Advice needed

[pookie71384]

I have a 29 gallon tank with one female black convict...they say a rule of thumb is a inch of fish for every gallon...I was thinking about getting another female convict and two fire mouths...the fire mouths and convicts max out at six inches as adults...so all together that's twenty four inches of fish in a twenty nine gallon tank which is twenty four gallons taken up...is this a good idea...I need someones opinion on this

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Sorry, but the one inch per gallon rule it not accurate. It all depends on the swimming room, temperment, and tankmates. I do not know much about convicts, but i know that that rule of thumb is bad

 

[pookie71384]

oh ok...that rule of thumb always bothered me too...something never sat right with me when I read about the aquarium rule of thumb...I do know convicts can be very aggresive though...thank you for the reply...I attached a picture of my tank so you can get an idea of the swimming room in my tank

 

[5x5]

That rule might work ok for community fish, but it completely fails when it comes to cichlids.

With cichlids, you are talking about major varieties of bioloads and aggression. These considerations cannot be reduced to a universal formula.

 

[pookie71384]

thanks 5×5

 

[5x5]

I would recommend 2 female convicts or just a single firemouth in a 29g. The convicts should be fine. The firemouth would be tight when full grown, but should be possible if you take care of the water.

All 4 together would likely be mistake. The aggression would eventually cause deaths and trim down the number of fish to the right number for the space, so save the trouble.

 

[pookie71384]

thanks for the advice but right now I just have a female black convict that's about 2 inches long and a pleco that's about 5 inches...can I put a school of cory cats in there?...and would everybody live peacefully and comfortably?...I hate the look of nipped fins and stressed out fish

 

[5x5]

What kind of pleco? Most plecos (besides a bristlenose or rubberlip) will grow way to big for your tank. If it's a common pleco or a royal, you want to start planning a rehoming effort soon.

The Cory cats are hard to recommend, although it could possibly work out fine. Convicts are pretty aggressive for their size, but in my experience they tend to leave bottom feeders alone like plecos/loaches and corys. Then again, I did this in a larger tank, which could have been a factor. I personally wouldn't try it in a 29.

 

[pookie71384]

I believe I have a common pleco...a high fin one though...I've had him for more then a year now...I bought him when he was around 3 and a half inches long...having him over a year he's onky grew about a inch and a half...he's growing slowly...I feed him nothing special...he eats whatever crumbs fall to the gravel I guess...he's very healthy looking...very beautiful...no nipped fins...anyway...my convict and pleco have no problems with each other...a lot of the time they occupy the same cave I have...they act like they don't even see each other...I'm really thinking about adding corys because with just one convict and the pleco always hiding the tank is not very exciting...my convict does swim around all day...she never stops moving but just one fish swimming arond in a 29 gallon is kind of boring lol

 

[bob mccoy]

i love my fire mouths. i have 4 in a tank with 3 snow whites- i do water changes 2 times a week. they are in a 55 gal tank . and they do fine. i will have to move them as they grow up. but rite now it looks beautiful . i keep clean water at all times.

 

[LyndaB]

thanks for the advice but right now I just have a female black convict that's about 2 inches long and a pleco that's about 5 inches...can I put a school of cory cats in there

Are you the one who already has a thread posted about this? If not, I find it strange that someone's got the same exact stock and is asking the same exact question. I know that in that thread, the response was that the convict will kill the corys.

Yep, it's your thread: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f100/cory-cat-question-193212.html

 

[pookie71384]

ok???...thank you so much for pointing that out...great advice smh

 

[LyndaB]

The reason I posted that was that duplicate threads only serve to confuse the members trying to assist you with an issue. They have no idea that others have responded in another thread on the same topic and it doesn't keep a healthy flow of dialogue going if those dialogues are separated.

 

[pookie71384]

they weren't duplicate threads...they were wrote in different ways because it seemed like nobody was giving me a straight answer...and how would that confuse someone...I don't see how you can be confused...if you see a thread that you think is similar to another simply don't reply...there's no confusion in that at all...and if you do find yourself getting confused then that's a problem I suggest getting checked out by a professional...no disrespect at all to you...just respoding to you

 

[5x5]

The pleco is probably fine with the convict, but the common ones get huge over time. Over 16 inches long!

Most people aren't aware of this when they buy them.

 

[pookie71384]

yeah I knew but they grow very slowly when you don't feed them anything intended for them alone...when they just pick up after the other fish it takes about a year to actually realize there's a change in size

 

[Alyxx]

That's because they are malnourished. They need to be fed like any other fish, they are not there just to clean up algae and extra food. Buy fish because you like them, not to do your job for you.

 

[pookie71384]

excuse me?...I've had my pleco for over a year and hes the healthiest looking pleco I've seen up close...if he was malnourished and he wasn't getting enough food he or she would of been dead a long time ago...I've had plecos since I was 8 years old and not one has ever died...and if I did realize he or she wasn't getting enough food best believe he or she would be getting the best food I could find at the petshop.

 

[pookie71384]

here's a picture...let me know if he or she looks malnourished

 

[Alyxx]

Just saying you should feed all your fish a balanced and complete diet, even scavengers, and they would grow at their normal rate if they are fed properly.