Breeding Convicts in American Cichlid Aquarium

[Murrayt]

This is more of an inquisitive question rather than being practical.

Does anyone know whether 2 Convict Cichlids can successfully breed in a large (120+ U.S gallon) aquarium without getting themselves or others killed?

I have a Female Festae and Male Green Terror and am playing around with this idea. Would the Convicts get decimated by their tank mates, or would they continuously harass the others?

Whats the Verdict?

 

[Crazy mike]

In a 6 foot tank they just claim about half of the tank and harass the festae and green terror but otherwise it could work for a while . Not an ideal set up imo you'd end up with a swarm of convicts eventually I've seen this personally multiple times my fathers tank


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[MTBjake]

I've had breeding convicts in both my 240 and 135. The 240 had larger cichlids and some catfish and the fry didn't last long, and eventually the female convict got picked off and eaten by somebody in there. No convict fry survived in that tank. In my 135, I had a 7" male Breidohri and an 8" male Jack Dempsey, a softshell turtle, multiple different plecos a spotted Raphael cat and a group of 9 clown loaches. The convict pair in there seems to have just given up hope and haven't reproduced in a while. Through their last 4 batches of fry, they successfully drive off the turtle, breidohri and Dempsey but can't handle the relentless harassment from the loaches, and as soon as the lights go out, I assume, the Raphael cat as well. As soon as the fry start free swimming, the parents will keep them safe for up to a week but everyday the group dwindles off.

 

[notho2000]

In a tank that large, with plenty of structure,your Convicts won't harass the others (to the extent that it would do them harm), or be decimated by them (unless the festae or rivulatus are big enough to eat the convicts). Convicts are great at "flying below the radar" and will probably breed successfully and kind of mind their own business. At least that's the case in my experience.