convicts and tiger barbs?

[pookie71384]

has anyone had experience with tiger barbs and convicts???...I have a female convict that's alone in a 29 gallon tank...was thinking about getting a school of tiger barbs

 

[jakester334]

Had a freind that had the combo in a 30g and it worked out fine. I guess it really depends on the temper of your convict.

 

[pookie71384]

thanks for responding...I might try a school of tigers in there with her...do you happen to know how many tigers he probably had in there with the convicts?

 

[Convict2161]

My friend has 5 tiger barbs, a few red eye tetras, 2 plecos, 2 lobsters 1 red and 1 blue, I forget what else is with his convicts. Again this is my friends tank. Not mine.



View attachment 78042

 

[josh7]

I would try 6 to 7 to start and if it tolerates them fine I would up the school to 10.

 

[T-man02]

convicts are very aggressive fish, be warned if it gets pissed you WILL lose fish.

 

[Andy Sager]

Covict alert!!!!!

thanks for responding...I might try a school of tigers in there with her...do you happen to know how many tigers he probably had in there with the convicts?

You really need to look at this picture of Convicts and Tiger barbs together again! You'll notice that there is more than 1 convict in the tank thereby making it more difficult to make a territory. Since you only have 1 convict, that whole tank could be considered her territory by her and then you'll have a problem. Convicts can be VERRRRY aggressive. You really should rethink this idea

 

[pookie71384]

I undetstand completely about convicts aggression...I've witnessed it first hand...I thank everybody for there advise...ill try it out...if its not working out ill just take them back to the petshop

 

[T-man02]

I undetstand completely about convicts aggression...I've witnessed it first hand...I thank everybody for there advise...ill try it out...if its not working out ill just take them back to the petshop

I would scratch the tigers and add another convict.

 

[Andy Sager]

Pet shop abuse....

I undetstand completely about convicts aggression...I've witnessed it first hand...I thank everybody for there advise...ill try it out...if its not working out ill just take them back to the petshop

With all due respect, you are not being fair to your local pet store. If you take these fish and put them into a stressful situation (which you most likely will be doing), you will be taking back fish that will most likely get sick or die from the experience. Do you think it's fair to the pet store that will most likely take them back but lose their money on the deal as they will need to treat the fish for possible diseases, lose the fish from the stress or worse, contaminate their tank of fish if they just put them back into their for sale tank? In my opinion, if you as a hobbyist, want to experiment with a bad idea, you should absorb the cost of that experiment. Either set up another tank for the barbs if this doesn't work, let your convict eat the barbs ( it's cruel but natural) or better yet, don't do the experiment at all.
To have a good pet store is a 2 way deal. They need to be fair to their customers and the customers need to be fair with them.
Just something to think about

 

[pookie71384]

my petshop has a seven day warranty on there fish...if for whatever reason things dont work out with the fish you can bring them back and get your money back or choose other fish for the same amount...that's there rule not mine...I've took plenty fish back that didn't work out in my tank and they have had no problems with the fish that I bring back...I have a 10 gallon tank set aside if the fish are being picked on so I can put them in before things get serious then I take them back...the petshop never loses money when it comes to me because I never take the money back if a fish doesn't work out...ill just get another fish or something else in the store that cost that amount

 

[jakester334]

My freind had about 6 of them in with the convict and if I remember correctly she had the tiger barbs in first and then added the convict and the convict basically claimed one of the caves as its spot and basically left the barbs alone. But like I said it all depends on the temper of your convict. The person who mentioned that your convict might think the entire tank is its territory might now let in any other fish.

 

[pookie71384]

thanks...I've put in two fish so far...a mayan cichlid and another convict...from the looks of it its like my convict did claim the whole tank as its territory...I'm thinking if I get barbs...around 10...that my convict would be overwhelmed and not just focus on one or two fish...lets see if it works out...ill be getting them tomorrow...thanks for the advice

 

[Andy Sager]

With all due respect....

my petshop has a seven day warranty on there fish...if for whatever reason things dont work out with the fish you can bring them back and get your money back or choose other fish for the same amount...that's there rule not mine...I've took plenty fish back that didn't work out in my tank and they have had no problems with the fish that I bring back...I have a 10 gallon tank set aside if the fish are being picked on so I can put them in before things get serious then I take them back...the petshop never loses money when it comes to me because I never take the money back if a fish doesn't work out...ill just get another fish or something else in the store that cost that amount

With all due respect, I had been in the retail pet trade for many years and know what I proposed is true. I have been in the tropical fish business for over 40 years.
What your LFS is offering, while good for customer relations, opens them up to a whole can of worms (so to speak.) This, unfortunately ties into another thread that I have commented on regarding online shopping vs store shopping. It needs to be a 2 way street. You will not have any good stores around if they have to assume liability for their customer's ill advised whims. All I was saying is that it's not really right of you to experiment with a scenario that has an extremely low percentage of working out and expect the store to pay the price.
Just something to think about.

 

[pookie71384]

I understand what your saying...don't agree with it totally but I do understand...seems like you might know a thing or two so can you help me out?...I have a single convict in a 29 gallon tank and I want to add another fish...what fish would you recommend?

 

[Andy Sager]

My recommendations

I understand what your saying...don't agree with it totally but I do understand...seems like you might know a thing or two so can you help me out?...I have a single convict in a 29 gallon tank and I want to add another fish...what fish would you recommend?

The first thing you need to realize is that cichlids are an aggressive family of fish. Keeping a lot of them in a small area is a fool's errand. The best way to keep adding to the limited amount of fish you can have is to remove any territories the existing fish may have while acclimating and introducing your new fish. This way all the fish have to claim a new territory.
With that being said, convicts are known to be a very aggresive fish. If you have no intentions of breeding them, I wouldn't add a second one unless you know the sex of yours and add the same sexed fish. Better choice would be to add other smaller members of the cichlid family such as Jewels, Firemouths, Acaras, Keyholes, Curviceps, etc. making sure that there are a number of caves and hiding places that they can call home and they are big enough to defend themselves against the convict. Remember, unless you are adding all your fish at one time, you are going to be redecorating every time you add a fish no matter how many homes you have. (Always make sure you have more homes than you have fish.) Adding a smaller sized fish that grows large such as Oscars, Jack Dempseys, Texas Cichlids, Parrots, etc. will only work for a short time until these fish start to outgrow the tank. You also have to keep in mind that many fish that grow big, think like a big fish even when they are small so a 29 gal tank is not a good home for them.
If you look at the picture of the poster's friend's tank, you'll notice a large collection of rocks at the center. This is why he can have so many convicts without too much fighting. Territories are the key.

Hope this enlightens you a bit and helps you create an awsome collection of fish.

 

[severum mama]

I agree with what was said above, with the exception of keyholes and curviceps. Based on my separate experiences with convicts, keyholes, and dorsigera (same genus as the curviceps), I believe that a convict would rip keyholes and curviceps apart.

 

[pookie71384]

thanks for the info...that was a ton...I appreciate it very much...I bought two tiger barbs today and they get along great...and I mean great...no nipping...no chasing or nothing...my convict actually hangs out with the two barbs...like she's trying to be part of there school...tomorrow I'm going to be getting eight more so I can have a school of ten...I only plan on keeping the single convict and the ten barbs

 

[josh7]

Nice I'm glad it's working it's always worth a try to just see if it will work.

 

[Andy Sager]

I understand....

I agree with what was said above, with the exception of keyholes and curviceps. Based on my separate experiences with convicts, keyholes, and dorsigera (same genus as the curviceps), I believe that a convict would rip keyholes and curviceps apart.

I've actually had all the fish I mentioned in 1 tank. The whole key is the amount of homes. Convicts are nasty because they are territorial. Increase the territories and they calm down a bit. Once again, every fish is different. Some just haven't read the book that states they are supposed to be a certain way