Convict ?'s

[msumpter87]

My girlfriend surprised me the other night and said she wanted to start her own tank. She even did research and said she wanted to keep frontosa. But we don't have room in my apartment for a tank big enough to keep them. She only wanted fronts because she liked the stripes on them. I showed her convicts and she loved them. I did a lot of research on them but I would like sum first hand info from people that have kept them, like tank size, tank mates if any, and what decor would work best. Sorry for the long post and thanx for any info!

 

[Aski247]

I used to keep a breeding pair in a 30g that they took for themselves. I would say if you were going to keep a breeding pair, and wanted other fish nothing smaller then a 55g. They are highly highly aggressive when breeding. These fish are no slouch and can fight with all the big boy SA/CA cichlids even at their small size.

These were one of the more fun pair of fish I have kept. I decided to get rid of them because they breed like every 3-4weeks. And I got tired of what seemed I was scooping fry every day. But watching the breeding aggression as well as protective nature of them was very cool. They are great parents.

 

[HUKIT]

I agree with Aski but one thing to keep in mind if your looking to breed them is that convicts are worthless in the eyes of most aquarist and most fish stores, you'll have a hard time giving them away for free. I'd recommend Cryptoheros honduran sp, you'll get better color, less aggression, decent resale, and still retain the look your going for. Or one of my all time favorites the Cryptoheros nanoluteus. Or Amatitliana siquia would be something in between the two.

They are great fish don't get me wrong but in my experience getting rid of the constant fry is a challenge to say the least.

 

[msumpter87]

The Honduran looks like a nice fish after a little research. How easy are they to find?? I live in the middle of no where. My lfs only carry goldfish so sometimes it's hard to find rare fish.

 

[HUKIT]

They are fairly common and easy to find. I belong to one of the country's largest cichlid clubs which has swap meets every couple of months where we all sell our fish, if your looking local a club may be something to look for. Otherwise personally I order 90% of my fish online through various companies, as this brings anything in the world to your door step.

 

[msumpter87]

Awesome, thanx for the info!

 

[msumpter87]

You wouldn't happen to know of any clubs in Missouri would you???

 

[HUKIT]

You wouldn't happen to know of any clubs in Missouri would you???

This is the largest one that I'm aware of but I'd bet money with a google search you'll find more. And they have a swap coming soon!

Missouri Aquarium Society, Inc. MASI