Hello there, im questioning myself on whether it would possible for a pair of black convict cichlids to be in a 55gal with 1 firemouth cichlid. Another note is that I havent purchased any of them yet till tmr. Im coming back into the hobby starting small once again. So with that aside, will it be fine for having them 3 together alone in the tank? I know of how aggressive a pair of convict will be especially protecting their fry's. There will be 3 different caves all across the tank & lots of open swimming space. One other thing should I use dithers such as Giant Danios? If so, how many? I would like to hear your guy's opinion on this. Also if you had personal experience with having these two species together in a tank alone please do state your opinion. Thank you.
Firemouth Cichlid w/ Breeding Pair Black Convict Cichlids?
- Thread starter catfishlover106
- Start date
I would say it has a chance of working, assuming both territories are at opposite ends of the tank. I would also use driftwood, rocks, plants, etc, in the middle of the tank to create an obstructed view for the breeding Cons (this way they don't always see what the FM is up to). As for the dithers, I have used Giant Danios, Columbian Tetras, Tiger Barbs, and have had luck with groups sized 6-8. In my experience, breeding Cons will violently protect their breeding area/territory, but usually won't go out of their way to go and kill other fish (unless it's another Con, or the tank is too small). Best of luck.
I pretty much agree with RD as far as the FM goes. Theyre pretty hardy and can handle themselves as long as they can get some distance from the pair of convicts. If that fails, you can always partition the tank. As far as dithers go, IME they arent as hardy as a FM, so if they convicts get aggressive they can do some real damage if not kill them, so keep a close eye on them. If it gets bad, again, partition
It has a chance of working but only a very small chance. Convicts are extremely aggressive when they start breeding. I had a large breeding pair of convicts in a 72 bow front and they killed anything I tried to introduce into the aquarium. Now I will also say if you add them at the same time the chances of it working are greater than if you introduce the convicts first. Hope this helps.
I think a lot of it will depend on the fry too. If the breeding pair doesnt immediatly attack anything in the tank, then the FM will be okay, but once the fry start moving, all bets are off. At that point the fry will certainly have to come out (and hope the FM doesnt get attacked too much) or the tank will need to be partitioned. The parents will follow and herd the fry so territory becomes meaningless at that point.
I see..i'll add some of the extra driftwoods & other rocks laying around that's not being used. When I do get a pair of Black Convicts tmr what are the chances of them breeding once in my tank & acclimated? My water temp. right now is 80-82 degree's. The last time I bought 2 random male & female black convicts from my LFS ended up breeding about within a week or so. Would the chances of these 2 black convicts I will be buying tmr have a similar range in times of breeding due to my water being warm at that level? Also as for a Firemouth, what else could be compatible if it we're to work out with the 3 together in the tank? If tankspace is already at its limit in keeping just the 3 then that's fine. Im just looking at options right now. If a Firemouth proves to not end up being a good tankmate what would?
Thorichthys spp. really don't have the mouth structure to stand up to something like a convict if things got aggressive. So, if the cons tolerate a tank mate, it will be fine, if they don't, the firemouth will likely be on the losing end.
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ohh alright. Would there be any other species compatible with cons that will be fine in a tank together besides a firemouth?
I'm having a hard time thinking of any. Most fish that will be able to stand up to a breeding pair of convicts will be too big for the tank. Most guys that wont outgrow the tank wont be tough enough to stand up to an aggressive pair. Thats why I recommended a partition once they start reproducing. A FM could cohabitate with the convicts, but once they start reproducing even a hardy fish could be subjected to a ton of stress
What are the dimensions of the tank? I have a pair of calico convicts and when they spawned in a 40g breeder (w/c is also a community tank) they just pushed everyone on the other side. No one got killed even after a week everyone just stayed on the other side. But I didn't wanna stress the parents out so I gave them a foot of the tank as their territory and put a divider between them and the other fish. As for spawning, my pair spawned 3 days after I got them. I know you're not suppose to do anything special but coming from breeding kribs I just did what I've done before to make my kribs spawn(i.e. water changes, live food, lots of spawning places)
I think having a firemouth in with a pair of breeding cons COULD work. Just add some dithers that swim on the top part of the aquarium. Also, after a few chases the firemouth will learn to stay on his side of the tank. I watch my tank almost all the time when I'm not at work to observe the behavior of convicts. They do get vicious but not vicious enough to kill and that's based on my experience. I've had regular, pink, and now calicos. All of them showed the same behavior and none of them killed any tankmates. But have a divider ready just in case
I think having a firemouth in with a pair of breeding cons COULD work. Just add some dithers that swim on the top part of the aquarium. Also, after a few chases the firemouth will learn to stay on his side of the tank. I watch my tank almost all the time when I'm not at work to observe the behavior of convicts. They do get vicious but not vicious enough to kill and that's based on my experience. I've had regular, pink, and now calicos. All of them showed the same behavior and none of them killed any tankmates. But have a divider ready just in case