Convict tankmates (safe & colorful)

[Fresh808]

I have one convict (male I believe) and want to leave this one in my 30 gal FW tank and add about three compatible cichlids. Was thinking of maybe one blue ram, green terror, and maybe a jack dempsey.
Can I get some suggestions if I am making any mistakes.
Aloha!

 

[Jason7894561230]

How about adding a female convict and let them breed. There is nothing more fun then breeding fish. They are excellent parents and the fry are easy to care for. Just feed them baby brine shrimp and theyll be cheering.

 

[Fresh808]

I appreciate the suggestion, but I guess I forgot to mention that I have a 55 gal convict tank with two breeding pairs and about 45 little ones that are ready for a trip to the pet store. There are actually a total of 7 adult convicts (4 pink & 3 tigers)
Again,
Thanks & Aloha,
Scott

 

[Fresh808]

Tankmates

How about my male convict, 1 green terror, 1 red severum & 1 electric yellow.
All would be young and introduced at the same time to the tank. Very heavily decorated with good hiding places in a 30 gal, but a 55 is replacing the 30 in about 6 months.
I like the color combination and would hope that from a very small stage or young age that they will adapt to each other and establish their territories.
Input??
Scott

 

[mfdrookie516]

No to the yellow lab... Don't mix africans with other cichlids. Can't speak for the severum, never kept one, don't know anything about them. The green terror is named green terror for a reason. I'd say no to that one.

 

[DA fisherman]

Yeah....yellow labs are African cichlids and require a higher PH and They are brackish water fish...they can live in freshwater but they won't live long......I've had green terrors and jack Dempsey with convicts with no problem but you might need a bigger tank.

 

[HUKIT]

Yeah....yellow labs are African cichlids and require a higher PH and They are brackish water fish.

Mbuna are not brackish water fish, they are straight forward freshwater speices from Lake Malawi.

I would not try a green terror and convict in a 30 gallon tank, there's just not enough real estate for their own territories. I would wait and try that combo when the bigger tank gets set up.

 

[DA fisherman]

Mbuna are not brackish water fish, they are straight forward freshwater speices from Lake Malawi.

lake malwi and lake Victoria are freshwater, your right sorry for the wrong info on that, but they do require a very high PH.

 

[doogle]

so you basically want a colorful fish to go in that group of green terror, severm, and convict? hmmm..... rams are colorful and dont get too big. no africans 4sure, even though they can live in a ph of 7.5 or a little less (8.2 ph best)and breed and be happy, but thats not helping you....i think rams might be a decent fish to ADD what do you guys think

 

[doogle]

maybe a apistogramma... colorful carnivore,good in 30-55g tanks

 

[HUKIT]

so you basically want a colorful fish to go in that group of green terror, severm, and convict? hmmm..... rams are colorful and dont get too big. no africans 4sure, even though they can live in a ph of 7.5 or a little less (8.2 ph best)and breed and be happy, but thats not helping you....i think rams might be a decent fish to ADD what do you guys think

I think rams would turn into brightly colored fish food with that stock list.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Rams and apistos are both very mild mannered fish. These are some of the few cichlids that will work in community tanks a lot of the time. They wouldn't last a minute in that tank.

 

[amesdrew]

Convicts can be relentless. They can menace a fish twice their size in a 30 gal. My old convict used to attack me while I was cleaning the tank, but I had a clown pleco in the tank and he left him alone.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I have a big convict in my 75, lots of territory, not sure about a tank that size, you may have territory problems with fish safer in bigger tanks.

 

[Oscarluva]

I have mine with a jack dempsey and an Oscar and a severum and they are very friendly with each other

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Is that photo your oscar? Awesome markings!

 

[HUKIT]

Is that photo your oscar? Awesome markings!

No if you google Tiger Oscar or Jack Dempsey those pictures come up.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Ahh ok My coloring is similar at the front but less defined at the back. The 'fake eye' spot area is well defined though.

 

[HUKIT]

Here's my pair, the male is 14" and his lady is 13"+

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Here's my pair, the male is 14" and his lady is 13"+

Very similar to mine. Thanks for posting