Which fish are easier to keep: firemouth cichlids or convict cichlids?(Also please give tips lol)

[Magnus_Bane]

I keep all my tanks at 75° and never any issues. This pair breed 10 times over a year in that 75° water.View attachment 1448453View attachment 1448453View attachment 1448454View attachment 1448455

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Btw what is that orange cichlid in there? I want to say gold ram but I could easily be wrong. But regardless, love seeing fish swimming around with their babies in tow. Love the color in the males fins too, same with the females metallic blue body color.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

Btw what is that orange cichlid in there? I want to say gold ram but I could easily be wrong. But regardless, love seeing fish swimming around with their babies in tow. Love the color in the males fins too, same with the females metallic blue body color.

Wait wait wait, I think I know what it is now. It's a mollie isn't it?

 

[Jexnell]

Btw what is that orange cichlid in there? I want to say gold ram but I could easily be wrong. But regardless, love seeing fish swimming around with their babies in tow. Love the color in the males fins too, same with the females metallic blue body color.

Yes it's either a Marigold Swordtail, or a Platy.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

Yes it's either a Marigold Swordtail, or a Platy.

Gotta love young live bearers, can hardly ever tell em apart from one another lol. I got a creamsicle male mollie that is just bright neon orange in my 55g planted tank. Lol sticks out like a sore thumb even when the lights are off.

 

[Jexnell]

My water is a little higher PH at 7.8 and very hard. My city water draws from three different well drilled down into Limestone aquifers. Our hardness is 150 to 250ppm.
Perfect water for Centrals and Rift lake, the worst for SA. Thats why I rehomed my Oscar and shifted to CA or SA west of the Andes mts.

The breeding pair of HRPs above when I first got them.

They were in a 29gal for a couple months then the whole tank got moved into the 55gal. Totally lucked out getting a male and female that decided to pair up and breed.
Out of the 10 spawns only 3 fry made it to adulthood. The rest were consumed by the tank.
Here dad with a couple of them

 

[Username...]

Also, is my HOB filter fine or do I need a canister filter?

 

[Jexnell]

Hob would be fine. I would use a AC50.

 

[Username...]

Ok, then I should be good.

 

[duanes]

Nanoluteus

HRP male

HRP female

Firemouths get too big for the tanks you can have.
Both above are good in hard water.
Hemichromis good if you have soft water.
or...If soft water many of the Amazonian dwarf cichlids would fit you size tank.
(Rams, checkerboard, other Apistogramma.)

 

[Gourami Swami]

or...If soft water many of the Amazonian dwarf cichlids would fit you size tank.
(Rams, checkerboard, other Apistogramma.)

This would be my direction if going for a 29 as a permanent home. Or nanoluteus if you liked the convict idea, like suggested already. A HRP male only gets slightly smaller than a convict if you keep them long enough, I think eventually a 29 may be a bit skimpy. 30 gallon might be just barely big enough for a solo male since it has a better footprint, a 29 is basically same as a 20long. You would get some time out of a 29 but would be pushing it for a big male hrp's final home imo.

For reference here's the biggest male I've had, was well over 4". More like 5.5