Convict fish question 05/20/08
Pairing Up Convicts
I set up a new 35 gallon aquarium this past fall and based upon advice given to me I purchased 3 Red Devils and 3 Convict fish for the tank. I was told that the Convict specimens sold to me were two females & one male. Eight months later two of the convicts are twice the size of the third. The two larger convicts are constantly picking fights with everyone else in the tank. Based upon what I have read in your web site I actually have two MALE Convicts and they are being so aggressive because they fighting over the female and over territory. Would it make much difference if I found a new home for one or both of the males?  Would the female be happier as the only Convict - or would a pair of Convicts (male & female) be content? Thank you for your help! Mary
< Once your female selects a mate then I would recommend getting rid of the other unpaired male. If he hangs around he will do his best to disrupt the pair bond.-Chuck>

Tankmates for a Convict   5/17/09
Hello!
What kind of fish are good with convicts?
<Nothing. Any fish kept with Convicts needs to be very robust and quite a bit larger than the Convicts. Otherwise, the Convicts will bully them. I've seen Convicts bully Piranhas! Seriously, the only time Convicts work well in communities is in jumbo tanks mixed with larger Central Americans; I've kept Convicts with Jaguar Cichlids and Midas Cichlids in 240 US gallon systems with success. But even in that tank, the Convicts bullied the Firemouths, and those poor Firemouths had to be re-homed.>
Specifically, how about African Cichlids? Depending on who I asked, I got both yes and no answers.
<Central American cichlids and Lake Malawi cichlids -- as opposed to West African or Tanganyikan cichlids -- are similarly aggressive and both enjoy similar hard, alkaline water conditions. Some aquarists have indeed mixed
them, albeit in large rough-and-tumble systems. But you need to know what you're doing, and you certainly need to have a Plan B in case a particular combination won't work. Frankly, it's not an approach I'd recommend for a
variety of reasons, not least of which that whereas Convicts are hardy fish, Malawi cichlids are extremely intolerant of nitrate, so quickly become sick in overcrowded, under-maintained aquaria. Secondly, whereas Mbuna are largely herbivorous and shouldn't eat too much meat, Convicts are more carnivorous and do well on a diet of worms, insect larvae and so on. It would be impossible to give either fish the right diet in the same tank:
one would be eating too much of the wrong thing.>
How about some small SA Cichlids?
<Not a chance. South American cichlids need soft, acidic water whereas Central Americans need hard and alkaline.>
Rams?
<You're kidding me, right? Seriously, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi is a "hothouse flower" very difficult to keep even on its own, let alone in a tank with the wrong water chemistry *and* the wrong water temperature.>
Other SA or CA Cichlids?
<See above.>
Any other recommendations?
<Don't keep Convicts. They're a fish without a purpose. Seriously, there's almost no reason anyone should bother keeping them. They're aggressive, messy, quite big, and not especially colourful. The quality of the farmed Convicts is dire, with females not having any of the colours seen on wild fish, and the males never getting to the size they should. They're the fish equivalent of Darkling Beetles; great for labs, pointless as pets. There are so many other lovely Central American cichlids out there, I'd strongly recommend you don't buy Convicts. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/central.htm
The Honduras Red Spot for example (likely Amatitlania siquia) is a close relative of the Convict but smaller, more colourful, and less aggressive.
If you can get wild-caught stock, so much the better. In England at least, this species is reasonably widely traded. Cichlasoma salvini is another nice species; though predatory, it's otherwise fairly easy going, and mixes well with midwater fish too large to eat. Farmed specimens are often a bit blah, but if you can get good quality stock, they're stunning. If you're able to set up a large tank with a super-strong water current, then Hypsophrys nicaraguensis is a revelation, good quality fish being equal to any coral reef butterflyfish in brilliance.>
Keep in mind that I'd like any fish I add to be able to fit in a 30 gallon, in case the pairing doesn't work.
<A pair of Convicts will OWN this tank, and will barely tolerate the heater, let alone other fish!>
And with these fish, would I need: Special types of food? Extra caves? Live plants? Different substrate? (I have gravel now.)
Respectfully,
~Babale
<Hope this helps, Neale.>  

Neale and Convicts   5/17/09
Hello Neale!
<Hello,>
I (respectfully) disagree with your aversion to convicts. Yes, they aren't colorful; yes, they are aggressive; but they have a beauty of their own. Gouramis, platies, mollies, and other fish aren't very colorful, but they are still popular.
<Ah, but those other fish can be kept in mixed species tanks with few issues -- though Mollies certainly do need very specific environmental conditions to do well. Convicts, by contrast, are only really suitable for single-species aquaria, and simply don't work in community tanks. For the vast majority of aquarists, they're not worth keeping, however cheaply sold they are. This isn't to say they're bad fish for you -- I happen to enjoy keeping all kinds of things others would consider dull, small, or otherwise unappealing.>
And as for convicts, they have VERY interesting behavior (at least in my opinion.)
<They're actually pretty "typical" for cichlids, which is why they're so widely studied. Do pick up a copy of King Solomon's Ring by Konrad Lorenz; if I recall correctly, this book includes quite a bit of pioneering animal behaviour work based on his experience of Convicts. It also happens to be a terrific read, and a classic book for armchair naturalists.>
I have spent hours watching them defend their home from other fish, court each other, and peck between rocks. Unlike my other fish, they seem not to accept the way the tank is; they put it the way THEY want it.
<Again, this is fairly typical Central American cichlid behaviour. Many such cichlid will uproot plants, shovel sand, and pile up gravel. There are various explanations, including males simply "advertising" fitness to females, through to practical functions such as creating hiding places for eggs and fry that catfish won't find.>
Keep in mind that this is in no way a personal attack; I am simply disagreeing with your opinion and defending my favorite fish.
<Not a problem.>
One last thing: will you clear up what you meant about Convicts and African Cichlids? what if I add an African Cichlid who is much bigger than the Convicts are currently and is at full size, and put in a bunch more shelters, so that he can establish a territory before the Convicts are a threat? (I know that Convicts attack bigger fish, but African Cichlids are definitely no pushovers!)
<As I said, it depends on what you mean by African Cichlids. There are something like 1000 species of cichlid in Africa, more than all the cichlids of Central America, South America and Asia added together. They come from a variety of habitats ranging from fast-flowing streams to brackish estuaries. But assuming you're talking about Lake Malawi cichlids (which are often, if inaccurately, called "African cichlids" by some hobbyists) then the short answer is no, they don't belong with Convicts.
Take something like Pseudotropheus zebra for example; this fish is a herbivore prone to bloating when given too much meat; yet it likes to eat meat when given the choice. Kept with Convicts, it would be very difficult to give the Convicts bloodworms and snails, which they need, while keeping the Pseudotropheus on a largely vegetarian diet of algae and herbivore flake. Given your tank is a mere 30 gallons, that would be viable for Dwarf Mbuna only, and such small species would be at severe risk of death when kept with a spawning or even merely territorial Convicts. Bigger species of Mbuna like Zebras need tanks above 55 gallons before you can even think about keeping them with other species, so your tank is too small. So we return to my basic point about Convicts: they aren't useful fish unless you specifically want to keep them either by themselves or else in a very large Central American community with bigger cichlids.>
Respectfully,
~Babale
<Cheers, Neale.>  

Re: Neale and Convicts   5/17/09
Hello.
<Hello again!>
I understand your point, and am going away from the idea of big tank mates.
But what about dither fish?
<They don't really need them. Dither fish work fine in tanks where the dither fish have space to avoid trouble. In a 30 gallon tank, you'd be pushing your luck. Mexican (Astyanax spp.) tetras (not Cave tetras though) or non-fancy Swordtails are geographically appropriate, psychologically robust and should work given space; all rather depends on your particular Convicts and how threatened they feel. They should ignore fish that stay at the top, but do keep an eye on them, and act accordingly.>
I currently have 3 zebra danios in the tank, and they are doing well. I'm wondering if maybe I should raise the size of the school?
<Sure.>
And maybe add a school of another type of dither fish?
<Would stick to just one type of thing: Dither fish work best the more they "school" tightly, and Danios school better the more you keep.>
What would you recommend as far as that goes? Since Convicts are low-water fish, I want some nice schools to fill up the rest (Assuming I can't have big fish).
<I'm just not wild about the idea of "filling up" a Convict tank; that's simply another way of trying to create a community tank by the back door.
But Convicts just aren't community fish. By all means try dither fish, but if your pair turn aggressive, or simply decide Danios are what's for dinner, then you have a problem. Cheers, Neale.>  

More Convicts!   5/17/09
Hello again!
<Hello,>
When I say "Fill Up" I don't mean like a community tank, I just mean to add some movement.
<I see...>
So, in a 30 gal with Convicts and a Pleco, what is the recommended size of a Danio school? I've seen people say 6, but I've had 5 Danios at once before, and they didn't school. No idea why, but maybe because they weren't feeling threatened?
<Danios -- and indeed all schooling fish -- need to be kept in a minimum number to school, otherwise they (at best) lounge around looking disinterested or (at worst) become bullies as each specimen tries to assert its dominance. Six specimens is often said to be the minimum number, but you'll often find it takes 10 or 12 specimens to get the full effect. It varies.>
It was a peaceful community tank back than, with the most aggressive thing being 3 tiger barbs.
<Classic Tiger Barb behaviour when kept in insufficient numbers.>
On a somewhat unrelated side note, should Convicts have a variety of caves to choose from, or is one enough?
<They usually choose one and stick to it, so provided they have at least one nice cave, it doesn't matter how many other caves there are in the tank.>
Thanks!
Respectfully,
~Babale
<Cheers, Neale.>  

Pink convicts 11/6/08
I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank with all live plants. I had a kissing Gourami and several angel fish in there for almost 10 years. They all died over the course of the last year. Someone gave me 8 pink convicts and they now "rule the roost". I want to put some other fish in the tank, as they aren't really displaying any typical aggressive behavior. My biggest one is probably about 2 inches long and the smallest is coming up on one inch. A friend who works at the pet store said that the majority of my convicts are female and I couldn't put anything else in with them. Another friend introduced 2 Jack Dempseys to her tank with 9 adult convicts (60 gallon
tank) with no major issues after 6 months. Is this a good match up? My husband has a 60 gallon tank with 2 polypalmas and an upside down swimming catfish, also all live plants and natural rock "hidey holes". He has been eyeballing a barracuda for a while now and was wondering if they'd get along. The polys have lived peacefully with several different breeds of fish, but the catfish has killed a couple of the Gouramis recently and seems to be intolerant of even the fish he "grew up with". I don't want to spend the money on the barracuda, if it will just get killed. Any suggestions?
<Hello Maria. Convict cichlids are very variable fish, and maximum size in particular varies a lot, in part due to inbreeding. That will be especially true with albino Convicts. That said, I'd expect even females to reach a length of around 8-10 cm/3-4 inches. If they're smaller than that, they're unlikely to be sexually mature, and hence not as aggressive as they can be.  Convict cichlids can be combined with other Central American cichlids of similar size/disposition. Convicts tend to bully "nice" Central Americans
like Firemouth cichlids if kept in tanks as small as your 55 gallon system, but in a 200 gallon system I've mixed them well with Firemouth cichlids, Jack Dempseys, Midas cichlids, and Jaguar cichlids. Armored catfish (big Plecs and large Synodontis such as Synodontis nigrita) also work well.  However, you CANNOT keep them with Polypterus species. Polypterus are too mild mannered and get bullied by aggressive cichlids. I've seen people try this, and the poor Polypterus gets its fins bitten off! Polypterus are gentle fish, albeit predatory, and best kept either in their own tanks or in peaceful community tanks with quiet species such as Silver Dollars.
Freshwater "Barracuda" are completely and utterly incompatible with Convicts. They are typically the species called Ctenolucius hujeta, a gentle, schooling fish that needs to be kept in a quiet tank in groups of six or more specimens. They are tricky enough to maintain in good conditions, and keeping them with something as aggressive as a Convict would be extremely unwise. Ctenolucius hujeta is a predator, so don't mix it with small fish, but happily eats invertebrates like river shrimps and earthworms, as well as frozen foods. Make sure any specimens on sale are feeding: avoid specimens being given "feeder fish" as these are likely exposed to parasites and bacterial infections that will make your job of acclimating to captivity even harder. Keep Ctenolucius hujeta in a spacious tank; it is a nervous fish prone to jumping and will not adjust to confining tanks. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Pink convicts  11/07/08
Thanks for getting back to me. I have my 8 convicts (2 which have been identified as male) in the 55 gallon tank by themselves.
<Hmm... wonder how they've sexed juvenile male Convicts? Most folks would consider that pretty tricky! Inbreeding has removed the bright colours from many fish, and when they're small, you can't really predict which ones will turn into big males! So while you *may* have them sexed, I'd be very cautious and open minded.>
Will they still get aggressive even with the low male to female ratio?
<Yes.>
The 2 Polys have always been separate from the convicts and are going into a 60 gallon tank with the upside down swimming Catfish (so far) and my hubby wants to put a barracuda in the 60 gallon tank with the Polys and the catfish.
<You don't put "a" Ctenolucius in anything. They're gregarious, schooling fish. Single specimens are nervous as heck and have short, miserable lives.  By all means get a bunch (minimum: 3) and keep with Bichirs and Synodontis nigriventris (this catfish is also gregarious). These three species are more or less compatible. Just do make sure the Ctenolucius hujeta don't feel confined or threatened.>
My question is whether or not the 'Cuda will get along with the Polys and whether or not a 60 gallon tank is too small to add the Cuda.
<It should work. Ctenolucius hujeta isn't terribly big (less than 20 cm under aquarium conditions) and easily reared on frozen foods. Because the catfish and bichir feed on the bottom, you shouldn't have any problems getting bloodworms and earthworms into the Ctenolucius hujeta.>
The Convicts are in a totally separate tank.
<Ah, very good. Cheers, Neale.>