Blood parrot cichlid

Common card · No. 349872

The Blood Parrot Cichlid (Amphilophus citrinellus × Vieja melanurus), or parrot cichlid, is a hybrid species of fish in the family Cichlidae. The fish was first bred in Taiwan around 1986. Blood parrots should not be confused with other parrot cichlids or salt water parrotfish (family Scaridae). Natural colors of the fish are red, yellow, and grey: other colors are injected by breeders. Because this hybrid cichlid has various anatomical deformities, controversy exists over the ethics of creating the blood parrot. One deformity is its mouth, which has only a narrow vertical opening. This makes blood parrots somewhat harder to feed and potentially vulnerable to malnutrition. The fish is known to be semi-aggressive. Despite its deformity, it can hold its own in a fight, and will prey on any small fish that can fit in its mouth.

Read on Wikipedia · Image AtelierMonpli, CC BY-SA 3.0