Cichlids

[Fishyfishfish2010]

i am thinking about buying a second tank off a friend and it come with fish already in it cichlids to be exact and i was just wondering if there is anything i need to know as i have never had these fish before

 

[fluttermoth]

You need to find out exactly what cichlids they are.
There are literally hundreds of different species of cichlid; some really aggressive, some peaceful; some only grow to 2 or 3 inches; some grow to feet long! Some like very hard, alkaline water, some need very soft, acid conditions.
If you can get a name or post some pics we can identify them for you (well, probably, lol!)

 

[Fishyfishfish2010]

calico cichlids, red jewel cichlids and convicts and albino cichlids

 

[ash90]

ther south american/african cichlid there gonna be aggressive infact convict will be very aggressive what size is tank as i have a 8x3x3 589gallon an added convicts only few weeks ago and they own my tank they also breed like guppies every few weeks if u ave a male and female

 

[Fishyfishfish2010]

but will they not be fine with each other? since she has had them together for quite a while now i think just over a year and i dont plan on adding any other fish

 

[fluttermoth]

Yeah, as ash90 says, they're mostly quite aggressive cichlids; especially the jewels and the convicts (the albinos and the calicos are probably convicts too, just different coloured ones)

You might get away with it, but I suspect it's only worked up until now because the fish are juveniles; as they reach maturity and start to pair off for breeding they are very likely to be eruptions!

Be prepared to split them up and re-home some if it kicks off (which I expect it will )

If I were you, I'd go and buy a second hand tank with no fish in it

 

[Fishyfishfish2010]

but is there anything else i need to know about this kind of fish?

 

[snowflake311]

sounds like all africans but the convict. They are all the same level of aggressivness. If you want to keep the fish that come with the tank you should just stick to African cichlids. Don't mix them. They are not community fish. If a community tank is what you want rehome the fish.

 

[Fishyfishfish2010]

so your saying rehome the convicts?
and no its not a community tank i want i already have one of those lol

 

[BethK]

so your saying rehome the convicts?
and no its not a community tank i want i already have one of those lol

A mix of cichlids IS a community tank

First off, what size is the tank that you're getting, we need to know, as cichlids can grow to a big size and they need their space (very territorial)

 

[Wills]

How big is this tank?

Convicts and red jewels are two of the nastiest fishes I have ever come across - I have often thought of adding a red jewel to my tank but everytime I start to research them the amount of bad stories from other people - then when you get to the shop and you see some glowing 3-4 inch specimens and they are just ferocious with anything else they are kept with.

Also is it possible to get a picture of the albino cichlid and the calico cichlid please. They could literally be anything.

For all the fish are getting along okay at the moment - when you take them out the tank and put them back in all of the territories will be up for grabs once again that these fish could have claimed when they were a fraction of the size they are now - the problem with this would be the first set of fish in the tank would claim the whole tank and then every fish added after that would be set under them but at the same time would want the top spot - it would just break out in a fight constantly for a number of month or until one pair of fish is left.

If this was a post asking for a suggested stocking I cant imagine anyone would suggest the combination of convicts and jewels.

Though tank size is a big factor in this.

Wills

 

[star4]

Jewels are very aggressive, I only had 2 for a few months and they were only small. Convicts although have a reputation for being aggressive I found were not as bad as the Jewels, but you would need to keep only male or all female convicts as they breed lots and selling/giving away the fry is really difficult.

 

[kaivalagi]

but you would need to keep only male or all female convicts as they breed lots and selling/giving away the fry is really difficult.

+1 on that! I have Honduran Red Points / Blue Convicts and they are randy blighters...and to be honest at 1" put a fully grown port acara (7") in it's place!

<rant>
I have a pair in one tank, and lots of offspring...I had put about 10 1" juvies in the other tank where 2 leucistics (no pigment) paired (at 1"!), I then split them up as one went to a friend, then another female paired with the remaining albino male and they're dug in to the slate...just don't have more than one Convict (of any variety) in the same tank together....that's the best bet

I shall be taking all the decor out of the tank later on down the line so I can remove all bar the Leucistic HRP from the tank, and no more central american fish will set foot in there again!
</rant>

 

[Fishyfishfish2010]

ok mabye i wont get this tank as it just sounds like alot of trouble lol it a 20 gallon tank
im going to get another tank tho and someone mentioned that some kinds of cichlids are peaceful?
what kinds would that be i plan on getting a 30 gallon

 

[BethK]

20 US gals, with that amount of cichlids in? That is way too cramped for them!

30 Gals, I would go with the dwarf species. You're looking at cichlids growing anywhere from 12 - 36cms, I wouldn't advise a take any smaller than 200ltrs for cichlids.

So for dwarfs, you could go with apistogrammas, rams etc, that will be ok in a 30gal but you need to have a read of the info available out there