Female Betta / Firemouth + Convicts

[xkenneth]

Ok, so i've got a few questions. So i'm just going to lump them all into one post and see how it goes.

First, my female betta needs to get moved. She is living by herself in a little bowl, and I feel quite sorry for her. I have a 30gal freshwater thats current inhabitants include the following:

1 Discus
5 Female Swords
3 Baby Swords
5 Mountain Minnows (White Cloud)
4 Zebra Danio
4 Algae eating shrimp (think you guys call them something different)
2 Khuli Loaches
1 Black Khuli Loach
2 Wood Shrimp
1 Female Cherry barb
1 Male cherry barb
Lots of plants.

Question is, if I toss her in there, will she start picking fights? My friend seems convinced she'll only pick on fish that have long tails, fish that look similair to her. He had about 20 tetra in with her before and they started dieing off. When there were about 3 left he noticed she actually plucked the eyes out of one. But not witnessing or knowing why the rest died I don't believe it's conclusive evidence to convict her as the killer. I actually just threw her in there and i'm keeping a close eye on her and the rest of the fish. Any opinions?

Next Question:
So i've got a pair of convicts that bred in a 10 gallon. I've left the mother and the fry in the 10 gallon and removed the father to keep them from breeding again. The father is currently living in a 75 gallon tank with a Firemouth, feeders, and a big crawdad. My plan is that when the fry are big enough to handle and avoid the pump in the 75, to move them until I can pawn them off on a local fish store. The male would go back into the 10 gallon to once again keep them from breeding. And my predicament is I really don't have anywhere to move the firemouth. And my question is do you think there will be enough room in the tank that the fry and mother will not kill the firemouth? Thanks.

Sorry that was a bit long! Thanks for your thoughts.

Regards,
Ken

 

[Devilishturtles]

As for the betta. it should be okay with your current tank inhabitants. The only thing I notice off in your occupant list is the discus. Keep an eye out for stress. They are a fish that likes to be in a school and in a species only tank.

As for the convicts, 75 gallons is a large enough space that the convicts may be able to have their own territory and share it with the firemouth. My concern is the "crawdad". He will surely munch the babies. He may also munch mommy and daddy after they lay eggs and guard them. However, if convicts feel they or their eggs are unsafe, they'll eat the eggs and won't allow them to hatch. I don't think keeping a convict male in a 10 gallon is a good idea. It will grow out of that tank in no time. I'm wondering if the firemouth and convict pair would fare well together in your 75 gallon.

btw, what kind of "crawdad" is this? Can you get a picture? How large is it?

You may want to wait for someone else with some more cichlid experience than I to comment on the firemouth question.

 

[xkenneth]

I've kept crawdads with my fish for some time and really haven't had any problems. I haven't yet experienced the crawdad being around egg layers, but i'm going to seperate the mother and father so they don't breed again. Before the babies are anywhere near the crawdad they'll be atleast a half an inch long, so I think they'll be smart enough to stear clear of him. He's not quite mature yet, a little over 2 inches long, and really slow, like most crawdads.