Little surprised I’ve got one.. Quoyi Parrotfish

[ca1ore]

Quick update on Q#2. I will have had it as long as thc first by the end of this week. It’s mostly put back on the weight lost in QT. Still not tang-pushy at the clip, but I can maneuver him to get some nori. Pellets are favored, though it will eat some frozen, particularly the hikari ocean plankton. Very enthusiastic to the glass at feeding time.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Good to hear it's doing well.

 

[saltyhog]

Great to hear ca1ore!

 

[ca1ore]

My personal definition of ‘success’ with any animal in my tank is that it survives for a year under my care. A bit arbitrary, I suppose, but I assume that any that makes it to a year is well acclimated and able to maintain a proper body weight. Once a fish gets past a year the vast majority are then with me for many years on. It is not clear to me that my current quoyi will make it to a year. It’s been with me for almost 7 months - longer than either of my prior efforts. I was able to get it to healthy weight in QT basically by feeding it 10 times a day - not sustainable in the DT. It is just not an aggressive feeder. It shows interest in nori, but invariably gets muscled out of the way by the pigs-with-fins (aka Tangs). It eats a bit of frozen and does graze the rocks pretty consistently. The majority of its diet, however, is pellets. Tangs view pellets as ‘theirs’ also, so hard to get enough into the quoyi. It’s not dangerously thin, but not really maintaining weight either.

If this one dies I shall not try another. I think the online sellers should change the designation to difficult/expert only. I find it more challenging than leopard wrasse, for example. I think it needs a low competition, heavily fed tank. I just don’t know anyone whose kept this fish past a year (Bruce?). Just wanted to share my experience.

 

[Maritimer]

Mine hasn't been a year - I acquired this fellow in the fall. (He also doesn't have quite so many pushy tangs to contend with!)

He seems to be doing well - not obesely fat, but holding weight, and eating just about anything, though often preferring the smaller pieces. I've noticed that he's less enthusiastic about frozen in the mornings, more aggressive with it in the evenings. As with yours, he adores pellets - and even bits of flake that have been pumped through the impeller of my return! One of the things that I do a few days a week is to hang a littleneck clam, with a bit of nori clipped to it, in the tank. The Quoy's seems more enthusiastic about the nori than the clam, but will definitely take some of both.

~Bruce

 

[Seanislav]

My 6-year-old son is chomping at the bit for me to bring home a Quoyi Parrot I found at a LFS where I'm in town to attend a work seminar. I have a 300gal reef with 6 tangs of various sizes (Hippo, Naso, Orange Shoulder, Clown, Desjardini, and Yellow), a large Melanurus wrasse, a Rose Margin Fairy wrasse, and a Timor wrasse. Would I be all but guaranteed disappointment if I were try to add the parrot?

 

[tkiry1]

My 6-year-old son is chomping at the bit for me to bring home a Quoyi Parrot I found at a LFS where I'm in town to attend a work seminar. I have a 300gal reef with 6 tangs of various sizes (Hippo, Naso, Orange Shoulder, Clown, Desjardini, and Yellow), a large Melanurus wrasse, a Rose Margin Fairy wrasse, and a Timor wrasse. Would I be all but guaranteed disappointment if I were try to add the parrot?

My guy is a pig and they are reef safe about the only parrot.....

 

[Ron Popeil]

definitely a shy fish when first introduced and does not "toughen up" over time if harassed. in my case, i had a powder blue that was unhappy with my quoyi, so i pulled the powder blue out. ive also pulled out all of my trochus snails to help keep more algae on my rocks.

while i add nori regularly, my quoyi definitely prefers the pellets, even though i feel like its terrible at catching them compared to my other, more established fish.

 

[paphater]

Mine never really goes after nori either. He really only eats pellets and my home made frozen. Really nice colors though! Mine have started to dull a bit.

 

[tkiry1]

Just got another parrot.. Both getting along great....

Of course the Quoyi

 

[ca1ore]

Mine made it a little more than 7 months before essentially starving to death. Actual cause of death was being eaten by my anemone - but only because it had become lethargic and blundered in. I shall not try again. My tank is just not ‘friendly’ to meek eaters.

 

[locito277]

Strange that you had no luck thus far with them mine have been bulletproof. Had a pair for a year then suddenly one nearly beat the other to death. My buddy kept it in his tank for another year and I just added it back to the 350. Both eat everything that floats by or is on a clip. They really are a great fish. Full of personality

 

[Maritimer]

Just got another parrot.. Both getting along great....

Nice Bowers' parrot, Tkiry1! Let us know how he does for you - there's not a lot of info about these guys out there.

Ca1ore, I'm sorry to hear that your Quoy's ended up as an anemone's meal - I think their relaxed attitude and preference for small food items can put them behind the eight-ball when it comes to competitive food-gathering. If you're a large fish who likes tiny food, you've got to be eating all day long . . .

~Bruce, who's now more mindful of filling the nori clip daily

 

[Nilo]

I got my Quoyi from LA DD approximately 6 weeks ago. He’s on the smaller side, probably a little less than 4”. He was in QT a few days short of 4 weeks. Barely ate in QT and I didn’t think he would make it. He looked much better after going to the DT. He is anything but passive. After a few days of being “shy” and hiding, he is now the tank bully the past 2 weeks. He keeps chasing at my fairy wrasses. Already had to rehome a Rosy Red and a solorensis jumped to the overflow. My pink margin is harder to catch and basically just keeps evading him. The quoyi does get chased by the Kole a lot. He chases the smaller chalk basses but ignores 2 angels and my copperband. At first, he wouldn’t eat but Once he tried live blackworms, he is now eating them including mysis and spirulina brine. Doesn’t eat pellets but goes crazy on any flakes. He also picks at the rocks all day but doesn’t seem to touch any filamentous algae. He poops frequently so I’m assuming he is eating enough. Keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll do ok.

 

[Nilo]

 

[Chrisb1971]

I'm currently treating mine with API's "General Cure" and Focus. He nibbles and snacks on frozen foods, gets enthusiastic about 1mm pellets (mixture of NLS and Ocean Nutrition).

~Bruce

Bruce how and what ratio do you use API and focus for internal parasites? Does the fish have to be eating or will it work through absorption?

Thanks
Chris

 

[Maritimer]

Chris, I use it in a 1/1 ratio. You might see _some_ results using GC or Fenbendazole (another anti-parasitic medication) in the water column, but it's much more effective delivered to where the parasites lurk.

That having been said, my parrot stopped doing much of anything - including eating - about a week after my last post here, and a week later, he was gone.

~Bruce

 

[Chrisb1971]

Chris, I use it in a 1/1 ratio. You might see _some_ results using GC or Fenbendazole (another anti-parasitic medication) in the water column, but it's much more effective delivered to where the parasites lurk.

That having been said, my parrot stopped doing much of anything - including eating - about a week after my last post here, and a week later, he was gone.

~Bruce

Thanks Bruce - sorry to hear that. I am a bit worried by mine as he isn’t doing much in quarantine even with some big chunks of live rock in there

 

[silvernblackr35]

Old thread I know, but has anyone tried broccoli florets for the ones that don't bother with nori? Just about every fish in my 180 goes crazy when I shred some florets into the water column, and since they seem to respond to pellets well I think it might work. I've wanted to keep a Quoyi for quite some time but have always been put off by their track record.

 

[argiBK]

Haven't tried broccoli, but may do so to see the reaction, thanks!

My Quoyi didn't respond to Nori the first week I had him — he's been with me for about 7 months now, seemingly healthy and happy, but I'm always paying attention to how he looks: coloration, energy, eating habits — but once he saw a few of my other fish responding to it, he happily joined in and dominates the clip against a Chocolate Tang and Masked Swallowtail. He ate dry foods out of the gate however, loves his algae flakes and pellets.

Got mine from NYAquatic, he's my second (my first only made it 2 months and died mysteriously, like much of the other stories you hear). He's easily my favorite fish in the tank and truly hoping he's with me for the long haul!