Fish mates

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No. Jack Dempsey's can reach upwards of 10-14in and a 40g would just be too small. I once had a 14in male that was in my 80g and I still believe that that wasn't enough room for him, even if he was by himself it wouldn't be enough room.
I thought they maxed at 6, any ideas for a tough and hardy fish at about 5-6 inches?
 
I thought they maxed at 6, any ideas for a tough and hardy fish at about 5-6 inches?
None that would be able to tolerate a pair of convicts. Once convicts pair up they will kill fish upto a 1ft long easily. They are highly aggressive fish that are extremely hardy, resilient and relentless. Like I said before, since ya have a pair of convicts you pretty much have 0 options when it comes to center piece fish in a 40g.

Don't get me wrong, I love convicts but they just tend to be too aggressive to add in with most fish in small tanks. I've seen them being used as dither fish for much larger and more aggressive Cichlids such as Dovii and Jaguars but you'll need a 150g+ tank just to house one of those comfortably and at that point there won't be any other fish besides the cons and Jag/Dovii. Everything else would become food.
 
How about an eel?
Also these convicts are both male. Not an ideal pair but they work for this tank. So this may change some of your answers as it isn’t a breeding pair. I’m looking for a fish that will keep the aggression between the two low as they don’t focus on the other fish in the tank
 
Also these convicts are both male. Not an ideal pair but they work for this tank. So this may change some of your answers as it isn’t a breeding pair. I’m looking for a fish that will keep the aggression between the two low as they don’t focus on the other fish in the tank
Are you getting a bigger tank at some point, I think you’re gonna have a hard time adding to a 40 with two convicts.
 
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