# 68gallon tank JD and Convict



## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Hello,

First off all let me tell you guys im from Belgium and i come here to post and read the forums because i cant find a proper forum about A Cichlids like here.

Now, *** got a 68g tank (260liters) and got me 2 JD's (a pair) and 3 Convict Zebra's (1male, 2female)

My question is, can i hold them together in this tank and is the tank big enough for the JD's?
*** got a filter on it that does 410g per hour water refreshment.

Hope to hear from you guys soon.

Greetings


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## gnomemagi (Jun 13, 2009)

I'll assume the 68 gallon tank is 48 inches long by 18 inches wide.

The one problem I see is the 1 male, 2 female Convicts. Convicts will pair - so eventually (Convicts pair easily) you will end up with 1 male, 1 female pair of Convicts - the left out female will be harrassed/killed.

A pair of JDs and a pair of Convicts in a 48 by 18 inch tank will be pushing it. It could work, depending on the pair. It depends on the personality of the fish, though I'm inclined to believe it won't work.

A pair of JDs and 1 Convict would probably work if the JDs give it tankspace on the bottom to live.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

The tank is 48inches long by 18inches wide.
The JD's really are stick like glue together, not going anywhere alone. They even go under the same piece of wood to spend the night when the lights are out.

The convicts are weird. The female is always alone at her hiding spot and the other 2 (now im thinking they are 2 males) are also together. So only the female is agressive.

Hope i can hold it like this.

BUT... What do you recommend? Can i keep the JD's? and put maybe another kind of fish with them? They are now 3"-4" inch big.

Greetings and already thanks for the reply.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I personally do not reccomend keeping pairs in the same tank. It's a recipe for disaster.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I agree! The tank may not be big enough after all for two pairs of fish if they are both in an expansionist mood at the same time. It can be tried, but if it works, you have to keep watching since it is not likely to work forever. Convicts can be bizzare. I've seen two huge male convicts constantly cleaning the same spot together. I had a male convict that bred with one female and also with a second one on the other side of a pot out of sight of the first female. They raised their broods separately always keeping their distance frome ach other, until the fry got mixed together. Then they forgot whatever issues they had with each other and took care of the fry together and in subsequent spawns, they laid the eggs in the same plaque and the male fertilized them all.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Well there arent 2pairs in the tank.

1Pair of JD's at the moment
2male and 1female convicts

The JD's are continuesly together and the convicts are the 2 (possible) males together and the female is not comin near the males.

But thats what *** bin worried about. The fights.....

But can i keep the pair of JD's in my tank and put in some other fish (that i dont know, thats the question  ) so i have a tank that "could" do good.

Greetings


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

If you've got convicts and there's both sexes in the tank then you've got a pair.

If you plan to raise fry or watch the rearing process then you can only keep the pair in the tank.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Ok thx for the advice,

But its not my goal to raise the fry, if its there and they survive, then ill get them out and put them in a smaller tank *** got. Can give them to the local fish dealer here, but its not my goal.

I only want a nice tank built around my pair of JD's. Its decorative tank that is standing in my livingroom just for my joy to watch it. 

So you guys think the only fish who can live in my tank is only the pair of JD's. no other fish with them?

If its so ill try to get the convicts out again and only let the JD's in it.

Greetings


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

As a general concept, I agree that keeping a breeding pair with tankmates is a risky combination...

That said, I have kept a pair of 'full grown' Dempseys and a pair of 'full grown' Convicts together in a 75 gal (48" x 18") and they coexisted...

While there is never a guarantee anything will work when mixing Cichlids, especially pairs, there are some things we can do to increase our odds. I had a large piece of driftwood propped against a large rock just off center in the tank. This prevented the pairs from being able to see one another when they were in/at their cave/nest. Each pair had a cave/nest that was sized for them specifically. The 'door' to the cave/nest was pointed toward the outside corners of the tank. The larger/stronger pair (the Dempseys) had the larger side of the tank.

The Dempseys were the stronger pair and they acted like it, although they did not constantly harass the Convicts. The Convicts had their area and could utilize it freely, but when they crossed into 'Dempsey Territory' they were aggressively escorted out. Boundaries/Borders were rather quickly learned and they coexisted rather peacefully.

Both pairs bred regularly, raised their fry and as the fry grew and began to wonder the other pair would do away with them. When the pair became ready to spawn again they would usually eat the last of their previous brood of fry.

Oh, and there was also a 12" Black Ghost Knife in the tank that helped consume fry. He made himself at home in the Driftwood/Rock pile in the center of the tank. The only time the Dempsey pair paid any attention to the BGK is when they were defending their fry. The Convicts didn't show the BGK any aggression.

While there are times when fish act out of the ordinary... ordinarily with CA Cichlids (including Convicts) two males and one female (or the reverse) result in a pair and an abused odd fish...

This tank went on as described for abotu 9 months (all fish were adults from the start) until the Convict pair was removed and placed with a pair of Trimacs in attempts to recreate the same scene... The Trimacs were far less tolerant of the Convicts...


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Thanks again for the answer, im getting the point here.

So you say, if you choose to home a pair, stick with that one. So if i want the JD in my tank. I should only home them and maybe add other fish, but no pairs.

I can live with that, seeing the JD's are big fish when they reach adult and my 68g tank should be filled with just them. Maybe ill add some other fish but not as couples.

You got advice on what fish i could put in there who can handle a bit of JD agression?


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Good fish to add with the JD pair would be giant danios. They stay near the top, are active and fast (i.e. can escape the JDs). I have also keep tiger barbs with my JDs; however, only one remains. My friends have kept one femal convict with their pair of JDs, which i think is a cool addition as the females have bright colors on their bellies. I have also hear of keeping a femal salvini with a pair of JDs as they seem to like to stay in caves, however as you have the convicts might aswell stay with one of them.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Very much covers my question. Thx!!

Ill stick with my pair of JD's because i find them extremely beautiful (got a very nice dark,dark with blue dots couple) and ill leave the female convict with them as somekind of lone addon. Also had make a space for the convicts where the JD dont fit into when they are adult specially for the convict.

Grz


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

As I always ask, can you please post some pictures if possible. You can upload them on a website such as photo bucket and then copy and past the code into a post.

Thanks,
Matt


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Carmine said:


> So if i want the JD in my tank. I should only home them and maybe add other fish, but no pairs.


I can't speak for others... but this is not what I was suggesting...

A breeding pair does not want anything in the tank that threatens it's territory or it's babies... So the pair will want to suppress the opposition, if they easily can. If the opposition is a good fight, they may prefer to draw a line in the sand than spend the energy actually fighting it...

Animals make a lot of decisions based on the amount of energy it requres to acheive this compared to that... It is likely it would cost less energy for a pair of Dempseys to kill a lone female Convict one time than it would be to defend their territory/fry from that female every day over a long period...

Although the engery required for the Dempsey pair to kill the Convict pair may not balance out so well. They may find it less demanding to simply draw a line in the sand and defend that line...

A breeding pair essentially doesn't want anything else around. So the trick is to find balanced opposition... or no opposition at all...

^Everything above is in regards to keeping Cichlid tankmates... Dithers will be delt with differently. But basically if either of the Dempseys can catch a dither, they likely will... I don't care for dithers personally so I have limited experience with them, but in my limited experience the more decor I have the more vulnerable the dithers are... My cichlids like to lurk in the decor and shoot out at the dithers... but in a wide open tank the dithers go on alert as soon as the Cichlid approaches...


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Ok here are the pictures.

The tank is the same with the same decoration, only the Mbuna's are out of the tank and into another tank.
I made the tank that there are much hiding places in the back of the tank (even under all the rocks, there are tunnels)
And on the front side there are more swimming area's.
As i told before, the filter system puts out 6-7 times the tank in one hour.

Here 2 pics:

















Greetings


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Ok , here's my take on your situation. I agree with a lot of what Toby H says....you will likely have better luck with 1 pair of JD's and 1 pair of convicts. You can keep 1 pair of cichlids with a single larger/stronger fish, and you'll have the same balance of power as 2 pairs...but if the pair is stronger, the weaker single cichlid will likely have problems.

I do like dithers, and giant danios are among the best choice. But as Toby H points out....dithers need swimming room to evade any aggression. Too many cichlids present or too much clutter/decor....then the dithers won't do so well. Dithers also must be kept in enough numbers that a single fish can't be easily targeted....for giant danios that would be at least 8-10.

Here's what I'd do. If the 2 male convicts get along well, I'd get rid of the female convict. Then I'd also add some giant danios. That should give the Dempseys enough to keep them busy. Either that, or keep the female convict and add a female Salvini.

I've also kept 2 pairs of cichlids together...but only in a larger tank than yours.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Ah ok.

So more fish is allowed and better to balance the agression. Only the pair making with these fish is getting more agression in the tank.

I know they arent from the same area and stuff, but maybe i can put back some of those Mbuna cichlids also in the tank, meaning the more peacefull ones?? Or do you say no go on that!

Grz


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I've never tried mbuna with a pair of CA's, but they work very well with a large/dominant single fish---if the aquarium is setup correctly. To do that you need to have a very rocky area on one side (for the mbuna), a bit of wide open space--then a single cave or large piece of driftwood for the CA cichlid.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Well i have posted my tank here on the other page.

I can easily put back some mbuna's in the tank because the mbuna tank is just on the second floor of the house.
What i can tell as update that the JD's have make a spot under the first wood "bridge" their teritorry. The convict have made a place in the back behind the rocks, so they arent really seeing eachother if its not needed.

Got some more peacefull mbuna's that i can transfer again like: Yellow top, Metriaclima estherae, Metriaclima greshakei, Metriaclima hajomaylandi.

greetings


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Put in some Mbuna's yesterday and they doing well. Maybe its better for the JD and Convict to have a bit more fish in the tank. Ill see how it goes and can always spread the fish over the 2 tanks *** got.

Grz,


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

I like it, nice peice of wood, and i like th broken jug.

What is your background?

Thanks,
Matt


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

The background is a Juwel Structured Backgrounds STR 600.
Also the aquarium is a Juwel 300.

Untilnow they do good, but i think its better to get a bigger tank for this fish setup *** got.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Hello again,

Today *** ordered a new tank for my fish.
Its gonna be a 60"x22"x26" tank. Dont know what the gallons are here with you guys, but its rough 500liters here in Belgium. Its double the size of my tank now and i hope i can house my fish in there without a problem now.

Being:

1x pair of Dark Convicts
1x pair of Jack Dempseys
3x Yellow labs
2x Afra's
2x Estherae's
1x Greshakei
1x M. Hajomaylandi

I know the fact thats 2 pair of CA and the rest being Malawi's, but they sold the CA's to me as good company for my africans.... so they are gonna stay here now. Im already buying a bigger tank for them.

Can this work now?

Greetings,


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Any reaction?  

gz,


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

And here is a pic of the new tank im gonna buy for them.










I think it looks good already, now some decor and my lovly cichlids and its complete.


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

After measuring the tank today with the former owner i have the exact dimension.

Its 61" width x 22" depth x 27" high. So i guess its 135 US gallon?

Im so excited i cant wait to start putting the tank up. But i still need to wait to pick the tank up, because its in 1 piece so i need proper transport for it.

Should it be large enough for my africans and my pair of convict and JD??

Oh well ill keep you guys updated on the tank and fish.

Greetings


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

the tank and stand combo look great, very nice and clean look. I have not tried that combo of fish before but i think the tank should be fine size wise. However I am not sure how the JD and african cichlids will get along... are they together now? what is the agression like and in what directions?

Either was very nice tank and stand, I would be excited too.

Thanks,
Matt


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

They are in the tank together now yeah!

There is no aggression in the tank except my alfa male "Hayomaylandi" king of the tank goes after anyone.
The africans are all male, had them in pairs but lost all the woman. Thats whyi bought the new cichlids.

They are together for almost 2months now, with a short period when the africans where in another tank, but ppl here said it was maybe better to put the africans back with them instead of buying more CA's.

So now its gonna be 4 CA's and 8 Malawi's in a 135g tank. So i hope its gonna be alright.

Also i'm planning of making one side of the tank "rocky mountain" and the other side open with some wood. So *** got the 2 small biotops.

Greetings,


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

The two bio-topes sounds very cool. I hope it works out, keep us posted.

As you may know now the africans are best kept in groups with 1m to 4-5F which is why your females were killed. Opposed to CA where they form bonded pairs and kill any 3rd, 4th, or 5th wheels. I think your tank will be very intersting and I cannot wiat to see it set up and see how it goes down the road. In addition, i suspect your convicts (and maybe JDs) will breed in the tank and provide nice snacks for your african cichlids.

Either way, I really like the tank/stand combo.

Thanks,
Matt


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

Ill keep you updated.

But i need to say that for starters the african biotope is gonna be made and on the other side im gonna make a clear swim area first. Then when *** got more cash back  im gonna buy some nice looking driftwood to make up the other half of the tank.

So its a project thats gonna take just abit longer, but i wanna make it beautiful.

Greetings


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

While cash is low and you are waiting for the driftwood for the non-african side i would buy some terrecata pots from your local hardware/gardening store. and put them over on the side for the cons and JDs. They are really cheap and make great caves for CA cichlids.

Thanks,
Matt


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

The big ******* is in the living room. Took us 5 men to get it inside.

Now im gonna get started on getting the rock in there and the sand. Much work to do, but i love it!!!!!

Greetings,


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

And after 10hours of hard work and pain everywhere (felt of the chair getting sand in the tank...)
Here is the first result of the day!!!

Its not finished yet, but i am for today!  :thumb:










Its far from finished but i had to put back in my fish because i used all the water and filters from my previous tank. It was filled for 60% and the rest i added new fresh water.
Oh and the water isnt that yellow, its just my camera and the light who turned it yellow.

Work still to do:

1. Getting more rocks on the African side
2. More wood on the CA Side
3. Adding some plants in the middle

But so far i think its already a great tank and my fish are very pleased with the extra space they got now.

Greetings


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

And today the tank is much clearer then yesterday.
All fish looking good and getting settled in.

Was able to put in some nice rocks in the middle of the tank, so its now almost done for the rocks, only thing that is missing now is some driftwood that is gonna be placed beginning from the left and stops in the center between the center rocks.

But thats for after christmas because i think there are some "tank" gifts under that tree for me! 

Here an update picture of the tank.

http://pix.pixagogo.com/S56SBDtSVjQ...qNqNOKItXuQ2qGxBbWsQllIV9FHKD-6pJ/DSC00501JPG

Is there here anybody who can give me the exact measurements in inch and gallon?
The tank is 151-55-61 cm (lxdxh)


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

And this is how it should going to look like finally!

http://pix.pixagogo.com/S56SBDtSVjQ...1D2tSIBtmRPHwVPzH1pO4r1qjPcJExsO0/DSC00502jpg

Its not my best photoshop edit, but its just to give me an idea how im gonna make the tank look like.
Hope you guys also like it.

Greetings,


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## Carmine (Nov 30, 2009)

And another update.
Now im gonna give it a rest and start clearing the water how it should be.

Love the look of the yellow/darker kinda african river theme in the tank. Guess its not everybodies choice.









But i love it.

Greetings,


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