# FEMALE convict cichlid tank-mates



## cs9584 (Aug 23, 2010)

I am relatively new to the cichlid trade.... I was at my LFS the other day getting a few new mbunas and asked the worker what other fish might go good with them. he recommended a female convict cichlid.... so i bought one.... it is about 1.5 - 2 inches long and hasn;t bothered any of my mbuna yet... they are in a 30 gal tall aquarium.... a total of 9 mbunas (all pretty young, with the largest being about 2 inches)... i am pretty much preparing myself for a 55 gal tank that i will either move my mbunas to.... or have a larger central/south american cichlid setup in the 55 and my 30 gal tall will be the mbuna tank... i have been researching convicts online and the only information i can find about aggression are about males or breeding pairs... nothing about a lone female... so any information about female convicts would be greatly appreciated.... with everything *** been reading about this fish i am thinking about taking her back to the LFS... but she is a beautiful addition to my tank so unless there will most likely be a problem i would like to keep her... if i do keep her, she will be separated from the mbunas in about 5 months when i get my new tank setup... please reply asap so i can know what to do!!!


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

I personally would move the africans to the 55 stat, because a 30 tall has a tiny footprint, height with them doesn't matter. The africans also have different ph and hardness requirements than the Convicts. I'd move the mbuna to the 55 and have a pair of cons in the 30 alone.

Females aren't usually too aggressive but at the same time, it depends on the personality of the fish


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## alanvickiuk (Jun 14, 2009)

i agree the mbunas will need the 55 otherwise you will have a lot of aggression issues with them most likely resulting in deaths

i have a pair of cons in a 120g with some dither fish and there is never wny aggression issues from them only them chasing away the other fish when they have spawned but never anything to vicious and *** never lost a fish or had any bites out of them either so far

id also like to add my small female is more aggressive then my larger male :thumb:


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## cs9584 (Aug 23, 2010)

thanks! *** decided that the mbunas will go to the 55 when i get it set up.. they are all pretty small right now so i think they will be fine for a little bit... but i dont want my 30 just for a pair of convicts... do you think it would be best to just take the convict back if this is the case? i was thinking about getting one of the larger central/south american cichlids to be alone (maybe with a pleco) in my 30... would that be a good idea? or would a 30 be too small? i was thinking maybe an oscar... maybe a fish that doesnt get that big, but sill pretty big... any suggestions? also when i get my 55 are there any bigger fish i could put with my mbunas? sorry about all the questions but im just getting started with cichlids and want all the info i can find!!!


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

An oscar would be way to big for your 30, I would sooner say some dwarf cichlids or angels because it's so high, and not a big footprint. with cichlids it's all about the length and width of the tank.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

Chubbs the Jellybean said:


> The africans also have different ph and hardness requirements than the Convicts.


100% total BS!! I am really getting pretty fed up with this myth :lol: I think I'm going to have to start a thread on pH and hardness of Central American waters with links to fish expeditions, water quality studies ect., with ACTUAL measurements taken from Central American waters. No made-up fish profiles will be allowed on this thread :lol: Of course Central America is a large enough area that there is quite a range, but the overwhelming vast majority of water bodies would fall with in the range of lake Malawi ---- and of course a number of lakes, rivers and lagoons that are far more basic and/or significantly harder.

***Regardless, strait tap water, declorinated, is almost always more then just fine for any aquarium strain Malawi or CA cichlid.

I think you should try the female con in the 55 with the mbuna. Chances are it will do just fine and if by chance it doesn't ----no big deal, remove it. Keep your 30 gal. for something else, but it's definately too small for an oscar or large CA.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

My bad, I've always been under the impression that Africans have a higher ph requirement simply because there is so much coral in the waters of most of the african lakes, since they used to be oceanic.

I just try to play it safe when giving advice, and I'm one to try to emulate the natural environment as much as possible, kind of an annoying obsession haha.

If it works, great! If not, you can move the fish out. But yeah, *** just noticed that when the ph is higher, my africans were happier.

To each his own


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## cs9584 (Aug 23, 2010)

ok thanks everyone!!! ya i just think ill see how it goes.... right now all the fish seem to be pretty happy and i really like the convict in my tank :thumb:


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## jacktexas (Oct 3, 2010)

def. can agree with no oscar in the tall 30. he will grow quickly and not be able to turn around in the tank.


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