# Help Convicts and Jack Wont Get Along



## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

i have a male and female convict and a jack gender unknown i had them in a 10 gallon for like 3 weeks untill i got my new 40 gallon but in the 10 gallon the male and female would pick on the jd real bad so now i that i put them all in the 40 gallon they still pick on him any one know why ? please help


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## cichlidsrule16 (Sep 14, 2010)

Are your cons a pair, do ya know? Convicts can be very nasty fish if they wanna be, especially if they're a mating pair. Make sure you have lots of diff territories in your tank so your fish can claim their own.


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

my cons are a pair yes well i think im very new to this and i guess i have to buy more stuff for my tank


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

If your convicts are in fact a pair then remove the Jack Dempsey, a 40 gallon is not a suitable home for this cichlid unless it's a 40 gallon breeder them you may get away with keeping a pair of jacks in it. But for one do you know how to sex convicts? The female will have a orange belly while the male will have duller coloring and develop a hump along it's for head. A pair of convict cichlids and Jack Dempsey in a 40 gallon is not a good idea at all surely your Jack Dempsey will suffer from extreme stress, the constant beating from the cons will kill him or her. You need to re-home the JD before it suffers anymore damage or even death.


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok well what kind of fish can i have in there then my convicts i know how to determine the sex of convicts but the jack dempsey dosnt look like the jewled jacks i see everywhere but i bought this jack from the store so ok what do i do can i add another jd maybe? but the jd with the two cons are very agressive and im new to this so help


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

Well, you can have both pairs in there that's a very over stocked tank and surly issues will occur. I'd choose between a pair of Jack Dempsey or Convicts. You can also look into other fish if you remove both of these cichlids, just of the top of my head a 40gallon would be great for rainbow cichlids, Honduran red points, CryptoherosÃ‚Â nanoluteus. You could also have a single wet pet in there as well.


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

really overstocked the tank is hugh my fish are about 2 to 3 inches idk im new so wouldnt know issuses what kind ?? so i can have the cryptoheros nanolutes and a wet pet like a turtle ????


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

I ment to say can't sorry. Not a wet pet is a single aggressive cichlid like Midas, red devil, or flower horn. You do not want to keep these with other fish.


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok cool thanks


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## homerl (Jan 6, 2009)

I have a mating pair of convicts with mature flowerhorn male and rd female.The convicts have there space but do not challenge the bigger fish,convicts are smart that way.Everyone gets along fine with this setup. :thumb:


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok so i can keep my convicts any suggestions on me getting an oscar tiger but alil bigger then them


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

in a 40? definitely not.

For now, those convicts will have to be alone in the 40, because anything that comes near them is going to be beaten up badly. And the only fish that would stand up to that beating will easily outgrow a 40 gallon. Oscars get to 13"+, flowerhorns too, so do RDs and Midas'.

I would honestly leave the breeding pair alone, maybe try some giant danios up top for some activity in the tank. But I'd be safe about it personally


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok chubbs how bout this it seems so silly to have just the pair of cons in thids big tank what can i do to have more fish like im so mad i thiought 40 would at least hold more then 2 fish help please


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## ebjdftw (Aug 24, 2010)

it's just you have convicts, which when breeding can put a hurtin' on a whole tank. 40 gallon is a big fish tank, but cichlids are big fish. If you want a fish tank with lots of fish in them you may want to see if you like other tropical fish, or perhaps looking into dwarf cichlids. How long is your tank? you may be able to get away with 2 pairs of German Blues, or Bolivian Rams, both very pretty fish. You could even put tetras in with these fish and maybe some corys. Maybe this is more what you are looking for?


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

Well a 40 isn't exactly a "big" tank - it's not so much about your # of gallons as it is about how big your footprint is. (how long and how wide the tank is)

The 40 breeder is deep, but it isn't long enough for a fish to escape being harassed by the convicts without eventually ending up back in their territory.

You can do a school of giant danios as I said (they would roam the top of the tank), but cichlid wise, I'd avoid it because the convicts can get NASTY.

Another option would be a smaller pleco, a bristlenose or rubberlip, try to stick with the smaller variety


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok im going to upload the picture on here to show you how long yeah i know my jack is taking a beating and im going to rehome him to my 10 gallon would that be ok ok and those fish pretty nice man i was just hoping for a big variety thanks guys i am new to this fish thing and i want the best for them


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok this is my new tank im new to this so what do i do


Photo2650 by familyman413, on Flickr


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

Tha Jack Dempsey needs a 55 gallon, a 10 gallon will not work. Your honestly better off with out those convicts, you seem to want to keep other cichlids and have some variety but with convicts you can not have this. That 40 gallon can only hold the breeding pair of cons, none of the fish you have can go in there with them safely.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

agreed, dropping the cons might be your best bet if you want to have a variety...

Pair of firemouths, pair of kribs, bolivian or blue rams (i'd recommend bolivian because they're hardier), with cichlids like that you can do some upper area dithers....

If the tank is a 40 breeder which is 36" long,

I'd do...

1 pair of Firemouths
1 pair of bolivian rams
7-10 rummynose tetras

Make sure with this setup you have a bunch of driftwood, caves, and plants (the FMs like the wood, the rams like the plants, both like caves)

That's just my two cents...


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

Well personally I'd go with a pair Honduran red point or 4 Cryptoheros nanoluteus, is you want something rare I'd try Krobia sp. xingu 'orange spots great fish for tanks over 30 gallons.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

Nano Cichlids said:


> Well personally I'd go with a pair Honduran red point


Totally forgot about them, wonderful fish, but still might be a bit aggressive for what the OP is looking for, but they would DEFINITELY be worth it


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok cool again thank you guys as i am going to get another 40 and keep convicts in one would it be wise to have more convicts in the 40 i already have and im glad i found this forum


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

No I'd leave those two alone in the 40 they're in if I were you, and why not just get a 55/75 instead of another 40?


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

yeah i can get a 50 on craigslist here for 30 buks but id have to wait like a month just for a stand for it dang ok convicts will stay im just like man **** cons


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

You could always just take the convicts back to the lfs? But I'd go with that 50gallon stand on cragslist and either bulid or buy a stand :thumb:


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok i guys i finally got a red tiger despite some opinions and lol i put him in a 75 with my jack for right now and left cons alone when i first got the tiger i had to put him in my 40 for a lil and the con wasnt as of agressive crazy


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

You bought a Parachromis motaguensis? They get to a max of 28cms and are highly aggressive, you plan on keeping this with a Jack demoes in a 75 gallon? Personally I think this spells disaster.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

i think he might mean a red tiger oscar... but regardless of which fish it is, you're in for trouble down the road


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

Ahh that'd make more sence I was acutaly upset that he got himself a red tiger mota, there such beautiful fish but they only show there true beauty in a proper environment. But a red tiger Oscar would be much more common, I think it'd be possiable to put a Oscar alone in that 75 depending on the foot print.


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## familyman0810 (Oct 13, 2010)

ok footprint some one help with that definition i dont get that footprint? and yes a red tiger oscar.....thanks for help and jd trouble??? he will get eaten most likly i know!!! well i think i knowq lol


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## Nano Cichlids (Sep 19, 2010)

Footprint~ the dimensions of the length, width, and height of the tank multiplied together to get the volume.


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