# Convict Cichlids



## cyradis4 (Feb 16, 2006)

Hi!

I have a single convict alone in a 10 gallon tank. I did not mean to get him, he came in with a tank of Bolivian Rams and it took me a while to ID him. I like him, and have decided to keep him and get him a few buddies. 

However, the literature on the convicts on the web leave out some specifices I need.

For example, I will be moving Convict to a bigger tank soon. How many can go together in a Species tank of what size? I was thinking about maybe having 6 or so total. 

And other then hiding places applenty, and no gravel dwelling plants (my little guy is already rearanging his 10 gallon) anything specific I should know?

Also, can you mix the pink convict (what he is) and the regular convicts?

And other then the aggressivness (which I already found out about the hard way) is there anything I should know?

I"m a highly experienced fish keeper with over 7 years experience. However, my experience is limited to only Angels, Discus, and a few smaller fish. On the other hand, I breed and sell Angelfish in large quantities and have over 25 tanks currently in service. 

Please advise,
Amanda.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

You would need quite a large tank for 6 convicts, seeing how easily they breed. Breeding agression will be your worst nightmare. For 6 fish (3 pairs) I would recommend a 125 gallon tank, 6 feet long. You might be able to have 6 fish in a 4 ft (75 gallon), but you would be limited to one pair, then all the others of one sex. In a 4 ft tank (75g), you could do one pair of convicts, then 4 females.


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## cyradis4 (Feb 16, 2006)

What if I did only females? Or only males, with no pairs?

Not sure what mine is, I'll have to figure it out. 

Thanks!
Amanda.


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## cyradis4 (Feb 16, 2006)

Also, how many of the same sex could go in a regular 29 gallon tank?

Thanks!
Amanda.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

In a 29 gallon, only 2 fish. In a 29 you might as well just get a breeding pair, you can only have 2 no matter the arrangement. With same sex, in a 55 gallon, you could either have 4 females, or 2 males. Cons are very easy to sex. Females have orange on their tummies, males dont.


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## cyradis4 (Feb 16, 2006)

Is this a female? Its a pink Convict, and I just want to make sure. 

Thanks!
Amanda.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Not the best pic, but yes it looks like a female to me.


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## MikeRTooley (Jan 13, 2007)

just out of curiousity...what do you think would happen to other cichlids in a tank with convicts if they were a breading pair and had fry


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Depending on the size of the tank, the convicts would kill them


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## MikeRTooley (Jan 13, 2007)

so a convict could kill an oscar or a dempsey?


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## Jojo (Apr 11, 2006)

Oscar definitely, and JD probably.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Depending on size. It could kill an oscar easily, and it could beat the crap out of a similar sized JD, but JD's do get larger. I;d say an 8=9" oscar would get killed by a 6" con, but an 8" JD would be able to stand up and fight. Oscars are just big wussies.


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## Eraserhead (Feb 1, 2007)

We've got a tank with 3 oscars and about 6 convicts, and there hasn't been an ounce of aggression in there. They're even a little crammed together in there right now, and we have had absolutely no problems.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Youd better have at least a 125 gallon then


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## MikeRTooley (Jan 13, 2007)

Eraserhead said:


> We've got a tank with 3 oscars and about 6 convicts, and there hasn't been an ounce of aggression in there. They're even a little crammed together in there right now, and we have had absolutely no problems.



how big is the tank?? and how big are the oscars? how big are the convicts??


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## Eraserhead (Feb 1, 2007)

MikeRTooley said:


> how big is the tank?? and how big are the oscars? how big are the convicts??



You really don't want to know how big the tank is, it's sure not any 125 gallons though... The Oscars aren't too big, and the largest convict is probably about 75% the size of the largest Oscar. I'm guessing the largest Oscar is only about 4 inches long. We inherited the tank and the convits with it, and don't really want them. There's a pet store not far from here that'll take them, so I think we're going to drop them off there. We're not convict fans in particular... We put the Oscars in there because they were getting thraashed in a tank we had them in earlier. Basically we just wanted them to get bigget, which they are doing very nicely. They are very happy and have zero damage on them, nor do the convicts.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

I actually do want to know how big the tank is... because a 125 is the minimum for 3 oscars. If it isnt, like oyu say, then find them another home or sell em


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## Eraserhead (Feb 1, 2007)

Gourami Swami said:


> I actually do want to know how big the tank is... because a 125 is the minimum for 3 oscars. If it isnt, like oyu say, then find them another home or sell em


They are far from full grown. The largest is about 4 inches, and the other two are 3 inches. When they get too big for the tank they are in, they will be moved. But at this point they are happy, healthy, and not showing any signs of stress or illness. The convicts were inherited, and will be taken to the pet store as soon as we get a chance... But I honestly don't think the tank capacity requirements are realistically as stringent as many people think. I'm fairly new to keeping sichlids, but my roommate has been at it for about 10 years or so. I've seen some cichlid tanks that are definitely too full, and I'm sure you would feel that ours are as well, but honelsty the fish are all thriving in their environments. My tank is a 72 gallon which has about 9 juvenile cichlids in it, and although I am aware they will need to be redistirbuted when they get much larger, they are thriving wonderfully, and I have never seen a happier group of sichlids. Not a single fish has an iota of damage, and they love to hang out together. There is one bigger cichlid that tends to rule the tank, but he has never actually attacked another fish, he just chases the others away from his tree stump occassionally. The water quality is impeccable (I bought a top of the line canister filter that is rated up to 125 gallons) and does not have a trace of ammonia or nitrites. This tank is in terrific shape.


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## goldseverum109 (Mar 7, 2007)

i have a breeding pair of convicts in my 30g and they treat my goldseverum perfectly fine because he stays out of their way, in my opinion hiding places is the name of the game, and if the breeding pair has a proper cave, they may feel more safe about their eggs.


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## goldseverum109 (Mar 7, 2007)

i forgot to mention my take on filtration, with cichlids i think we can agree 9 to even 15 times of turnover per hour, will save you alot of water changing.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

goldseverum109 said:


> i have a breeding pair of convicts in my 30g and they treat my goldseverum perfectly fine because he stays out of their way, in my opinion hiding places is the name of the game, and if the breeding pair has a proper cave, they may feel more safe about their eggs.



That wont last. the sev will get too big to stay out of there way, too big for the tank in fact. The cons will eventually get big and want the whole tank to themselves, killing anything else.


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## goldseverum109 (Mar 7, 2007)

i am planning on building a tank 140 gallons+ when i move to my new house, my severum is currentally juevenile so he'll be fine in that size for about a year. i have never met a neotropical cichlid as aggressive as you clame them to be, perhaps yours are underfed, or as i said do not have proper hiding places, there has to be a more realistic answer then telling Everyone they need 125+ gallon tank. 
oh i forgot to mention the convicts are probobally almost full grown 5'' and 4'' respectively, almost 3 years old, they dont seem to plan on killing the severum at the moment, but im sure when he grows large enough to become a clear risk to their nest, tensions will rise, by then they will have their much larger tank, hopefully.
i'm editing this again to tell you congrats on 600 posts btw, and also are those your fish pictured?


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

huh, I didnt notice I had upwards of 600 posts. cool . and those arent all pics of my fish. If you want to see them, pm me and i'll do a photo shoot.

Okay....
I have a lot of experience with CA/SA cichlids. I, at one point, had a preeding pair of convicts, 3" and 4", in a 30 g tank. I had one of my jack dempsey babies (3.5") getting beat on in a 180 gallon tank. I had nowhere to put it at the moment. So I decided to put it in the con tank for the night before my friend brought over a 20. It only had ripped fins when I put it in, and in the morning it was dead. cons are ROUGH. and I only tell people they need a 125 gallon tank when they DO need that big of a tank. for oscars, it is recommended 50 gallons per fish, for bioload. With frequent water changes, i beleive 125 gallons will work.
For 6 convicts, 3 breeding pairs, a very large tank WOULD be needed.I have alot of experience when it comes it comes to these fish, and I have done alot of research. I know my stuff.


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## guppyart (Jan 22, 2005)

I understand gourami's reasoning gold.
I had a pair of breeding convicts in a 10g, don't yell at me I was 13 and they where my 2 fish ever other than goldfish.
they are extremely aggressive fish especially when breeding, there are lots of people who have had them be calm and fairly gentle, but for the most part they are killing machines.
my jewel cichlids that I had killed a pleco once and plecos are considered indestructible, I put my convicts with my jewels for a day due to upgrading tanks, yes another big mistake I learned from my convicts where half the size of the other pair.
The convicts destroyed them by morning I was sick to find my precious jewels in pieces they didn't even stand a chance.
thats why big tanks for super aggresive fish, I have never kept oscars but I hear they produce more waste than anything.
so a 125 is within reason, being how if you look at a 55 its awfully narrow.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

a 125 is more than within reason... a lot of people would tell you its to small. but with frequent water changes and a monster filter, it can be pulled off. and about the convict pairs, ask anyone who has bred convicts how aggro they are. a 6 foot tank would be needed.


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## goldseverum109 (Mar 7, 2007)

well, in thinking about reasons why my convicts arre comeparedly docile, i have read that sometimes if you get a bad homebread strain, they dont make very good parents, it could be that mine are just less agressive by nature, i have never kept a jack dempsey, btw, exactely what filtration do u guys think would be good for a 125 with oscar? i might make a similar setup myself at somepoint, so we may as well keep the question in this post.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

For three oscars in a 125? a big sump/wet dry would be good, or a drip system. If your not up for that, a couple big canisters (good for 100g's each) would be in order. 

Convicts arent very agressive unless they are breeding, and have eggs or fry. Do yours have fry?


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## goldseverum109 (Mar 7, 2007)

nope no fry at the moment, lol 3 oscars in 125 def. not up for that, i was thinking more like 1 oscar my goldseverum and that jack dempsey i said i wanted. I think that would work since their all so like big and not agressive towards other fish their size as far as i know?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

> not agressive towards other fish their size


I don't think any large cichlid can be called "not aggressive" . The "keep big one together" advice comes from the fact that they kill little ones. They are intelligent enough to work out territory and hierarchy issues between individuals if the tank is large enough, but you will see aggressive behaviors like chasing, jaw-locking, lunging at each other as they work things out. Always have a quarantine/hospital tank standing by in case things get out of hand.


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## goldseverum109 (Mar 7, 2007)

emc7 said:


> Always have a quarantine/hospital tank standing by in case things get out of hand.


well i guess you dont think its a good idea then i dont keep my cichlids to watch them kill eachother... anyways you might get a kick out of this, the reason why no1 is bothering the severum is cause there has been some kind of reversal of roles, and the male con has moved to a new cave, and the female seems to have paired with the severum...


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Big fish are even moe agressive to each other. An O, severum, and jack dempsey would be good, but I sggest you add one more thing so the jack doesnt beat the crap out of the sev or O without pause.


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## Moltenice (Mar 18, 2007)

Oscars are big wussies? Man I dont know about that.. I had two 10" Oscars that would attack anything that hit the water. The car was pawing the water when the feeder door was open and they went after it and scared the crap out of the cat (cat had claw caps so no harm)..

They ate a BIG algae eater (hollowed it), tin barbs, pacus, red devils, and JD's.... They would not accept anything else in that tank. I am not even sure a pirahana would have survived.. maybe a school.....

Maybe I had supre aggressive Oscars, but I cant imagine them being a wuss in comparison to any other fresh water fish.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Trust me, Once youve kept agressive fish, O's are clearly passive. They are very food agresive, yes. Thats a very different thing, though. You could have a blue ram that ate anything that hit the water, but it would still be a passive fish. Try keeping midas, flowerhorns, Vieja Zonatus, jaguars... then you will see.

EDIT: And another point, agression isnt everything. Alot of the time O's are all talk, then when they have annoyed the uro, rd, or any other aggro CA fish, they either run or get ripped up.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

i have 1 male and 3 female convicts in a 38-gallon along with my Bolivian Ram and 3 green cory catfish, and they actually get along pretty well. They do have their arguments from time to time, but its pretty funny to watch.


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