Amatitlania nigrofasciata; social behaviour
11/17/09
hello again just want to know..in a 28 gallon tank can i put 2 male
convict with 2 female convict together or is it better just to put one
couple...tks in adv...
<Keep just a mated pair in a tank this side. Convict Cichlids can be
very aggressive when spawning. Do think carefully before buying Convict
Cichlids: many pet shops will not take unwanted fry, and you will soon
have thousands! Cheers, Neale.>
New cichlid owner, Neotrop. sel. 9/17/09
hello,
<Hi,>
I am going to buy 2 convicts in a couple weeks,
<Think very carefully about this. Convict cichlids, Amatitlania
nigrofasciata, are much better lab fish than they are aquarium fish.
They are super-aggressive, not especially pretty, and when they breed,
they'll
produce a gazillion fry you won't be able to give away, let alone sell.
Would I ban them from the hobby? No, but I'd certainly make them
prescription-only! Yes, they are this challenging.>
I am waiting for my tank to cycle.
<Using a fishless method? Do remember that having a tank filled with
water but no ammonia source isn't cycling, it's just wet. The easiest
way is to keep adding a pinch of flake food into the empty tank just as
if there were some fish there. Every other day should be fine. The flake
rots, it produces ammonia, and that cycles the filter. Takes about 3-6
weeks, to complete; use your nitrite test kit to tell when nitrite has
spiked and then dropped to zero.>
I was wondering if you can give me any advise on how to set up my tank.
<Lots of rocks! Convicts are territorial and will defend a rocky crevice
against all comers. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/central.htm
>
Also i have read some pretty crazy stories on your site about convicts
not getting along.
<Not crazy, honest. Males are extremely intolerant of one another, and
they can be very hard on the females too.>
if i were to but two babies from the pet store, will they have a better
chance of getting along?
<Only until such time as they became sexually mature, at about a year in
age. At that point males would get nasty.>
any other advise?
<Avoid.>
Thanks,
Riana
<Honestly Riana, there are so many, more interesting Central American
cichlids out there, I'd think very carefully before buying this species.
Amatitlania siquia is quite a bit more docile, as well as prettier, and
being rather rarely traded, you'd at least be able to sell some of the
fry.
Cheers, Neale.>