# Adding to an adult Convict?



## Brew_cool (Dec 31, 2009)

Hi all,

I've had a pair or Convicts in my 60g for probably 10 years. The female of the pair died a few months back and so my male has had dominion over the whole tank ever since. 
The only other thing in there is my ancient plec who just shrugs off the 24/7 harrasment from the convict and gives him the occasional battering =)

Anyway my main question, is if im looking to restock a couple more CA cichlids, do i need to source adult fish from somewhere? All the LFS round here seem only to stock juvenile fish which i presume will not survive long with the convict? The male is about 5.5 inches long best guess.

I was thinkng perhaps a GT or a JD might be able to deal with the pressure if they can stay out of reach untill they grow a bit?

Thanks in advance!

ps, tank specs - 46.5L-20H-15W


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## Red Triangle (Mar 1, 2012)

You can have my 3-4 inch ******* Jewel. LOL, not CA, but it will always be too fast, if not well capable to fight off 5.5".


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## Red Triangle (Mar 1, 2012)

Honestly, though, I would put in three 3-4" Firemouth's for you 60 gal.


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## Astronotus Labiatus (Jun 25, 2011)

if you really care for him, than put another female convict.
If you don't, than drop the male convict and get a flowerhorn, it's beautiful, interacts and has strong personality.


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## Brew_cool (Dec 31, 2009)

OK thx for replies,

If I added another female, what would the minimum size I should look for?

Cheers


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## Elijah (Mar 30, 2011)

I would get the absolute largest female that I could find. Males convicts aren't picky when it comes to procreating, but, especially at his size, will be relentless to the female when he attempts to win her over (court her).

Since your convict has been in that tank practically alone for awhile and has dominion, he has already claimed the entire tank as his territory, if you add another cichlid, regardless of size, I can't see them living happily ever after; chances are that there will be discord in your tank.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

I'm sure this will stir up a debate...but I'd hit up the "mixed African" section for some tankmates. If you don't overload the tank, they'll do fine with your convict.


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## BigJag (Sep 26, 2011)

Elijah said:


> I would get the absolute largest female that I could find. Males convicts aren't picky when it comes to procreating, but, especially at his size, will be relentless to the female when he attempts to win her over (court her).
> 
> Since your convict has been in that tank practically alone for awhile and has dominion, he has already claimed the entire tank as his territory, if you add another cichlid, regardless of size, I can't see them living happily ever after; chances are that there will be discord in your tank.


 +1


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## Astronotus Labiatus (Jun 25, 2011)

i'm not against mixing african/american cichlids, but it needs to be done in larger fishtanks (more than 120 gallons).
For a 60 gallon you should not mix them, as when adults (4 inches or more) the'll claim the fish tank for themselves or they'll die trying.
If you add a female convict, it does not matter her size since you provide her a place to hide from your male convict, a place he can't enter and she can be comfortable and away from aggression until they get used to each other, they'll breed, that's what convicts do best.
Nothing is 100%, but i think it'll happen with the time.
Although, in your case, after keeping convicts for so long i'd just drop the male convict that you have and get a pair of blood parrots. you'll enjoy the experience and the change.
Anyways, good luck with your project!


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## Red Triangle (Mar 1, 2012)

I've found that full grown zebra danios in a school is a great distraction for my jewel and firemouth, so you might think to get 5 giant danios to even out the agro. BTW, I've never seen a full grown convict as fast as my jewel, and that being said, the danios are freaking rocket spazzers. Getting a school of distraction rockets that only cost a dollar at walmart (easily replaceable if one does get caught), a lil african that doesn't get over 2-4", and a section of the tank dedicated to caves that the convict will never be able to chase the african into, and I think you'll have a fun tank.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Quote "i'm not against mixing african/american cichlids, but it needs to be done in larger fishtanks (more than 120 gallons).
For a 60 gallon you should not mix them, as when adults (4 inches or more) the'll claim the fish tank for themselves or they'll die trying. "

---Not true, if you stay away from the most aggressive mbuna species. I've done it dozens of times. I wouldn't do it in anything smaller than a 55g, but you certainly don't need a 6 foot tank. You just can't have the number of mbuna that most people keep in a pure Malawi tank...which also isn't the best way to keep them either.

To the OP--Just read a little about mbuna, and learn the most aggressive species to avoid. In a "mixed African" tank, there may be hybrids...so just don't get them if you aren't pretty sure what they are.


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## Elijah (Mar 30, 2011)

I adopted a kenyi a while back, as a friend was going to flush him, so I ended up housing him in my 40 breeder with a pair of cons. I figured that they'd be able to handle him. Boy was I wrong. People say that despite tankmates, convicts will breed, but I haven't found that to be true in this case. My male con was a bit larger, but was still scared of the kenyi, and my female was forced to hide behind a cichlid stone the entire time.

Eventually, I removed the kenyi and sold him on Craigslist.


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## mattmean (Feb 9, 2012)

I think I can help. Get a female around 2"+ ideally, and it should be fine, use the modified divider you'll see in 'aquamojo's' breeding videos. Pretty much its that white egg crate type divider with cut outs, big enough for the female to past from side to side easily and small enough that the male cannot follow. It allows her to easily escape if aggression becomes to much. And it keeps the pheromones in the tank which will just encourage more breeding.


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## mattmean (Feb 9, 2012)

The video to help show u what i mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F56yiYOU ... re=related


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## elirn (Apr 14, 2009)

Great idea. I am going to give it a try with my salvini. Thanks for sharing your expertise.


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## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Quote "I adopted a kenyi...."

--You don't need to say anything else. They are one of the most aggressive mbuna species. They are hard to keep in a species tank that is only 4 foot. I'm not surprised that you had trouble. Had you tried a less aggressive Malawi species, the convicts probably would have been more of the problem. Usually even a single convict can handle themselves with the average tempered mbuna.


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## Polarbear69 (Mar 2, 2012)

Jack Dempseys, Salvini & firemouth are very good tankmates for Convicts. Had this combo for years. The secret is getting them together as juveniles with equal sizes. Sometimes established fish in a tank will attack newcomers because they already established their territory and don't want new fish in the tank to crowd them.


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