Convict Cichlid Tankmates & Compatability

Oscar
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Personally, I think the Convict Cichlid is a beautiful addition in an aquarium. I love the color the stripes, body structure and the fins. They swim all over the tank making them selves visible at all times. They are very active and alert fish. They are not that expensive too.
Its only that they are a bit rare down where I am. The only problem is their temperament.

Pleco
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They are bullies by nature and will pick on other fish. So when keeping these bad boys, you will need to be selective about tank mates. With these guys around, it gives me the impression of a prison environment. They attack mostly at night. They pick targets and usually next morning you will notice someone all bashed up or dead.

Convict Cichlid Care and Requirements

Freeze Dried Fish Food
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The Convict Cichlid fish are  tough and can survive is pretty bad conditions. Its body is well designed for combat and speed. It can well adjust in various kinds of environments from thick vegetation to open waters. These fish  like rocks, pipes, gravel and burrows. Sometimes, if you place a decoration in the tank, you can expect your convict to take ownership of it and chase all other fishes away from that spot.

Where water parameters are concerned, they appreciate a PH of 6.6 to 7.8 and temperature of 26 to 29 °C (79 to 84 °F). Although not fussy about water type like many fish, they will thrive in these conditions. They are also tolerant to higher levels of ammonia. But keep  changing the water often as a prolonged exposure to this toxic stuff causes irreparable damage to gills and organs which results in slow imminent death.

Raising Convict Cichlid Fry

Young Convict Cichlids
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Convict Cichlid care might not be as easy as you think, when it comes to raising the fry and minimizing casualties. When I started with my first batch of fry, after about a month or so, I separated the parents from them, so they could breed again. While observing the fry, I noticed that bullying was going on even among those tiny kids. Those that were big, got bigger and bigger and made life tough for the smaller ones. Large convict cichlids will take full advantage of their size and bully the hell out of the smaller ones. I observed that by separating the fry on basis of size, ensured that even the small weaker ones grow big. Glass partitions are real helpful with this stuff. As far as food is concerned, they appreciate a varied diet. I mostly feed them commercial pellets and occasionally, dried blood worms or tubifex worms.

How To Breed Convict Cichlid

Pair Of Convict Cichlids
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The Convict is a prolific breeder. If you have a pair, you are bound to have more convicts. These fish are not too picky about mates. Pairing up these fish is never a problem. Just keep a few and they will stake claim over territories and pair up, chasing other fish away from their nest.

During this stage, the Convict cichlid aggression level towards other fish, starts to increase. Convict cichlid tankmates can have a real hard time during this phase, and it only gets worse. When they lay eggs, they get even more aggressive and when the fry are free swimming they have to protect them, hence their aggression peaks to maximum, where they will seek and kill other tank mates. Hence a Convict cichlid tank, containing both genders, should be just for Convicts and nothing else.