Parrotfish (teleost fish)
Parrot fish (scientific name: Amphilophus) or parrotfish, parrotfish, scientific name Roselle neck fin fish, genus of the family Ofosaurus, commonly known as parrotfish, parrotfish, red wedge seabream, etc., is a tropical fish living in coral reefs. It is named for its brilliant color and mouth shape that resembles the mouth shape of a parrot. There is also a freshwater ornamental fish cultivated by the hybridization of the American cichlid male red manta ray and the purple red fire mouth, also known as the blood parrot because of its bright red body color.
Chinese scientific name: Parrotfish
Latin scientific name: Amphilophus
Nickname: Parrotfish
Realm: Animal kingdom
Phylum: Phylum Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrate subphylum
Class: Bony fish
Suborders: Spokefin suborder
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Suborder Bulbophyllum
Family: Parrotfish family
Subfamily: Subfamily Lipfish
Family: Mouthfish
Genus: Parrotfish genus
Distribution area: Western Pacific Ocean, Western Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Hainan, Guangdong and other places
English: parrotfish
Appearance characteristics
Because the color is as gorgeous as the parrot, the body color is different. There are great differences between males and females in the same species, as well as between adult and juvenile fish. The main parrotfish in the Indo-Pacific region is the Callyodonfasciatus, which is 46 cm (18 in) long. The males are green-orange or greenish-red, while the females are blue and yellow. Atlantic species include the Queen's Parrotfish (Scarusvetula), which is about 50 cm (50 inches) long, and the males are blue in color, with green, red, and orange, while the females are pale red or purple with a white stripe. The parrot fish can be up to 1.2 m (4 ft) long and weigh up to 20 kg (45 lbs).
The body of the parrot is oblong and flattened on the sides. The head is short and tall, the dorsal margin is sharp crest-shaped, the mouth is large, the anterior position, can be extended, the jaw teeth are 1 row, cone-shaped, the medial side often has 1 row to several rows of small teeth, the front end of each large canine tooth 1 pair, the corner of the mouth without canine teeth. The anterior gill cap is smooth, the body is covered with medium large round scales, the cheeks are generally scaleless or only scaled behind the eyes, the lateral line is interrupted, and the lateral line scales are 18 to 22 + 4 to 9. Dorsal fin II., VII. to 12 to 13, the 1st and 2nd fin spines are elongated filamentous, far from the posterior fin spines, connected by a very low fin membrane, fin III. to 11 to 13, caudal fin round. The body has four transverse bands on the side of the body, and a black spot below the spines of the 6th to 7th fin of the dorsal fin.
Habits of life
Parrotfish inhabit mixed reefs and sands, mainly at depths of 30–50 cm below the surface of tropical and subtropical oceans. Juveniles simulate seaweed detritus drifting with the current, hiding in the sand when frightened, sleeping in the sand at night, carnivorous, feeding on small benthic animals, and they have a row of teeth up and down their mouths, which can not only bite the rough seaweed, but also the thorny sea urchin. Parrotfish can also bite hard corals, even poisonous food.
Grow and reproduce
Parrotfish and parrotfish cannot reproduce offspring, while female parrotfish and certain species of male fish can hybridize offspring. The parrot fish is a hybrid of the red devil and the purple red mouthfish, and since it is a hybrid between different species, the male blood parrot is not reproductive. The chromosomes of the fish eggs cannot be neatly matched, so the female fish cannot hatch even if it lays eggs, because the embryos cannot develop into juvenile fish, so when the blood parrot fish spawns eggs, the owner must find a way to incubate the eggs by himself, and use the purple red fire mouth of the male fish, the birthday star, and the red devil to fertilize the parrot fish eggs, which should theoretically be possible. Some female parrotfish can also cross with arhats. When the parrot fish breeds offspring, the male fish first sows sperm. The female then sows eggs in the center of the sperm. This method of reproduction fertilizes only a subset of the eggs, and only a small number of them make them lucky.
Species origin
The parrotfish is not a natural species, it is a species that was artificially created by chance, by chance, by chance. It is in Taiwan, China, the red devil and the purple red fire mouth are raised together, and as a result, under the unintentional yin and yang difference, the male red devil and the cohabiting female purple red fire mouth actually gave birth to a group of strange new fish species, which is the blood parrot. In addition, the blood parrot also shows strong uncertainty and diversity, so there are many varieties of blood parrots, purple parrots, macaws, rohan parrots, red and white parrots, zebra parrots, flower parrots and so on.
Distribution range
The population is mainly distributed in the western Pacific Ocean, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea,
Palau, Indonesia and the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia and Loyalty Island to the Great Barrier Reef, The Rocky Shoals of the Eastern Indian Ocean, the Similan Islands and Christmas Island in the Andaman Sea, the Western Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, etc.
In China, it is mainly distributed in Zhejiang, Shanghai, Hainan, Guangdong, Taiwan, Guangxi, Fujian and other places.
Key value
Ornamental value
Parrotfish is a colorful tropical fish living in the coral reefs of tropical oceans, they have a beautiful spotted color, just like the colorful coat of parrots, is a fish with high ornamental value. Its body shape is similar to spherical or oval, the back is round, the tail fin is developed, the whole body is almost blood red, and it has a cute triangular mouth, which always seems to be smiling and not fit, so it is loved by fish fans.
Ecological value
Parrotfish contribute significantly to the healthy growth of coral reefs, as parrotfish spend 90% of their day eating seaweed attached to coral reefs. In addition, parrotfish also excrete sand, so parrotfish play an important role in coral reef ecosystems as "corals are converted into sand" [3]
Toxicity characteristics
Parrotfish itself is not poisonous, but some of the food of parrotfish is poisonous. Parrot fish have organs in the body that break down and digest toxins, so parrot fish will not be harmed by these toxins. But if people catch parrot fish at this time, and the toxins in its body are not completely removed, then the toxins in the parrotfish's food will be passed on to humans who eat parrotfish. Therefore, many fishermen advise greedy diners not to eat parrot fish.
Farming techniques
Blood parrots prefer soft water that is weakly acidic and less hard. Because the congenital lips of the blood parrot cannot be closed, the control of the swallowing water flow is poor, the water flow through the gills is small, and the ability to exchange oxygen with the gills by the water flow is much worse than that of the father and mother and other fish. Therefore, the water body that raises the blood parrot must have sufficient oxygen. Blood parrots are highly adaptable to temperature and can live freely at water temperatures of 20 ° C to 30 ° C. However, the blood parrot is quite sensitive to temperature, and it is easy to produce stress responses in the case of low water temperature and large changes in water temperature, resulting in a dull body color and loss of bright luster, and even black stripes or markings. During the feeding process, it is best to keep the water temperature in the range of 25 °C ~ 28 °C, and the water temperature difference before and after each water change should not exceed 0. 5℃。 Blood parrots have a mixed diet, artificial bait, flakes, granules, red worms, shrimp, water lice, etc. almost everything is eaten, and it is quite gluttonous, so it is easy to raise blood parrots, but it is not easy to raise blood parrots with strong physique and bright body color. Every day to regularly and quantitative feeding bait, reasonable with the nutrition of the bait, regular feeding of fresh shrimp, small fish, it is best to choose artificial bait specially formulated for blood parrots, this kind of added astaxanthin and D carotene feed, direct feeding is not only convenient but also can make the body color of the blood parrot more vivid and good-looking. Parrot fish are relatively skinny and easy to keep. Pay attention to water temperature regulation when feeding, and if the number of feeding is large, it is recommended to use an oxygenation pump.