Convicts

[wtusa17]

I am going to get a convict cichlid. I am I wondering if there is any different between the pink and regular ones and which one should I choose. Thanks

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Do you have other cichlid's? Some species are more aggressive than others - the pink for example is "highly aggressive" and their care is considered "difficult" . While the Rainbow is rated as only semi- aggressive. And care seems to be easy. All require 30 gallon aquariums. Some also have very different needs as far as temperature. I'm not fond of aggressive fish. I have one cichlid that the local fish store told me was a Gourami because I wanted a Gourami and he didn't have any. Luckily she is only semi-aggressive and is in a tank with large semi-aggressive Gourami's. They've all learned to get along fairly well. I won't be returning to that mom and pop fish store again - they are rip-offs. They knew I was a newbie and took advantage of me.

I would recommend you order yours online - while the fish are inexpensive, the shipping (overnight) is very expensive but they are packed in a Styrofoam cooler, with either a heating pad or ice pack depending on the season. Don't make the mistake I did and order too many fish at once because it ruined my water stats. Just suck up the cost and buy a few at a time and know they have a much higher number of fish than you'll ever find in a fish store. Plus most give the stats on temperature, GH, KH, Ph, aggressiveness, and care level so you can decide which cichlid's will be right for your tank. It pays off in the long run. I have only had 3 fish die from my online vendor LiveAquaria while I've lost 3x that number purchased from local fish stores.

 

[wtusa17]

Do you have other cichlid's? Some species are more aggressive than others - the pink for example is "highly aggressive" and their care is considered "difficult" . While the Rainbow is rated as only semi- aggressive. And care seems to be easy. All require 30 gallon aquariums. Some also have very different needs as far as temperature. I'm not fond of aggressive fish. I have one cichlid that the local fish store told me was a Gourami because I wanted a Gourami and he didn't have any. Luckily she is only semi-aggressive and is in a tank with large semi-aggressive Gourami's. They've all learned to get along fairly well. I won't be returning to that mom and pop fish store again - they are rip-offs. They knew I was a newbie and took advantage of me.

I would recommend you order yours online - while the fish are inexpensive, the shipping (overnight) is very expensive but they are packed in a Styrofoam cooler, with either a heating pad or ice pack depending on the season. Don't make the mistake I did and order too many fish at once because it ruined my water stats. Just suck up the cost and buy a few at a time and know they have a much higher number of fish than you'll ever find in a fish store. Plus most give the stats on temperature, GH, KH, Ph, aggressiveness, and care level so you can decide which cichlid's will be right for your tank. It pays off in the long run. I have only had 3 fish die from my online vendor LiveAquaria while I've lost 3x that number purchased from local fish stores.

I have a firemouth. I am planning on getting an electric blue acara but I don’t know if I should get a convict or not.

 

[Byron]

I have a firemouth. I am planning on getting an electric blue acara but I don’t know if I should get a convict or not.

Convict cichlids are not community fish. A pair may be kept in a 36-inch (40+ gallon) tank. In much larger tanks (over 6 feet) it may be kept with a few other Central American cichlids that are robust. This species is very aggressive and territorial, and when spawning becomes very violent to all other fish including much larger cichlids.

 

[Metalhead88]

What size tank and what other fish do you have?

Convicts very aggressive for their size. They do best with larger but less aggressive fish than them.

Pink and regular convicts are the same except for appearance. Males will get larger than females. Females have red on their belly, males do not.

I'd recommend against convicts and fire mouths together. Firemouths are not as aggressive and similarly sized. It's not impossible for it to work, but chances are the convict will bully the firemouth. Same goes for an electric blue acara.

If you have the right sized tank, Electric Blue Acara would be a good tankmate for a Firemouth.

 

[wtusa17]

What size tank and what other fish do you have?

Convicts very aggressive for their size. They do best with larger but less aggressive fish than them.

Pink and regular convicts are the same except for appearance. Males will get larger than females. Females have red on their belly, males do not.

I'd recommend against convicts and fire mouths together. Firemouths are not as aggressive and similarly sized. It's not impossible for it to work, but chances are the convict will bully the firemouth. Same goes for an electric blue acara.

If you have the right sized tank, Electric Blue Acara would be a good tankmate for a Firemouth.

I have a 40 gallon. I don’t think i will be doing the convicts anymore