There is a huge difference between a pair of convicts and a single convict in terms of behavior. I guess I'm a purist as I wouldn't mix even a single con with Malawis.
There's more than just aggression to factor, there's diet, if you are keeping haps/peacocks feeding isn't an issue, however, if you have mbuna they are herbivores while the cons are carnivores. Feeding mbuna too much meaty protein usually leads to bloat while depriving the cons of that protein will leave them malnourished and prone to disease and early death, so it's a fine balancing act to meet the needs of both.
Diet aside there is still aggression, the biggest problem with mixing aggressive fish that live in different areas is that they can't read each others signals. Species that live together in nature develop certain signals to communicate with each other, when you mix together fish that don't occur together they can't read each other, so a signal to "leave me alone" for one group won't work with another. This can lead to a lot of chasing and stress, and the important thing to remember with Malawis (and most aggressive cichlids), they can quickly go from tolerant to mass murder.
All that aside, part of the joy of fish keeping is trying out different setups, so as long as you observe closely, have a back up plan, and don't become angry if it doesn't work, I say go for it.
And, in respone to the tigons and ligers, no reputable zoo condones this type of hybridization. Those hybrids are almost always found in the "care" of private citizens who think it's "cool" to create new animals.
There's more than just aggression to factor, there's diet, if you are keeping haps/peacocks feeding isn't an issue, however, if you have mbuna they are herbivores while the cons are carnivores. Feeding mbuna too much meaty protein usually leads to bloat while depriving the cons of that protein will leave them malnourished and prone to disease and early death, so it's a fine balancing act to meet the needs of both.
Diet aside there is still aggression, the biggest problem with mixing aggressive fish that live in different areas is that they can't read each others signals. Species that live together in nature develop certain signals to communicate with each other, when you mix together fish that don't occur together they can't read each other, so a signal to "leave me alone" for one group won't work with another. This can lead to a lot of chasing and stress, and the important thing to remember with Malawis (and most aggressive cichlids), they can quickly go from tolerant to mass murder.
All that aside, part of the joy of fish keeping is trying out different setups, so as long as you observe closely, have a back up plan, and don't become angry if it doesn't work, I say go for it.
And, in respone to the tigons and ligers, no reputable zoo condones this type of hybridization. Those hybrids are almost always found in the "care" of private citizens who think it's "cool" to create new animals.
