# Blood Parrot acting odd



## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

I have a 65Gal with 3 blood parrots. I have had them for about 3 years. 


Recently one is sitting at bottom, comes up slightly for food but seems its lazy or too fat to swim 

what is going on with it do you think?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

need way more information... filtration all your water parameters where do you live whats your water source and maintenance schedule do you overfeed etc etc etc everything you can think of


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

cannister filter
GTA
city water that i let sit for 3 days. 
water change every 4-6 weeks. 
feeding i try once a day. 
i dont overfeed. 
i use coppersafe when i do water change and water conditioner.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

ilikefish said:


> cannister filter
> GTA
> city water that i let sit for 3 days.
> water change every 4-6 weeks.
> ...


WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?

No wonder your fish is sick you've poisoned it with copper.

Who the hell told you to use coppersafe??

Copper affects nutritional uptake in fish and you only use it if you have an illness such as a parasite that needs to be removed with copper.

Thats probably your problem you poisoned it


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

i use it every other or every 3rd water change. Im near the end of the cycle now why would i get sick?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Dude its copper. Don't you understand that copper is an extremely toxic heavy metal?

Liquid copper is only for use when you have a parasite you need to kill. That's about it. Its toxic.

Who told you to use it? What have you been reading?

You need to stop using it *right now*

Its sick because it was progressively poisoned.
you die.

Copper builds up in an organism over time. just like any heavy metal.

Seriously I don't understand where you got your information. Liquid copper is rediculously toxic. Stop.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

ok will do, 

someone told me they have been using for years in their tanks without problems. i did not know dude. 

other then stopping is there anything else i can do?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

ilikefish said:


> ok will do,
> 
> someone told me they have been using for years in their tanks without problems. i did not know dude.
> 
> other then stopping is there *anything else i can do?*


Never ever listen to that person again. Ever.

Also do water changes weekly not monthly...

I need more details to help any more


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

weekly? how much?

how do I know i should be listening to you lol


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

ilikefish said:


> weekly? how much?
> 
> how do I know i should be listening to you lol


You don't. That's why the first few problems and setups you have are the worst. You never know.

If you ONLY have 3 blood parrots in the tank change out about 33% per week


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

You don't. That's why the first few problems and setups you have are the worst. You never know.--- what do u mean here?


that much water? what if i have more fish in there?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

ilikefish said:


> You don't. That's why the first few problems and setups you have are the worst. You never know.--- what do u mean here?
> 
> that much water? what if i have more fish in there?


Then Id need to see how high your nitrates were getting

~~I mean you dont know who you can trust for the first while


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

how do i check. ph tester do u mean?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

no nitrate.

No3


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

how do i tesT?

what is nitrate (waste?)


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

in a manner of speaking. look it up


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

ilikefish said:


> how do i tesT?
> 
> what is nitrate (waste?)


You need to do more research. There's a plethora of information on the internet available to those who thirst for knowledge.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Have you met my aquarium justice sidekick?










Wherever Nitrates are high and knowledge is low, like mist from the darkness, we descend upon your aquarium

DA da da Da *DA DA DA NA NA *NA da _naaaaaaaa_
_(sound of spinning batman symbol before an important scene in TV show)_

http://www.marineland.com/sites/Marineland/Resources/default.aspx?id=1902
http://www.marineland.com/sites/Marineland/Resources/FAQOverview.aspx?id=1836
http://www.aquariumpros.com/images/illustrations/cycle.jpg
<<The last picture- technically what comes out of Mr Fish's back end is NH3, not NH4. Also we have since concluded that Nitrosomonas/bacter are not infact the principal bacteria responsible for nitrification in a closed freshwater environment bla bla bla not important right now
I'm not going to confuse you right now though, its otherwise accurate

Read ALLLLL that stuff

Remember. Only you can prevent Zooitis










Similarly, according to a TV bear named Smokey I used to see when I was a kid, only I can prevent forest fires. But not underwater.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

i dont get it . 

i have had this tank for 4 years without any fish being sick or dyeing until now. so i must be doing something right? yet u say its all wrong

yet u are telling me to do water changes once a week. Some that do that have their fish dying often

how about Seachem Purigen?


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

the BP has a bump on its tempple not sure if thats always been there. looks somewhat like a pimple.???


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## moon (Mar 11, 2006)

I agree with Pablo. Your fish is being slowly poisoned by copper. It's best to stop using it. Change water once a week. Make sure that your water is treated before adding to tank. Your fish will recover.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

ilikefish said:


> i dont get it .
> 
> i have had this tank for 4 years without any fish being sick or dyeing until now. so i must be doing something right? yet u say its all wrong
> 
> ...


\

So, not only are you unwilling to research- you're not willing to read more than 1 page of information when its just laid infront of you on a silver platter (on page 2 of this thread).

Do you really expect every single iota of knowledge can be gained by nit picking people's brains for the answer?

You need about 5 hours of reading to keep a FW tank properly, and over 10 to do it well. 50 to have well rounded knowledge.

That's what- 25 000 to 100 000 words or so?

You'd be here till 2100AD asking questions.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

dont take it personally. There is a lot of mis information out there so thats why i am askin here


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

At least you are asking questions, that's a step in the right direction. Too bad not many people do. 

Being a beginner to fish keeping, I can only repeat what others have said; First things first, stop using the coper.

But I will add this piece of advice; 

One of the best things you can do now is to learn what is happening in your tank. The first place to start would be the "Nitrogen cycle"; once you understand what is happening in your tank, it will answer a lot of your questions. 

A good place to start is by finding a good book, e-book, guide etc about beginner freshwater keeping.

Also, find out more information about BP's, such as what they require as water paramaters, plants, etc... 

PS: Sent you a pm.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

ilikefish said:


> dont take it personally. There is a lot of mis information out there so thats why i am askin here


 that's not what I'm saying- I told you exactly what information to read--- information _I know for a fact is correct_

I know I seem like a jerk a lot of the time.

I just don't want people to get to feel like they shouldnt research on their own etc.

ALL the information in DR TIMS library I sent u links for on page 2 is good. Also if you ever have an equipment problem the place to go is cichlidforum.com to the equipment and supplies section.

questions regarding specific materials like filters should go there or to a store you trust like Big Als dry goods department or to the manufacturer. EHEIM is very helpful if you email them.

Other companies, like HAGEN for example (aquaclear) have excellent telephone service where someone will guide you through step by step and answer your questions.

As per research- if you read it in five places, its true.

Never take information from "JEFF and IRENES fish website" (example) or anything that looks shoddy or backward.

Be careful of information you receive at actual aquarium shops. I would only trust the advice of a total of six people (I cant name them because it might bother them- except Harold @ Menagerie who Im sure wouldnt mind being mentioned. You can pretty much take that guys advice to the bank) in all of the stores in Toronto personally.

I've seen some SERIOUSLY screwed up advice several times at fish stores, which I've needed to set straight.

Some people shoudln't be where they are period.

AHEM Big Al's Oakville fish room manager EHEM AHEM COUGH COUGH


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

*listen to the Pablo. He knows.*

Pablo is good. He's blunt. But he's good. He's not gentle or polite, but he's smart. I generally trust him; It's not that he's all warm and fuzzy or anything... He's criticized me and corrected me quite a bit, and I appreciate it. I've checked out his advice against other sources and he's pretty smart. Copper is definitely poisonous. Tiny amounts when your tank has some condition you need to treat is different than continuous dosing.

W


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Pablo is good. He's blunt. But he's good. He's not gentle or polite, but he's smart. I generally trust him; It's not that he's all warm and fuzzy or anything... He's criticized me and corrected me quite a bit, and I appreciate it. I've checked out his advice against other sources and he's pretty smart. Copper is definitely poisonous. Tiny amounts when your tank has some condition you need to treat is different than continuous dosing.
> 
> W


Copper is infact so poisonous that it can kill animals by only being at a couple of parts per million for a couple of weeks. 

Thanks for the compliments also K L F. I appreciate it.

I was at "Bird Kingdom" in Niagara Falls this afternoon- which is the best thing I've seen in years- absolutely spectacular massive aviary with palm trees and water falls and toucans and macaws. Awesome...

Anyways, they have a little river with koi in it- and a sign that says "DONT PUT YOUR PENNIES IN HERE BECAUSE COPPER IS TOXIC ETC ETC" and retarded people still were throwing coins in...

I can't believe how dumb some people are or maybe they dont care. its sad.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Also after thinking I have a great response to this comment

*i have had this tank for 4 years without any fish being sick or dyeing until now. so i must be doing something right? yet u say its all wrong*

_Imagine smoking for a year. No huge damage. Short of breath maybe. But cancer? Likely not. Ten years? Twenty? Fifty? Bam! Cancer.

What occurs is a buildup of Nitrogen compounds called Nitrate or No3. This is the final stage of the nitrogen cycle and basically, if you dont take out as much as is being produced, it builds up and up and up until it hits a toxic level that one of your fish cant take and boom dead. then the next one then the next one.

Imagine a room filled with smokers. The smoke is nitrate. every ten minutes you open all the windows and let 30% of the smoke out (a water change). then the smoke builds to exactly the same level, and you repeat letting the smoke out. By this process- the level of smoke remains exactly the same.

but imagine if you opened windows every hour. You're letting a little smoke out- but theres so much smoke in the room, every time you close the windows it gets foggier and foggier. Finally its white like soup. Someone has a catastrophic asthma attack, loses their breath, and almost dies._

_Get it?_

*yet u are telling me to do water changes once a week. Some that do that have their fish dying often*

EVERY person I've ever spoken to with this problem does it wrong. The pH in their tank and from tap are violently different- or the temperature is- or they change too much, etc etc etc. If you bring in the same kind of water you took out at the same temperature, hourly water changes are fiesable. you're changing water to remove nitrates, excess flora (bugs, bacteria, etc), and other waste products. everything else in the water you bring back in should be identical-- just 'cleaner'

*how about Seachem Purigen?*

I dislike the product purigen. This product adsorbs nitrogenous compounds BEFORE they are converted by degradation into ammonia compounds and thus interrupts the nitrogen cycle at its base.

Now, that's just fine if you always use it, recharge it exactly every XX days as it wears out, and never forget to.

But what if you do? Ammonia spike.

Seen it happen.


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## killer4nano (Aug 30, 2009)

ilikefish said:


> I have a 65Gal with 3 blood parrots. I have had them for about 3 years.
> 
> Recently one is sitting at bottom, comes up slightly for food but seems its lazy or too fat to swim
> 
> what is going on with it do you think?


Not to worry it just means that it called its own terrotories when blood parrots get bigger they take a place in the tank nd call it "therez". Just check one thing when you put your face near the tank does it come close to attack.
If yes it's perfectly fine


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## Harry Muscle (Mar 21, 2007)

Here's a link to a good beginner's read for keeping tanks. I would at the very least recommend reading this to get an idea of what's involved, etc.

http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html

Hope it helps,
Harry


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

killer4nano said:


> Not to worry it just means that it called its own terrotories when blood parrots get bigger they take a place in the tank nd call it "therez". Just check one thing when you put your face near the tank does it come close to attack.
> If yes it's perfectly fine





Harry Muscle said:


> Here's a link to a good beginner's read for keeping tanks. I would at the very least recommend reading this to get an idea of what's involved, etc.
> 
> http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html
> 
> ...


This thread is over a year old.


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## Abner (Apr 7, 2009)

Lmao!!! I love this site everyone is so helpful


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