Cody L Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 (edited) Hi my name's Cody and I'm new to the hobby. I had acquired a 20gal tank for free about 4 or 5 months ago and spent about a month buying what I thought I needed and setting up the tank. Once I THOUGHT I was ready I went and bought a pair of parrot convict cichlid hybrids? I bought them from a mom and pop store and the pair were advertised as a breeding pair. Also after questioning the store owner he informed me they had spawned one time in the store for him. I bought these in a very typical way and wish I had done ALOT more research prior to my purchase. For the first two months everthing was going well and the fish were happy. The weather was warmer at the time, and the building I live in is extremely drafty. Once the weather got cold I noticed the male acting differently. Not coming out to eat and not seeming to want to do much of anything. So I dove deep, real deep into a wealth of online content. This I'm happy to say is how I came to find aquarium co-op. I'd like to quickly tip my hat to you guys and say that I enjoy the content and information provided and also that in general Cory seems like a knowledgeable honest and simply kind person. So back to my issue the male was not himself and the female seemed fine and was acting normal but had developed a rosey hue. The fish are both chalk white. I'd picked up a API master test kit started testing all I could. After about a week of research and fiddling with the tank I realized they were cold at about 74°f. I've since adjusted the temperature to 80°f and they are both are looking and acting normally at this point and both seem to be doing much better. Also the females color has come back. So there's a run down on what I've been through recently and I'm now having two questions about the fish. 1. The males gills are kinda cupped and I'm not sure if everthing looks healthy the way it should. 2.any tips on breeding this pair would be greatly appreciated. I will attach a link to a short clip of the male to the article. Sorry about the video it's not the best. also im feeding sinker pellets and live blackworm. Any cause for concern of constipation? Or the female becoming egg bound? Any information would be great. Thanks for reading. Edited November 27, 2020 by Cody L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Welcome to the hobby Cody! Their gills look like they need more oxygen in the water, try to put a airstone in the tank. and see how that works. I have never breed these guys so I can't help you out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody L Posted November 28, 2020 Author Share Posted November 28, 2020 (edited) @James Black Thank you. However im already running a sponge filter with air.🤷 I was concearned with the cuppedshape of the gill more so than respiration. The fish seem happy and active. But being new and having the fish for not to long (a few months) I don't want to overlook somthing that may be obvious to someone with more experience. Edited November 28, 2020 by Cody L 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEWaters Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 (edited) red inside the gills? looks pale and breathing a little harder? said temp was low - stresses fish and you saw this in the male. Increases risk of any type of infection look into gill issues? Edited November 28, 2020 by MEWaters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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