# fish for cleaning cons



## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

I currently have a male, female, and baby cons in a 29gal tank. i was wondering if there was a cleaner fish that woulld stand agenst a cons agression.On a side note I put in serpea tetras like the cookie cutter said and they all died or were missing in action with in a day of the fry free swimming.


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## conoholic (Nov 12, 2005)

try one of the smaller plecs


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

would some type of loach or catfish work i never really liked plecs


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

bump


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## Hubbynz (May 10, 2008)

I have a bristlenose....the cons chase him when they see him but no way near as agressive as when they were after my Dainos (only one left out of six). He pretty much hides out all day where they can't get him and then comes out at night when they are sleeping....so far so good.


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## poeticpyro (Jun 15, 2008)

no loaches....
they need to be kept in a group of 3+ and since the tank is already small...not good idea for them...

bristle nose pleco or rubber lipped plecos stay small (5-6") and do great jobs with algae and left over food...

you could also try a type of corydora...but once again they like to shoal...


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

Is it possible to add another female convict .I heard male cons are poligamous and it is just about tank looks empty now since they killied my serpea tetras.


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## poeticpyro (Jun 15, 2008)

my guess would be a no on the addition of another convict, but we'll see what other's say... i know that they can get pretty aggressive, mine even chased my JD into hiding until I restocked...

add a clean up crew for movement...

khuli loaches are good and will hide... they look like eels...what type of substrate?


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

i have a pebble like substrate. how many khuli loaches or corys would i be able to add?


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## poeticpyro (Jun 15, 2008)

khulis... probably 4-5 maybe 6...
cories... 3. depending on type...


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## poeticpyro (Jun 15, 2008)

** just make sure it's not the giant khuli loach.....those get too big...

the khulis i'm talking about are about 3" max...some are banded others are black... petsmart here has black ones really cheap! like $2 each.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

i am thinking either an albino cory or a emerald cory since loaches are a bit expensive


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## poeticpyro (Jun 15, 2008)

ok... they're cheap around here, but cories would do well!


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

Cory cats are more armored though so maybe they will do better


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

IME any fish you put in this tank will eventually be killed with few exceptions. Another female may work, but this situation usually leads to one of them being beaten up and possibly dieing . One thing that could work is a smaller growing pleco like a bristlenose or a rubberlip provided with a cavre that the cons cant follow into. Thing is you'll rarely see the pleco, and they will eat the fry once the lights go out. Breeding cons are notoriously violent to anything in their vacinity. Giant Danios may work as the are pretty fast and can generally get out of harms way but you'll still loose a few here and there. Cories are best kept in groups and would likely be murdered by the cons during spawning and while guarding fry. Since the pretty much all the time with cons you'll probably want to avoid tank mates till you can get another larger tank, or another tank for other fish.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

For the second female i was planning on useing one of the babies from this batch. I am gonig to place them in a grow out tank until i can tell sex.


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## poeticpyro (Jun 15, 2008)

joels... would the convicts even kill the khulis? they hide in the rocks...and under the substrate...


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

or perhaps another kind of agressive african or central american cichlid that would "hold its own"? i put in some more plants if that helps at all.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Khulis might work as long as they stay out of sight though they won't be completely safe . I've got cons breeding in my 55g (just spawned again today) and when they have free swimming fry, everything in there is forced to the other side of the tank. And thats with 2" cons.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

> or perhaps another kind of agressive african or central american cichlid that would "hold its own"? i put in some more plants if that helps at all.


Plants can help to break up the line of sight and give some cover so the tankmates can diappear, but whatever you put in there will get plenty of greif from the cons . Never underestimate the paternal instincts of convict parents , mine drive off fish many times their size.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

I don't think evan speedy fish will work because before the serpea tetras i tryed rather large tiger barbs (due to there semi agressiveness.) and they died as well.The funny thing about this is that the lfs guy said that 5 rams would work, i am glad i did not listen to him.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

You hear some crazy stuff at the LFS sometimes. I was at petsmart earlier today and heard an employee tell a customer that Oscars will do great with Mbuna. Fortunately I think the customer knew better cause she got this look of disbelief on her face and then politely told the employee that she'd just come back later. 
A 29g is really a bit small for the cons and anything else to live and play nice together especially if the cons are spawning. My advice is to get a bigger tank . 55g set ups are less than $170 complete with filters lights and heater at Wall Mart. Not Top shelf equipment but it does the job. That's what I'm running and it does the trick. Just something to consider . With that set up you could have room enough for the cons and some other tankmates.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

Unfortunatly i do not have the money or room for a 55 gal. I was just wondering if there was anything to fill up the tank without being killed by the cons. Can you post of list on what you suggest that I could possibly try.I probibly wont add anything else until i add more plants and/or rock structures .


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## Guest (Jun 20, 2008)

I would NOT get another female convict. I had 2 females and 1 male in a 29 with a lot of caves inside but the mother and father of the fry would up beating her to death. Poor convict never had a chance. They never let her alone.


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## Hubbynz (May 10, 2008)

hey LC5860......you can say that again


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Well in your 29g your probably best leaving things as they are. The aggression of the parent convicts in that size tank will most likely end up in the death of anything you add . Small plecos could possibly work but you wont see them often(bristlenose or rubberlip) , most cichlids that could handle them would grow too large for a 29g, and virtually all dithers will end up being killed eventually. Remember Those cons will get bigger and with males averaging 6" and females averaging 4-6" at maturity that tank won't look so empty once your fish grow up a bit. Plus with babies in there they will help make the tank look fuller and adding plants helps as well . Some baby cons will survive , so you'll end up with more fish. Just be patient :thumb: .


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

I currently have roughly 8 baby cons left and i think the female i pregnant again so i didnt think any of the babys would survive.


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## spuggychinch (Jun 16, 2008)

I've seen tanks in public aquaria where, cleaner fish being not, small to medium freshwater shrimps (Actinia spp?!!) have fill'd the niche.Try Googling freshwater shrimps for suitable species-They'd prob'ly need to be fairly substantial or the Cichlids will eat 'em.Worth a try anyway.
Quarantine them carefully tho'-they are notorious as disease-carriers... definitely don't take them from wild (there might be conservation issues too)


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

You'll likely have a few survivors from the last spawn , and if the female has a slightly fatter belly then she may be ready to spawn. Look for changes in color , and the pair digging and or cleaning a spot in the tank or glass. Mine get more intense color right before they spawn and turn very dark during the spawn.
As far as inverts. , crayfish are a possibility but shrimps will end up as food.


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## spuggychinch (Jun 16, 2008)

I'm not sure about the crayfish... they'll eat anything they can catch! What about Otocinclus spp?


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

Joels fish said:


> You'll likely have a few survivors from the last spawn , and if the female has a slightly fatter belly then she may be ready to spawn. Look for changes in color , and the pair digging and or cleaning a spot in the tank or glass. Mine get more intense color right before they spawn and turn very dark during the spawn.
> As far as inverts. , crayfish are a possibility but shrimps will end up as food.


what will happen to the babies that do surivive wil they eventually get killed by the male and female?


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

> I'm not sure about the crayfish... they'll eat anything they can catch! What about Otocinclus spp?


I only mentioned crayfish as an example for a tough invert. that could have a chance in a cichlid tank, IME all inverts end up as food at some point. Ottos like the plecos I mentioned would have to remain well hidden most of ther time to avoid becoming a snack , or just harassed to death. 


> what will happen to the babies that do surivive wil they eventually get killed by the male and female?


 It all depends really, some live just fine for long periods in the same tank as the parents , and some are chased into the corners. The bigger the parents are, the more likely they will not tolerate the fry for long. Each tank is different and each fish is different so you'll just have to see how things go, but remember that eventually you'll need to remove them due to the small size of your tank .Don't worry much though you've got a while till it becomes an issue.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

I was planning on removeing them on monday because i believe that will be about 2 weeks since they were free swimming. I am gonig to put them in a 15 gallon grow out tank.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

That's fine, though not really needed since the parents take good enough care of them. I wouldn't try re-introducing them to the 29g though because they would be treated as intruders once they grow up.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

ok sounds good thanks for the help. the only reson i am moveing them is to make sure that the parents do not eat them. two more questions. If i add con fry to the 15gal can i put molly fry in with them or will they be agressive at this yong age? also my male is a black con and my female is a marbal con will the babies be 50/50 or a mix.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

I cant say if they would be aggressive to the molly fry or not because I've never tried to mix fry from different species. My guess is that at some point as they grow the cons would show some aggression but I can't say how soon or how high the aggression would be. Some of the fry will likely show the marble traits and some will show the stripes. I can't say as to what proportion the mix will be but I'd say 50/50 is close though that can vary. With only a few survivors from the last batch There is no telling what numbers of each you'll have, you'll just have to wait and see.


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## hyposalinity (Apr 30, 2008)

I can't keep any algae eater or scavenger with my CON pair in a 29 gallon. They have killed off Plecos, Chinese Algae Eaters, Corys, etc. 29 gallon tank is too small IMO, not enough room for other fish to retreat to a neutral territory that CONs claim as theirs. As the fry get older and roam around the parents accompany them, so then the whole tank is their territory.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

what about snails would they work? of course they have to be bigger then the cons mouth though.


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## rjh5791 (Apr 26, 2008)

If so what kind of snail?


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

Snails of any appreciable size would likely be harrassed to death as well.
Ultimately a 29 gal. tank is barely large enough to house an adult pair of convicts with no other tankmates. If you're still intent on having other fish in there, it may be best to switch to something other than convicts.

BV


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