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Comments
water parameters
the most important are ammonia and nitrite should be 0ppm. alkalinity has to do with which side of 7 on your PH your water is. above 7 is alkaline below 7 is acidic. parrots are not picky about PH 6-7.8 is fine i keep mine below 7 because if you end up with ammonia in your water less of it is toxic. nitrate should be less than 40ppm. it isn't that toxic, but, you are more likely to find out the names of different fish diseases if you don't change your water enough to keep it below 40 ppm. bog wood will lower your PH naturally. and certain rocks will raise it. the best thing to do is put the rocks in a bucket overnight. test your tapwater ph, fill the bucket with rocks and water, then test the water after 24 hours to see if the rocks are going to affect your ph.
Re: tank setup
An aquarium intended for blood parrot cichlids should be decorated with a soft bottom substrate. Use bogwood and rocks to create hiding places for the fish since they otherwise can be quite shy. They need a large aquarium due to their size, a parrot cichlid can grow to be 25cm/ 10 inches. They should not be kept in aquariums smaller than 200L / 50 gallon. Blood parrot cichlid requires good filtration since they can put a large strain on the water quality. Large weekly water changes are also required. A pH of 6.5-7.5 is to be preferred.