Polar Blue Parrot sorority?

[PSwayze80]

I have a lone female Polar Blue Parrot (PBP) who's tank mates have moved on. 

I would like to add some new tank mates but don't want to end up with unwanted fry or the aggression I've read about that comes with mating. So I was considering a PBP/Platinum Parrot sorority... But I haven't been able to find any info on PBP sororities, or Red Blood Parrot sororities or even Convict sororities. Is there a reason? Do the females get more aggressive if there's no male(s) present?

I know some people aren't the biggest fans of Parrots and I respect that, if possible I'd like to keep the post about opinions on PBP sororities and not on the fish themselves. Thank you.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi @PSwayze80, welcome to the forum. I've seen your question pending for a few days. I think because the ACO is more of a nano fish aquarium store the forum tends to attract mostly the same sort of fish keeper- which is why you haven't gotten your answer yet. There aren't a lot of larger Cichlid keepers on this forum but for your random Discus or larger catfish keepers. I myself have only a couple of Bolivians which while Cichlids aren't your typical. And it's not like Cichlid keepers and their experience/knowledge aren't welcome here, they definitely are. I did though put out feelers on my local club's forum to see if there are any answers I can get for you. :-) 

[knee]

I've had 2 female HRP pair up, one would lay eggs and the other female would do the motion of fertilizing the eggs but of course the eggs turned white the next day. This happened when I kept a colony of HRP. 

 

I feel like the BPP is just a shortbody HRP that has been line bred so the blue color will be more intense. They might do the same thing if no males are available and will show the same amount of aggression.

These fish are so prolific (convicts/HRP) that they will also hybridize with other CA cichlids if no males from their own kind are available.

[face]

I’ll start be saying I haven’t kept this specific fish but  have some experience with South American cichlids and in my experience females are just as aggressive as males in my Severum tank the female was way more aggressive the point  the only thing that kept that from being to much was the male was 3x her size 

and as mentioned they can form female female bonds so you might get a pair anyway

but in general attitudes of a specific fish play the biggest role some are docile some aggressive it’s a personality thing more then anything just my two cents anyway 

Edited January 27 by face

[Tony s]

theoretically, couldn't you do the standard cichlid thing and spread the aggression by overstocking the tank? Just with parrots?

[face]

In theory you can it was done a lot in the early 2000 but in my opinion the fish never did very well African cichlids can do that because they evolved in completely clear water competing is what they do central in South American cichlids just aren’t made for it competition is very different for them it’s usually for territory or to prove fitness not a constant fight for dominance in my opinion the stress isn’t good for them you also might still get a pair in which case they could still corner and kill their tank mates that said parrots aren’t exactly super good at fighting so who knows but that’s just my two cents 

[Scapexghost]

Ok so i have a polar blue cichlid and i keep it with sword tails and tiger barbs. This mix works well. The cichlid doesnt have the mouth structure to really hurt the other fish, and is not really a graceful wwimmer so it cant chase down the more agile sword tails and tiger barbs. On the flip side the cichlid is way to beefy and agressive for the others to harass. You could probably do any barb or any quick fish

[Tony s]

Was just reading coops recommendation on blood parrots. They recommend keeping in groups. 3 in a 55. Up to 6 in a 75. They can be a bit aggressive, but their small mouths are ineffective at causing much damage. If you’ve got a tank boss, add tall barriers to break line of sight or add dither fish. Under”care guides for blood parrots “