Central american setup tank

[teban]

hi guys would like to ask for your suggestions on setting up a central american tank. these include substrate color and type, aquascape and plants used.

i have a 3 year old convict who stands to be my oldest fish, would like to set him up a good tank

 

[JD_MAN]

Mine has natural colored gravel, some rocks and broken terra cotta pots set up so they have caves. I don't ever mess with plants, cause the usually get dug up.

 

[DanDanUK]

Firstly how bigs the tank ?

As for decor of the tank i'd go with river bed sand with some rocks and bog wood and few plants not too many plants because most cichlids are diggers and love nothing more than to dig and pull up plants. Canister filtration would be best IMO no offence but i think your experience may not be as good as some of our members so i wouldn't advise you do try building your own filter system like a wet/dry.

as for fish until we know what size tank you have we can't really advise what fish to buy.

 

[teban]

hi my tank is a 20 gallon tank. i currently have an over head filter setup for the tank.

 

[bpunisher18]

hi my tank is a 20 gallon tank. i currently have an over head filter setup for the tank.

Unfortunatley with a 20 and 1 con I'm not so sure you can another CA, I think your best bet would be to get a bigger tank and then you could get some fun fish, Jags, Dempseys,Pike, Texas, Salvinis, crap the list seems almost endless.

 

[johno27]

get another convict and make babies ofcourse

If I where you I would get an Aqua clear filter rated for atleast 40 gallons add a convict of the opposite sex with whatever gravel you like and a clay pot.......Boom you have babies

Breeding CA cichlids is one of the most rewarding parts of keeping them because it gives a glimpse into their behavior in the wild and courting rituals.

Good luck on whatever you decide
Happy fish keeping

 

[bpunisher18]

get another convict and make babies ofcourse

If I where you I would get an Aqua clear filter rated for atleast 40 gallons add a convict of the opposite sex with whatever gravel you like and a clay pot.......Boom you have babies

Breeding CA cichlids is one of the most rewarding parts of keeping them because it gives a glimpse into their behavior in the wild and courting rituals.

Good luck on whatever you decide
Happy fish keeping

yeah a pair of Cons is damn near a lock on having babies get a chick con

 

[DanDanUK]

I'm afraid to say that 2 convicts would not be a good idea in the 20 gallon tank convicts are very agressive fish even tho they are so small the dominant one would turn on the other one and eventually kill it you would need at least a 30 gallon tank for a spawning pair of convict cichlids to live out there lives happily.

There's not really much you can keep in a 20 gallon as far as cichlids go you could always try Neetroplus Nematopus i have never kept this fish so don't really know an awful lot about this species it's Central American comes from lakes and rivers Nicaragua and costa rica grows to about 3" i belive if that dosen't float your boat you could always try a South american cichlid set up get some Peacocks or some Rams. Keep us posted on how you get on if you need to ask anyything else don't hesitate to ask.

Dan.

 

[Demonfish]

I'd go with another con as well. Have a breeding pair. I've kept them in a 10 gallon before, successfully, so I don't think you'd have a problem with space. Also, if that doesn't interest you, set it up for rams. I'm currently setting up a 25 that will be for rams, with maybe a school of neon tetras (the ultimate monster fish!!!), a small catfish or two and some pearl gouramis. I know... None of those really belong at monsterfishkeepers.com, but ah well.

 

[johno27]

LOL Convicts are a much better choice neets get pretty big and are much more aggressive than a con plus they have some very nasty teeth

Edit: I should clarify that by "pretty big" I mean up to 5 inches