Too much?

[Hutch]

I have a 25 gallon fish tank. Lots of rock and decorations no plants. So far I have a pictus catfish and a Jack Dempsey. The guy at the fish store told me I could get a blue acara and 3 convits and Id have myself a nice little tank. I thought this seemed alittle much... I am just beginning so I am looking for some advice?

I would really like to have just the pictus cat, jack dempsey and blue acara but he says I need the 3 convicts or the Dempsey might get rowdy with the blue acara

 

[flipz]

I can't give you any info about if it's too much. But the one thing I will tell you is convicts tend to reply rapidly. at least once a month from what I've read. So be careful if you have males and females!

-brent

 

[Bearfan]

Sounds like strange logic to me. Also, sounds like a line.

Maybe a cichlid expert will know something.

 

[Hutch]

Thanks guys... I think he is right in that usually Cichlids will fight if you mix them in small number (or at least south american ones). But I have my doubts as to whether my tank can hold six 4"+ fish. THe dempsey is still pretty small so maybe If I get the acara in soon enough it will be okay

 

[Guest]

Unless you are planning on getting rid of all your fish within a year, I would not have anything in this tank besides 2 convicts. The jack dempsey might be ok by itself or the pictus with 1-2 6" fish, but you might still have to upgrade later. Those fish need room to swim. IMO. I have never heard about overpopulating central americans to cut down on aggression. I have heard that about African cichlids, but I suppose I could be wrong. Adding rocks and other decorations helps, but in a 25 gal, there isn't enough room. Each of those fish get to be 6" to 10" or more. Dempsey's shouldn't live in anything less than a 55 gal imo.

 

[Menagerie]

I am not a big South American cichlid person, but I know two things--maybe three.
~IME, Jacks are MEAN, granted I had it in with Mbuna, but he out right killed a fish three times his size and was going after others, including the Acara. They are not territorial, rather they tend to look at other tank mates as a food source.
~Acaras are generally semi-peaceful. I have one in with my Mbunas (a mistake, but he holds his own).
~Convicts do reproduce quickly and their aggression gets worse as they get bigger. I had one of these too, but it did not survive as a smaller fish in with Mbunas.
South American cichlids are beautiful, but I have had no luck with them (okay, okay--I did mix them with Africans ). A great forum for cichlids is www.cichlid-forum.com

 

[flipz]

~IME, Jacks are MEAN

Check his new post... the JD is picking on the pictus. heh. Good call menagerie, as always.

-brent

 

[Menagerie]

PS--those fish willl get at least 6" when mature.

 

[Endgame319]

The guy at the fish store has obviously not seen a full grown dempsey. My full grown dempsey is pushing 8" and it seems like he's still growing. And not ALL dempseys are bullies. My 8" is mostly peaceful and never really causes many fights. The little 3" on the other hand, is a little bastard, he picks on the 6" firemouth. Add convicts to the mix and you got big problems. IMO you need a much bigger tank (55g) or you need to return your fish. A 25g is even to small for a pictus.