How many South American cichlids can I keep in a 55 gallon aquarium?

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Nativefishkeeper904

Nativefishkeeper904

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 24, 2015
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I bought a 55 gallon aquarium with my Christmas money recently and I cycled it with the most hardy fish my pet store had. Convict cichlids. Just watching their personalities come out was just amazing and I grew attached. I have 2 males and 2 females in the 55 at the moment. They are not breeding and they aren't aggressive. I don't want any large cichlids like oscars or Red Devils. Just fish that will get along with my convicts. But I always see people on YouTube with 30+ African cichlids in a 100 gallon tank. I definitely don't want my fish to be unhappy so I figured I'd make an account on this forum and ask you people. My tank is planted with lots of driftwood and black sand substrate, with a fluval 306 canister filter. Please leave any instructive criticism. I am only 14 so I can only afford a smaller tank.
 
Welcome to MFK :) Congrats on getting the 55 gallon aquarium. Tbh If you would have asked the question before purchasing the convicts which are Central American it would have made it easier on how many you could put in. There are a lot of variables such as temperament of the species , filtration, and some are hardier than others. Crowding is mostly acceptable for African cichlid setups because of how aggressive certain African species are. I can almost guarantee that out of the 4 convicts you purchased 2 of them or possibly all 4 might pair off as mates which will be difficult for others due to parents protecting the fry. Convicts breed very easily if properly cared for :)
 
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tlindsey said:
Welcome to MFK :) Congrats on getting the 55 gallon aquarium. Tbh If you would have asked the question before purchasing the convicts which are Central American it would have made it easier on how many you could put in. There are a lot of variables such as temperament of the species , filtration, and some are hardier than others. Crowding is mostly acceptable for African cichlid setups because of how aggressive certain African species are. I can almost guarantee that out of the 4 convicts you purchased 2 of them or possibly all 4 might pair off as mates which will be difficult for others due to parents protecting the fry. Convicts breed very easily if properly cared for :)
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I have heard that convicts are south and Central American cichlids
 
tlindsey said:
Welcome to MFK :) Congrats on getting the 55 gallon aquarium. Tbh If you would have asked the question before purchasing the convicts which are Central American it would have made it easier on how many you could put in. There are a lot of variables such as temperament of the species , filtration, and some are hardier than others. Crowding is mostly acceptable for African cichlid setups because of how aggressive certain African species are. I can almost guarantee that out of the 4 convicts you purchased 2 of them or possibly all 4 might pair off as mates which will be difficult for others due to parents protecting the fry. Convicts breed very easily if properly cared for :)
Click to expand...


And I have two 20 gallon tanks that I already have set up if I get a breeding pair of fish at any given time. I use one often as a quarantine tank for when I add wild caught fish to my native tank.
 
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