Split from the fish index

[kyman2391]

hello everybody im new to this and id like some advice. I'm going2 buy 2 convicts; 1 male, 1 female, a 55gal. tank w/stand, an aqua clear filter (60-90gal), and all the other essentials like a heater, thermostat, air pump and a aqua vac. Any ideas of how i should set the tank up, i was thinking sand for the bottom but with the aqua vac how can i clean up the feces without picking up sand, so im still not sure whether to go with rocks or sand. Also i wasn't sure whether to go with real plants or plastic ones. We have a tank in our classroom at school with real plants and i like the way it looks. At school we have 2 tanks 1 55gal and 1 20gal. In the 20gal we have a small jack dempsey because he was getting beat up by the 1 in the 55gal but hes still tough. So what i was thinking was to put all three of the fish(2 convicts and the 1 jack) in my new 55gal at home. Do you guys have any ideas for me on all this.

 

[randallhart]

personally I would do sand and fake plants. convicts make uproot them. i wouldn't do convicts and a jack dempsey. they would most like have problems in the future. you could do convicts or a jack dempsey with other fish such as giant danios. make sure to do at least a fishless cycle or another kind of cycle.

EDIT: with the sand, i read that you hold it about an inch above the sand to do it. I've tried this myself and it did work for me.

 

[kribensis12]

Convict's whaen paired up will destroy the jack dempsey. I had a 3 inch pair of convict's in a 20g flat hex tank. So i put a female in there. She got bullied, so then i put a male in there in hopes of them pairing off adn regaining some territory! Well, i came back later to find the new male convict completely DESCALED! Poor thing only live a few more day's( in a community setup!). Also, make sure you CYCLE the tnak before adding anything. Get rock's that around around 1/2 a centimeter in diameter, as they like to dig. Plants are not a option as they will uproot and eat them! I hope this informaiton will help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Krib