Lost my 3 inch female convict today I had it with 2 young JD'S .When I put it in with the JD'S the convict was the boss and would chase the JD'S at feeding times I even saw some minor damage on the JD'S but as the JD'S got bigger I noticed the convict seemed scared to come out to eat and sometimes wouldn't come out at all to feed didn't see any damage on it .
convict dead
- Thread starter bathawk
- Start date
One thing you may want to consider is the lethal stress of the intimidation factor.
The con was once the alfa, but as time went along, as it lost that status, (with cichlids), the stress alone (without any visual damage) is sometimes enough to do them in.
At one time I kept Acarichthys heckelli in a 150 gal tank, even though I was warned by an expert, that at maturity the tank would be too small.
Once the half dozen Acarichthys hit maturity at between 8-10" they started dropping one by one, with no outward signs of damage.
In the end only the alfa was left.
The con was once the alfa, but as time went along, as it lost that status, (with cichlids), the stress alone (without any visual damage) is sometimes enough to do them in.
At one time I kept Acarichthys heckelli in a 150 gal tank, even though I was warned by an expert, that at maturity the tank would be too small.
Once the half dozen Acarichthys hit maturity at between 8-10" they started dropping one by one, with no outward signs of damage.
In the end only the alfa was left.
also to add that tank floor space is key, in a suitable sized tank and hiding spots convicts can coexist with Jack Dempsey's.
I tend to think of a 240 L tank as a bit too small for those 3 fish, maybe even too small for 2 JDs as adults.
An alfa male JD will easily hit between 10-12".
I have watched a pair of JDs in nature defend an area that encompasses a square of about 250 gallons (over 1000 L) from all other cichlids.
They almost always ignore non-cichlids though.
The pair in their territorial area above (@ 7ft L x 4ft W x 4 ft Depth kept all other cichlids out of the area, but as you can see, live bearers grazed with impunity.
An alfa male JD will easily hit between 10-12".
I have watched a pair of JDs in nature defend an area that encompasses a square of about 250 gallons (over 1000 L) from all other cichlids.
They almost always ignore non-cichlids though.
The pair in their territorial area above (@ 7ft L x 4ft W x 4 ft Depth kept all other cichlids out of the area, but as you can see, live bearers grazed with impunity.
yes my plan is to move the JDS into the 240 gallon tank once they put on some size my 240 gallon has some large silver dollars which I think could out compete the JDS for food so once the JDS get to the size of the dollars I will move them and was going to leave the convict in the 240 liter tank and get some non cichlid fish to share the tank. I may get another convict.
Good idea to move the JDs. If they pair up I’d do it sooner than later. Breeding pair aggression is way worse.
