Convicts Or African Cichlids

[twitchymole]

i'm planning on getting a 10-15 gal tank to put on my desk at work. the issue i got is what kinda fish to put in there. right now i'm thinking between a breeding pair of convicts or some african cichlids. if anyone has any suggestions, i'd be happy to consider them. although i am a little closed minded to what people think are "pretty" fish like angels, gouramis, tetras, or barbs and such. oh and no shrimps or frogs or things like that please. aside from those, go ahead. oh and whether or not you think i'll need a small pleco in there somewhere.

 

[Gatorbait]

Most africans need a minimum of 4' long tank and a 10-15g tank isn't large enough for a pair of convicts.

Maybe others know of small africans for tiny taks like that because I'm not at all informative with small fish.

 

[dthoffsett]

Shelldwellers would be great for a tank that size. The only other cichlid I know of for a small tank are apistogrammas. Here's a link for stocking and species info.

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_10g.php

 

[twitchymole]

Most africans need a minimum of 4' long tank and a 10-15g tank isn't large enough for a pair of convicts.

Maybe others know of small africans for tiny taks like that because I'm not at all informative with small fish.

what would you say is the smallest tank size for a pair of convicts? i don't have any problem with getting them shell dwelling dwarf cichlids like the other guy said. but it's kinda a little hard to find those out here in korea. they really only have certain types of fish. been looking for common cichilds like red devils, dempseys, and buttikoferies for the longest time and they never have them.

 

[Gatorbait]

Most africans need a minimum of 4' long tank and a 10-15g tank isn't large enough for a pair of convicts.

Maybe others know of small africans for tiny taks like that because I'm not at all informative with small fish.

what would you say is the smallest tank size for a pair of convicts? i don't have any problem with getting them shell dwelling dwarf cichlids like the other guy said. but it's kinda a little hard to find those out here in korea. they really only have certain types of fish. been looking for common cichilds like red devils, dempseys, and buttikoferies for the longest time and they never have them.

IMO, I would go with a minimum of 29g for a pair of convicts.

The red devil I would go with a minimum of 55g-75g (personally for me a 75g) for one of them..55g minimum for a dempsey and a minimum of 75g for a butti. These are my opinions and not written in stone and others may feel differently.

The red devil and butti would almost always have to be kept alone in a tank that small because their aggression will be heightened.

For the smaller cichlids, you should post in the cichlid forum. dthoffsett, Ferris and a couple others really know their stuff when it comes to africans and the whole variety of sizes etc, which like I said, smaller fish is something I honestly know nothing about.