Pink tilapia help?!

[Fishtanklover23]

I have 45g tank and I have 3" convict, 10" pleco, and a 11" pink tilapia? I'll post a picture because I'm not so sure what he/she is all I know is it's big, mean, and eats a lot. I was wondering what kind of fish i could put with my setup(will also post picture of whole tank) I recently took the convict out and put him in my 10g tank due to fighting which hasn't happened before the other night, the convict has always held his own. I am slightly new to the whole aquarium thing but am looking to become an expert and get a rather large tank when I get older and out of college. I'm really fascinated by the fish and the tilapia is a big part of my life(present to her when I asked her out, was with her for awhile until I got a tank and has been with me ever since) and would hate to get rid of it. I'm just looking for help from people that actually know what they're talking about. Please help!

 

[HUKIT]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice.

First the scientific name of the fish is Oreochromis mozambicus which are native to African, they are primarily used as farm raised fish to consume. They are highly aggressive and require large tanks to control aggression behavior towards tankmates.

Yours is coming close to maxium size at 12". I'm afraid that a 45g is going to be to small to have that fish with any tankmates that survive the onslaught. Yours is matured and has claimed the entire tank to himself which will make having tankmates nearly impossible. The other issues your going to have difficulty with is controling water quality, they are a large fish which naturally will have large waste. This is going to require very large water changes to control the rising nitrate levels.

I understand that there is some emotional ties to the fish but honestly he would be much happier and healthier in a larger aquarium of at least 60-75g in which he would need to live a solitary life due to his temperment. If your really devoted to the fish a 45g will work but would require a large commitment in your end to keep the water conditions clean, possibly doing 2-3 weekly water changes.

The last thing is do you have a water test kit to actually check current conditions?

Good luck.

 

[Fishtanklover23]

Alright thank you so much. There's no fish, even smaller more aggressive species,that I can put with him? Like how aggressive is he?like compared to an Oscar or jack dempsey?
Is there a chance heis some sort of hybrid? Also could I put one of the opposite sex in there with it?sorry for all the questions I'm just trying to learn more about it.

 

[HUKIT]

I'm afraid in that sized tank it's not a option, a pair of those things would require a minimum of 90g for long term care in my opinion. These fish can live in excess of 10 years which can be cut dramaticlly short if water conditions deteriorate.