Are parrot cichlids good tank mates for oscars?

Question

I plan on setting up a 55 gallon tank and adding a 1-3 inch oscar fish and possibly a parrot cichlid.

What are parrot cichlids like and are they aggressive?

will they be bullied by the oscar?

how big do they get?

will they be suitable for a 55 gallon tank with very,very efficient filtration?

do they eat cichlid pellets like oscars?

how long do they typically live?

how much do they cost generally?

are they intelligent? will they remember me and get excited when i come in my room?

any info on parrot cichlids would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

Blood Parrot Cichlids are peaceful fish. You would not want to put them in with Oscars. They will get about 8", would be fine in a 55 gallon tank, they eat pellets, very intelligent and they cost around $30.00-$40.00. I had one for about 8 years. I have younger ones, they get along well with Sevrums, I have both Green and Gold.

Answer 2

We had two parrot cichlids but one just died due to insufficient oxygen. We have them in a 46 gallon tank with 10 silver dollars. The parrot cichlids weren't too aggressive towards the silver dollars but I'm thinking that they would be bullied the oscar because oscars are pretty aggressive. Our parrot cichlid is about 3 inches but I do believe they get a bit bigger then that. Considering ours are in a 46 gallon tank and have done pretty good tells me that they would be fine in a 55 gallon tank. Our parrot cichlids do eat cichlid pellets. If everything in the tank is great then I'm sure they can live for quit a long time. We have had ours for about 2 years now and the only reason one died was because my husband took one of the filters out of the tank because he was waiting for a replacement filter and the top of the water was not agitated enough to produce a good amount of oxygen in the water. Generally I have seen smaller parrot cichlids cost about $15 or more dollars. I'm not sure how intelligent they are because they do seem to go to the back of the tank when we get too close to it. I will tell you that many kinds of African cichlids tend to get excited when you come around the tank but I don't think they would be compatible with oscars because they are pretty aggressive and territorial. We have another 75 gallon tank full of various African cichlids many of which have been killed be fellow tank mates, but African cichlids are fun. I hope this helps at least a little.

Answer 3

Well it depends on what one you are taliking about. There are two parrot cichlids, A hybrid one and a real one. Oscars should be kept on their own with some sort of medium sized pleco or catfish. If you can tell us what tyoe of parrot you are after it would be very helpful.

Answer 4

sorry a 55 gallon is only enough for 1 oscar with no tank mates.

Answer 5

Rather than just adding more fish have you considered trying to breed the one's you have ? I'd take on the challenge knowing that if the fish did reproduce then you must have set up a specialist type of species specific environment for the fish that only comes with a certain level of skill.

Answer 6

Tankmates For Oscars