Ive been thinking about keeping some convict and fire mouth Cichlids with an Oscar in a 120. I was wondering what would be better? Having just one fire mouth and one convict with the oscar, or having a couple convicts and firemouths like 4-5. Thanks
Oscars with South American cichlids
- Thread starter Forest3544
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Firemouths and most of the Thorichthys genus tend to do best in shoals of 4 or more, with convicts it doesn't really matter.
And just minor matter of semantics, oscars are South American (Brazil, Paraguay, Peru etc etc) cichlids, but neither FMs or convicts are South American, FMs are from Mexico (part of North America, and convicts are from Central America (technically still), a part of the North American continent.
And just minor matter of semantics, oscars are South American (Brazil, Paraguay, Peru etc etc) cichlids, but neither FMs or convicts are South American, FMs are from Mexico (part of North America, and convicts are from Central America (technically still), a part of the North American continent.
Adult male Cons can be killers if they breed.
As said Cons and Firemouths are CAs and Oscars are SAs.
As said Cons and Firemouths are CAs and Oscars are SAs.
FM are cool fish in groups. The hierarchy is interesting to watch. My grandfather has a group of 10 in a 180 that hes had for 15 years. Convicts on the other hand are mean little mothers. I've never met one that was nice after about 2 inches.
The mixing continents argument is very misconstrued. Most of our fish are generations from the wild. Also never been to a fish store that accommodated anything.
Like alot of members on here nearly all my cichlids have been at the most 2 generations from the wild.
I don't believe a few generations of captive breeding will eradicate millions of years of evolution, most fish survive in clean water, some will only thrive in parameters closer to there natural range,
Thanks for the clarification I always get south anerican and Central American Cichlids mixed up. Also how would a blue acara do?
Most animals including fish adapt well to other environments. There are species that have needs that must be met. For example, discuss fish are very needy and will not survive very far out of there parameters even after many generations. I've seen this tried and failed many times. But for things like Oscars, FM, convicts, and especially most African cichlids. These fish can live and most likely breed in toilet water. I am by no means condoning poor husbandry or neglecting them. This is of course just my opinion and things that I have learned or observed from other people.
I didn't say anything about mixing continents, or water in my response, just pointed out a bit of geography, that may or may not be relevant to the OP.
But since it was brought up, oscars generally come from softer, tannin tinted water, and as a result (along with swimming in their own urine, due to a lack of proper water maintenance in many tanks) usually end up scarred from HILLE, popeye, and other chronic bacterial maladies.
Central American Cichlids have evolved to live in mineral rich alkaline water, and are less apt to succumb to those same afflictions, unless poor water quality is also the norm.
But the Ops tap water parameters may be a consideration for what fish to keep, now and in the future, just in case a sensitive species is considered, tap water knowledge can sometimes help avoid a costly mistake, and disappointment.
A safe bet might be a Blue Acara, is a S American species from Venezuela, Colombia, and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago and tolerates a wide range of water conditions.
But since it was brought up, oscars generally come from softer, tannin tinted water, and as a result (along with swimming in their own urine, due to a lack of proper water maintenance in many tanks) usually end up scarred from HILLE, popeye, and other chronic bacterial maladies.
Central American Cichlids have evolved to live in mineral rich alkaline water, and are less apt to succumb to those same afflictions, unless poor water quality is also the norm.
But the Ops tap water parameters may be a consideration for what fish to keep, now and in the future, just in case a sensitive species is considered, tap water knowledge can sometimes help avoid a costly mistake, and disappointment.
A safe bet might be a Blue Acara, is a S American species from Venezuela, Colombia, and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago and tolerates a wide range of water conditions.