandry of this fish, and some remarks about breeding, can be found here]http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=67[/link] courtesy of Wayne Leibel at The Cichlid Room, and a nice illustration of this impressive turquoise Cichlid can be found at the same site [link=here.

Not necessarily difficult to keep, but demanding because of size - it's bigger than an Oscar and on a par with some Guapotes for size, capable of hitting a whopping 18 inches - and likely to be a considerable breeding challenge if the article is anything to go by. But one look at that lovely turquoise colour, and the knowledge that juveniles resemble Uaru amphiacanthoides before they grow up, thus giving the aquarist quite a colour change as they mature, should be enough to make the big Cichlid fans look out for this beauty.

So, next time someone asks you if you want Parrot Cichlids, tell them "Yes, but only the natural wild green ones". Watch people's jaws around you drop as they scratch their heads trying to work out what you're on about!



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

WOW!! thanks for that maybe I will do that, go to my LFS and say, do you guys have any REAL, wild green parrots? LOL and wach them go LOL LOL

yes, the true parrot cichlid (Hoplarchus psittacus) is an awesome cichlid though incredibly rare. here in the states they are going for $50 at 4-5". the thing is though that around 6 months to a year ago people were paying the same price for specimens that were only like 1-2". they're availability has improved a little due to several people buying them when Rapps first got them in and a few people may be breeding them now. In time their availability will improve and prices will come down and more people will be able to enjoy the "true parrot cichlid".

just a side note, some people still refer to Hypsophrys nicaraguense as a parrot cichlid. most often they are referred to as Nicaraguans or Nics for short but there are still a few who call them parrots (some also call them macaw cichlids).

'Enjoy' is a word you should qualify with Hoplarchus psittacus though - as I said above, the sheer size of a fully grown adult means it's strictly a fish for the BIG Cichlid fan!

Mind you, given the surprising number of people here who keep Jaguar Cichlids (and those things are juggernauts), it's possible that the same people would give the True Parrot a try. I suspect that anyone who has kept and bred the Jag sucessfully might find this an appealing species to move on to. However, according to the Cichlid Room article, breeding this fish is quite a challenge, and one of the factors to bear in mind is that it isn't a precocious breeder like Neetroplus nematopus - your prospective parents need to be at least four years old before they're nudging maturity and ready to spawn. That's probably a contributory factor to the rarity of this fish.

I'll also have to take a look at Hypsophrys nicaraguense, another 'ex-Cichlasoma' that is pretty rare here in the UK, though not quite as rare as the True Parrot.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002