Scarus quoyi parrotfish

i2ik

New member
There is a LFS no far from where i am that is about to get one and i would like to get some information on this fish. I have been told that they were reefsafe. They are also quite big as they can go up to 12 inches. My LFS told me they are getting some in the range of 6 to 8 inches, all males. Do some of you have experience/info on that fish? Pictures maybe?

Thanks!
 
squoyi2.jpg


picture taken from this website:
http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/squoyi.htm
 
All parrots are not reef safe. They don't eat coral, but use the hard polyps to sharpen their teeth.

They would certainly unleash havoc on a reef, especially when they get to 12 inches.
 
meaning that they will probably eat more SPS than any other corals to sharpen their teeth? Its good to get informed before! :)
 
Scarus quoyi has the potential to exceed 15" long. They are heavy bodied, active fish, and would require a large system with a Very good filter in place.

They are one of the few parrotfish that do not rely on hard corals for their diet- they actually eat plants/algae. However, they are very likely to chomp down on stony coral in a reef tank, just to get to algae growing around the polyps if nothing else. It Will be hell on a reef tank.. lol. That said, Quoy are probably one of the best species to try if youre dead set on having a parrotfish, theyre just best left in large fish-only systems.
 
I'm going to break my cardinal rule and opine about a species I've never actually kept: To my knowledge, few parrotfish actually feed mainly on live stony corals. They will scrape around the coral colony edges to get at algae, and in the absence of other food may go after coral itself. Some feed on thallose algae or even detritus. We've all seen those pictures of mound corals with huge scrape marks on them from parrotfish - not sure the circumstances of those photos, but I've never seen that myself diving in the Tropical western Atlantic.
That said, I agree with saltwaterstart - this fish will grow too large, even for this person's 600 gallon tank, it will crunch up every non-coral surface, and will excrete lots of that as nasty sediment that will cover the corals. No fish (except Bermuda chubs) poop more than parrotfish.

JHemdal


BTW: Two people with avatar pictures of left-facing LSD's is a bit confusing(grin)
 
Thank you guys, this was great information! That being said, i wont take any chance to introduce something that will most likely break off all my sps colonies.

I thought it would be cool to have a different kind of fish that most people dont have in a reef tank. Also was looking for a fish that would take care of my grape caulerpa algea since my yellow tang, striatus tang and foxface dont seem to care about it. The parrotfish at the LFS is already at 7-8", at 15" it will be a disaster, i better keep my hand out of it! Thanks again!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12259554#post12259554 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JHemdal
BTW: Two people with avatar pictures of left-facing LSD's is a bit confusing(grin)

Sorry Jay, is that better? lol

Glad to see you decided against the Parrot. Cool fish, but best left in the sea I think.
 
I know this is an old thread but I thought I would update with my experience.

I have had my princess parrot fish about 5 years now. It is in my reef tank and never touched any corals. It munches on the rock around corals but doesn't touch them. It is 6 inches and has not appeared to have grown much over the years. Shortly after I bought it it survived a velvet outbreak where I dosed high levels of copper (not sure if this stunted growth). I don't recommend them to anyone because they are a challenge to feed. Mine has always been on the skinny side although I feed several times a day and have it in a large tank.
 
Quoyi Parrotfish

Quoyi Parrotfish

Hate to disagree people but THIS particular Parrotfish IS Reef Safe!!! It will NOT mess with Corals. Sharpens its teeth (if needed), on Live Rock. Look it up! Had mine for a long time! Gorgeous Fish and my tank (DSA 225 Pro) is SPS Dominant. (Love the Blue on this Fish)!!! Happy Reefing!
 
Hate to disagree people but THIS particular Parrotfish IS Reef Safe!!! It will NOT mess with Corals. Sharpens its teeth (if needed), on Live Rock. Look it up! Had mine for a long time! Gorgeous Fish and my tank (DSA 225 Pro) is SPS Dominant. (Love the Blue on this Fish)!!! Happy Reefing!

I started a thread 2 years ago about them that has a ton of info in it
 
This parrotfish is 100% reef safe. I have one. He doesn't touch anything but the liverock. They do not get anywhere near a foot (which is max size) in captivity, unless you purchase one that large. Mine is 6". They often come in and are mislabeled. Many stores have these as princess or even bi color, but if you know what you are looking for, you can pick them out. I would recommend this fish to any reef owner. They are very interesting and curious fish.
 
I had one for two years with no issues only food it ever ate was pellets. Lost it to an ich outbreak. Only issue I ever had was that it kept pooping sand on one of my brain corals even when I moved the coral.
 
I had one for two years with no issues only food it ever ate was pellets. Lost it to an ich outbreak. Only issue I ever had was that it kept pooping sand on one of my brain corals even when I moved the coral.

Mine would only eat pellets and Nori
 
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