Releasing Convicts Into Tank With Very Large Other Fish...

[electric yellow]

Hi Everyone

Ive been raising three of my Convict fry now for a good few months. Called The 3 Musketeers. I wanted some advice on releasing them into the main cichlid tank? Or alternatively releasing themnto my calm 3ft communal tank till they grow big enough to go into the cichlid tank. All the other cichlids are somewhat larger than these three fellas and i dont want them to become lunch. BUT they are fastly out growing the box they are in thats attached to the side of the tank. Is it a challenge to put them in my other communal tank? there is a ph difference as currently they are in a high ph and the other one is neautral. But they are far to small still to go in my cichlid tank. I have had electric yellows and convicts in my normal 3ft tank when they were small but im wondering if the ph swing will hurt them?

The other tank is a lot calmer. It has in it the following:

2x clown loaches
2x GBRs
1x PK Betta (very quiet and keeps to himself)
2x bristle nose plecs
1x Gold Gourami (nearlly 3yrs old with a deformed spine so very slow moving)
1x neon tetra

So they would be perfectly safe in this tank to grow up and get bigger and have more room to swim.

My cichlid tank consists of the following:

4x convicts
2x electric yellows
2x yellow tail acies
2x johannies
1x electric blue

All of them are a few inches big and they would swollow the Musketeers in one mouth full!

Some pics of the 3 Musketeers..

 

[minxfishy]

Release into the communal tank, not the african cichlid tank.

If there is a ph difference, acclimatise as you would from store bought fish, bag them and slowly add tank water to the bag over a period of time and then release. They will need to be moved as they get larger or they will bully the rams.

 

[electric yellow]

Yeah the idea is to just rehouse till they are roughly big enough to fend for themselves against the other cichlids.

 

[Glenbo1981]

Do convicts mix well with Malawis? just wanted to know for future reference as i want to do a big malawi tank in the future.

 

[electric yellow]

Well...they arent suppose to. Most people cringe when i say the breeds i have in my tank. But i think the difference with mine is that i bought all my cichlids from the same store when they were small so they have all grown up together. They get along fine, have their angry times but i think if i bought them at adult stage and they hadnt of grown together with other species they would not get along.

 

[Glenbo1981]

I think its a good mix,Convicts are a bloody nightmare with other South/Central Americans,they even beat up adut Oscars and mine was kicking the hell out of my Adult Gold Severum before i removed it.

Plus they like harder water and caves/rocks so its probably a dream tank for them.

Most of my LFS have them with Malawis also.

 

[shelaghfishface]

they even beat up adut Oscars

very true