# scared



## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

i bought 2 parrot cichlid 3 days ago along wit 2 severums. when i bought one of the parrots it was really dark and had small strips that you could barely see. the i bought him home and the next day he was brown wit black strips and out in the open. i figured he was only dark bc he was stressed so no real worries. now for the last two days he has turned black again and started hiding up by the filter. i dont understand why he went from fine to stressed. i tested my water and everyting was ok. so idk. and mu other cichlids are the same size so again idk. the tinfoils i have wit it are larer but didnt seem to mess wit it. any ideas on why the parrot is acting wierd and/or how to fix it? is their any fish it my tank that could be doing it. the other parrot and 2 severums are all ok he the only one acting wierd.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

what are your exact water parameters? Your stocking doesnt look TOO bad, so it may just be that they are new in the tank and still sulking


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## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

but it is only that one fish. idk i will get it tested today hopefully. i know my PH is 7 with is kinda low for parrots but that what most my other fish thrive at.


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## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

i got my water tested and my PH is lower then i thought. i added something to rise the PH. that still dont explain why he hiding and my other ones not. i adding one more parrot to see if that helps. might but not sure. wood a picture help tell if there anything visablably wrong. idk i up for anything.


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

Yes, a picture is always helpful. Hope you have better luck getting a good shot of yours then I do with mine. Mine just won't hold still for the camera. lol


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Hey, you traded a brackish fish for another one...Archer fish need brackish, not fresh, water.


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## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

i read up on the archerfish it said one teaspoon per ten gallon. that what i always have in there so i thought it wood be fine. am i wrong again? if so i will get rid of him. i may even start a brackisk tank. but from what i read in not a real brackish fish. if you suggest differently i will change. but do you know anything to help my parrrot fish? i will hopefully put up some pics up of my whole tank today or tomorrow.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2008)

What was your ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrATe readings? pH isn't that important, as long as its stable. I wouldn't add in anything else to mess with the pH. If your KH (carbonate hardness) is low and that is making your pH drop, then you could put some crushed coral in your filter to buffer the pH. Otherwise, leave it alone.

Do you have enough hiding spots in the tank? Newcomers in cichlid tanks are usually not as welcome.....and they may be chasing/stressing the parrots out when you aren't looking. Make sure you have enough hiding places.

Doing an extra water change can't hurt either.


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## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

i have a bout but my large ctafish is in their and takes up the whole thing. then my pictus is in my rock but nothing in a log i have. i guess he could be hiding bc he new. he hiding behind my filters and in the corners. i added some stuff for PH bc mine was only 7.8 so now it should be a lil higher. my ammonia was a lil high so i bout to go do a water change. i dont know my nitrate or nitrite readings to be exact but they was fine.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

"they were fine" doesnt tell us much, you need to know the exact readings. If you dont know what they are supposed to be, how can you day they are fine?

And pH dont matter at all, dont mess with it.


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## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

bc i went and got it tested and looked and it and was told by the associate what it was. i just forgot what it was. i know the onlythingwrong was a low PH of 7.8. thats all i remember. and i doing my water change tomorrow bc i off. and i couldnt get a pic of the fish bc he was to dark. i did take a video of it. here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQeokH13gIU them me what you think of the setup.


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## pullins125 (Mar 17, 2008)

after the whole photo experience my parrot is out. he is still hiding but he is getting his tan and black strips again. i hope they stay and he starts coming out more.


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