Red Parrot Fish - Habits, tips for raising red parrot fish to have beautiful colors

Red Parrot Fish (Red Parrot Fish), is a colorful, unique-shaped ornamental fish with an open mouth, popular in aquariums.

Red Parrot Fish (also known as Red Parrot Fish, Blood Parrot Fish) is the most popular freshwater aquarium fish thanks to its diverse, vibrant colors, easy care, suitable for beginners to keep aquarium fish.

If you want to learn more about the origin, habits and how to raise beautiful colored Red Parrot fish, please refer to the content in the article below of Nice Fish!

Where does the Red Parrot fish come from?

Red Parrot Fish is a man-made fish, not found in nature.

The Red Parrot Fish, also known as the Red Parrot Fish or Blood Parrot Fish, is not a natural fish species but is bred by humans. This fish species was first bred in the 1980s in Taiwan. There are two theories about their ancestors:

• Amphilophus labiatus (Emperor fish) x Heros severus (Banded perch)
• Amphilophus citrinellum (Midas tilapia) x Cichlasoma synspilum.(Red tilapia)

Currently, this fish species still causes a lot of controversy because its body is transformed with a small mouth, not completely closed and is criticized by some aquarium hobbyists as "biologically forced" for commercial purposes. However, it cannot be denied that this is a beautiful ornamental fish, with eye-catching colors and is loved by many people to keep in aquariums.

Physical characteristics of Red Parrot fish

Appearance of a blood parrot fish - Hong Ket.

Red parrot fish is an ornamental fish with a unique appearance and outstanding colors. Let's take a closer look at their physical characteristics.

• Shape : Round, plump body, humpback, bulging belly, large fish head, high forehead.
• Size : Average 15 - 20 cm for adult fish.
• Mouth : Small, triangular, always open due to structure changes during breeding.
• Color : Colorful like orange red, bright orange, yellow, white, metallic blue, light purple, the older the fish, the darker the color.
• Dorsal & ventral fins : Long, soft, shaped like a fan.
• Tail : Short, round, often slightly curled when swimming, giving a feeling of slowness and grace.

Parrot fish behavior

Red parrot fish like to swim close together.

The Red Parrot is a beautiful fish with many interesting habits, different from other ornamental fish in the tank. Let's learn more about the personality and reproductive ability of this fish!

Temperament is quite mild and territorial.

Normally, Red Parrot fish are quite gentle so they can be kept with many other types of fish in aquariums such as sailfish , mouse fish , angelfish , neon fish, etc. However, if in small, cramped tanks, they can become more aggressive because they have to fight for territory.

Intelligent, responsive to people

Red parrot fish are quite intelligent ornamental fish, they have the ability to recognize their owner and will often swim close to "Hello" when that person approaches the tank. They can also swim along the movement of the hand of the person outside the tank, creating a feeling of extreme closeness.

Has mild social behavior

Although the Red Parrot is not a schooling fish, it still enjoys the company of others, which makes it feel more comfortable than being alone in a tank. If kept in groups of 3-5 or more, they will tend to swim close together and interact slightly as if they are in a group.

However, if the tank does not have enough space, they may chase each other over territory or food.

Quite naughty

Red Parrot is a rather "naughty" fish species, they spend most of their time in the tank digging the bottom of the tank or moving decorations such as fake plants, small rocks,... So if you want to decorate the tank, you need to choose sturdy types to limit this fish from being naughty.

Difficult to reproduce naturally

Red Parrots are man-bred fish, so most of them cannot breed in a normal aquarium. Although some males will build nests and care for the eggs, the majority of the eggs will not hatch.

Tips for raising beautiful colored Red Parrot fish

A Red Parrot fish has a bright orange-red color.

Red Parrot fish are loved because they have beautiful, colorful colors. However, if you want the Red Parrot fish to have the most beautiful and standard color, you need to pay attention to water parameters, water quality, tank system and diet. Let's learn some effective tips shared below!

Set up a suitable tank for raising Red Parrot fish

The first thing that determines the health and color ability of the Red Parrot fish is having a suitable, spacious, and comfortable tank system. Therefore, when designing a tank to raise this fish, you need to pay attention to the following basic parameters:

• Size : Minimum 80 - 100 liters for a tank of 2 - 3 fish, 120 - 180 liters for a tank of 3 - 5 fish.
• Filtration system : Should use top overflow filter or strong external membrane filter.
• Aeration : Required to ensure dissolved oxygen levels and keep water clean.
• Tank background : should use black gravel, or leave the background in a dark color to help the fish stand out the most.
• Aquarium decoration : Do not decorate too much, because fish need a large space to swim, you should add caves, ceramic tubes or driftwood to create shelter for the fish, choose fake aquatic plants or plants with strong roots because this fish species loves to dig the substrate.
• Aquarium light : Use LED lights with pink or red light, turn on 8 - 10 hours a day to help fish increase color.

Clean, stable water

The second important thing that determines the health and color of the Red Parrot fish is that the water in the tank must be clean, stable and meet the following basic parameters:

• pH : 6.5 - 7.5
• Temperature : 27 - 30 degrees Celsius.
• Dissolved oxygen : High.
• Nitrite, ammonia : Always 0 ppm.
• Change water : Change 20 - 30% of water every week, do not change all at once.
• Add salt : You can add diluted salt 0.5 - 1g/L weekly to help fish fight bacteria and reduce stress.

What do red parrot fish eat to get beautiful color?

In addition to the tank system and water quality, food is also an important factor in determining whether the red parrot fish will have beautiful colors or not, and whether they will live long or not.... The following are the types of food that help fish have the most beautiful colors:

• Color enhancing pellets : Choose the type containing Astaxanthin, Spirulin to help increase red and orange pigments such as AZOO 9 in 1 Red, Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold...
• Live food : Peeled and chopped shrimp, should be fed 2-3 times per week.
• Vegetables : Add vegetables such as chopped carrots to help the fish naturally color, spinach, and peas which are good for the digestive system.
• Bloodworms, beef heart : help fish grow quickly, but should not be fed too much.

Note when feeding Red Parrot fish :

• Do not feed fish foods with artificial dyes of unknown origin.
• Do not feed too much red meat because it can easily cause the fish to lose color.
• Feed only enough food to avoid excess contaminating the water.

Common diseases in Red Parrot fish and how to treat them

Here are some common diseases in Red Parrot fish, let's learn more to be able to recognize early and handle promptly.

However, our grandparents have a saying "prevention is better than cure" so you need to pay attention to the following things to help your fish have good health:

• Maintain stable water quality.
• Clean the aquarium once every 1 - 2 weeks.
• Newly purchased fish need to be quarantined for 7 - 10 days before being released into the common tank.
• Each time you change the water, you can add 0.5 - 1 g of salt/1 liter of water to increase the fish's resistance.

New Red Parrot price list updated 2025

If you are wondering how much the Red Parrot fish costs? Is it suitable for your finances? Please refer to the price list we share below, there are many prices for you to choose from.

The most beautiful and popular types of Red Parrot fish

Although there are many types and colors of Red Parrots, in the Vietnamese ornamental fish market, there are some popular types as follows:

Red Parrot Fish

The two red parrot fish have the most brilliant colors.

This is the most classic and popular species of Red Parrot today. Their whole body is bright red or orange-red, very easy to raise, living peacefully with other fish in the aquarium, very suitable for those who are new to raising Parrot fish.

Golden Parrot Fish

A yellow parrot fish.

In addition to red and orange-red individuals, yellow parrot fish are also very popular. Their whole body has an eye-catching lemon yellow and turmeric yellow color. They have a feng shui meaning of attracting luck and fortune, so they are often chosen to be raised in families and offices.

King Kong Parrot Fish

King Kong parrot with big hump head.

This is a species of Red Parrot fish with an extremely large size, large body, high hump, dark red color, looking extremely majestic. Some fish also have a truncated tail, short body looking like a red "egg". This species of fish is often kept in pairs and kept in large aquariums.

Heart Tail Red Parrot

Pink heart-tailed parrot with unique tail.

This is a unique variation of the Red Parrot fish with the tail trimmed into a heart shape when the fish is young, they are usually red or light orange. However, you should consider before buying because this type of fish has been artificially intervened.

Platinum White Parrot Fish

A Red Parrot fish with pure white color.

The Platinum White Parrot is one of the super rare varieties of this fish. The entire body of the fish is covered with ivory-white scales, with a light pink sheen, and the eyes are black with sparkling silver edges. Because of its strange and eye-catching color, this fish is also popular and has a high price.

Panda Parrot Fish - Tiger Parrot Fish

A Panda Parrot fish with eye-catching black and white stripes.

This is a unique and quite rare variant of the Red Parrot fish. It is called "Panda" because of its alternating black and white colors that look like the colors of a panda. This line is expensive and is often collected by sophisticated fish lovers to show off their class.

Questions and answers about Red Parrot fish?

Do you need oxygen to raise Red Parrots?

Need, because this fish is very sensitive to water quality, so you need to aerate to provide enough dissolved oxygen for the fish, while helping to maintain water quality in the tank.

How many colors does the Red Parrot fish have?

This fish has many different color gamuts, can be bright red, dark red, panda, white, gray,...

What fish can be kept with Red Parrot?

Fish that can be kept with Red Parrot are sailfish, zebrafish, mouse fish, angelfish,...

How many Red Parrot fish should I keep in a tank?

Depending on the size of the tank, you can keep 3 - 5 Red Parrot fish in the same tank.

Beautiful Red Parrot Fish Pictures

To see the colorful world of the Red Parrot fish, please also admire some photos of this fish species compiled below.

Red heart tail parrot fish

Max size Golden Parrot Fish

Mini Red Parrot fish.

Red Parrot fish tattooed with words.

Through the content that nicefish.net shares above about the Red Parrot fish , we can see that this is not only an ornamental fish with a beautiful appearance and brilliant colors, but also very easy to raise, reasonable price, very suitable for simple aquariums in the family.

Hopefully, through this, you can confidently buy and raise these beautiful Red Parrot fish. Don't forget to visit the Blog section to discover more beautiful ornamental fish as well as useful fish raising tips!