Blood parrot fish are omnivores with a serious handicap: the hybrid mouth opens into a narrow vertical slit and cannot close fully, so they cannot bite chunks, tear flesh or snap food out of the water column. Everything about parrot fish food comes back to that. This page covers what blood parrot fish eat, the best food for color, how much and how often, and what to avoid.
What Do Blood Parrot Fish Eat?
In practical terms a blood parrot eats small sinking pellets, frozen meaty foods and soft vegetables. They are opportunistic omnivores by inheritance — the midas and redhead cichlids that produced them eat insect larvae, small crustaceans, plant matter and detritus — so a mixed diet suits them better than any single food.
Two rules govern every choice:
- Sinking, not floating. A parrot fish chasing floating pellets gulps air, and gulped air is the leading cause of the buoyancy problems these fish are known for. Sinking food also lets them feed the way their mouth actually works — hovering over it and sucking it in.
- Small, not large. Pellets around 1–3 mm for juveniles and 3–5 mm for adults. A pellet too big for the mouth slit gets mouthed, spat out, and left to rot.
Best Food for Parrot Fish
| Food type | Role | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Sinking cichlid pellets (color formula) | Staple — 60–70% of the diet | Daily |
| Frozen bloodworms | Protein and conditioning; highly palatable | 2–3× weekly |
| Frozen brine shrimp / mysis | Protein plus natural carotenoids | 2–3× weekly |
| Blanched peas (shelled) | Fibre; the standard constipation fix | Weekly |
| Spirulina flake or wafer | Plant matter and color support | Weekly |
| Blanched zucchini or spinach | Vegetable variety | Occasional |
| Live blackworms | Treat; stimulates a fussy eater | Occasional |
For the staple, look for a sinking cichlid pellet listing astaxanthin, spirulina, krill or shrimp meal in the first several ingredients — those are the carotenoid sources that maintain the orange. Whole fish meal or krill meal as the first ingredient beats "fish derivatives" or wheat flour.
Feeding for Color
Blood parrot orange is pigment-dependent. The fish cannot synthesise carotenoids and has to eat them, so a parrot fish on a cheap wheat-based flake will fade over months regardless of how clean the water is. Colour-enhancing foods are not a gimmick for this species; they are maintenance.
- Astaxanthin — the strongest red/orange enhancer, found in krill, shrimp and dedicated colour pellets.
- Spirulina — supports colour and provides plant matter in one food.
- Frozen krill and brine shrimp — natural carotenoid sources, and blood parrots take them enthusiastically.
How Much and How Often
Feed adults twice a day, only what they finish in about two minutes. Juveniles under 3 inches can take three smaller meals a day while they are growing. One fasting day per week is good practice — blood parrots are prone to constipation and buoyancy trouble, and a day without food lets the gut clear.
| Age / size | Feedings per day | Portion |
|---|---|---|
| Juvenile, under 3 in | 2–3 | What is eaten in 1–2 minutes |
| Adult, 4–8 in | 2 | What is eaten in 2 minutes |
| Any age, fast day | 0 | One day per week |
Overfeeding is the more common error by a wide margin. Blood parrots beg constantly, learn to recognise their owner, and look convincingly starved. Uneaten food fuels nitrate, and an overfed parrot develops the bloated, tilting profile that gets mistaken for swim bladder disease.
The Fish That Will Not Eat
Newly bought blood parrots often refuse food for the first several days. That is normal — they are timid, and a fish still hiding behind a rock will not come out to eat. Steps that work, in order:
- Confirm the temperature is at least 78°F. Cold fish do not eat.
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. A fish in bad water shuts its appetite down first.
- Dim the lights and feed sinking food near the cave rather than at the surface.
- Offer frozen bloodworms — almost nothing refuses them — then mix pellets in gradually.
- Check for bullying. A parrot fish being chased off the food eats nothing and hides more.
A fish that still refuses food after a week in clean, warm water with no aggression needs a health check, not a new food.
What Not to Feed
- Floating pellets and sticks — cause air gulping and buoyancy problems.
- Large pellets — the mouth cannot handle them; they get spat out and rot.
- Feeder goldfish — a genuine disease and thiaminase risk, and blood parrots are poor hunters anyway.
- Mammal meat (beef heart as a staple) — the fat is not digestible for cichlids at aquarium temperatures.
- Bread and human snacks — no nutritional value, fouls the water.
- Freeze-dried food fed dry — expands in the gut. Soak it in tank water first.
Parrot Fish Care FAQ
What do blood parrot fish eat?
Blood parrot fish are omnivores that eat small sinking cichlid pellets as a staple, plus frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp and mysis for protein, and blanched peas, spirulina and zucchini for plant matter. Food must sink and be small enough for their deformed mouth.
What is the best food for parrot fish colour?
A sinking cichlid pellet listing astaxanthin, spirulina, krill or shrimp meal near the top of the ingredients, supplemented with frozen krill and brine shrimp. Blood parrots cannot make carotenoids themselves, so orange colour depends directly on diet.
How often should I feed my blood parrot fish?
Twice a day for adults, giving only what they finish in about two minutes, and two to three smaller meals a day for juveniles under 3 inches. Include one fasting day per week to prevent constipation and buoyancy problems.
Why won't my blood parrot fish eat?
Most often the fish is newly added and still settling, the water is too cold, ammonia or nitrite is above zero, or a tank mate is chasing it off the food. Check temperature and water parameters first, then tempt it with frozen bloodworms near its cave.
Can parrot fish eat flake food?
They can eat spirulina flake as a supplement, but flake is a poor staple. It floats, which encourages air gulping, and most flakes lack the carotenoid content blood parrots need to keep their orange colour.
Can blood parrot fish eat goldfish?
Feeder goldfish should not be used. They carry parasites and disease, contain thiaminase that interferes with vitamin B1 absorption, and blood parrots are poor hunters that rarely catch them anyway.