# Violent Convict



## mikesven (Aug 9, 2010)

Hi There everybody, I have been reading on this site for a while but this is my first post. Recently I decided to get back into keeping an aquarium after taking a break for a few years. After cycling my new aquarium (20gal) I stocked it with 3 Pink Convicts. I purchased 2 that were around 1-1.5 inch, and one that I would say is closer to 3 inches. The person at the pet store told me there shouldn't be any problem keeping them in the same tank, but the larger fish has seemed to cause nothing but problems since. He was tormenting the two smaller fish so bad that I had quickly get togeather a second aquarium to move them into. After a few more weeks I purchased a bistle nose plecostomus that was also around 3 inchs to put in with the larger fish. After coming down stairs the next morning the pleco was scattered all over the tank. The pink convict had ripped it apart. Now I am wondering what I should do? Is there anything that I would be able to put in as a tank mate with this fish or am I better off to stop trying and just leave him in a tank to him self.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

You can try a 3"+ jack dempsey or green terror and make sure you have lots of caves or hiding stops and when you decide to add the new fish just move the caves or hiding spots around to different locations to give the new fish a better chance.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

dl88dl said:


> You can try a 3"+ jack dempsey or green terror and make sure you have lots of caves or hiding stops and when you decide to add the new fish just move the caves or hiding spots around to different locations to give the new fish a better chance.


This is bad advice. Both the recommended fish can get to be 10"-12" and require very large tanks. Changing around the hiding places can help with Lake Malawi mbuna and other haplochromines, but is much less effective for pair bonding species.

A 20 gallon tank will work for a mated pair of convicts, as long as you do plenty of water changes and get a larger tank as they grow. Even pink convicts are fairly easy to sex at fairly small size -- only females have the patch of reddish scales on their sides.

If you want an attractive, easy to breed cichlid with interesting behaviour that will do well in a 20 gallon tank, I'd recommended kribs (Pelvicachromis pulcher).


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

bae said:


> This is bad advice. Both the recommended fish can get to be 10"-12" and require very large tanks. Changing around the hiding places can help with Lake Malawi mbuna and other haplochromines, but is much less effective for pair bonding species.
> 
> A 20 gallon tank will work for a mated pair of convicts, as long as you do plenty of water changes and get a larger tank as they grow. Even pink convicts are fairly easy to sex at fairly small size -- only females have the patch of reddish scales on their sides.
> 
> If you want an attractive, easy to breed cichlid with interesting behaviour that will do well in a 20 gallon tank, I'd recommended kribs (Pelvicachromis pulcher).


Sorry I thought I read 120gal my bad. But I do have a mated pair of convicts in a 15gal long tank and they breed regularly but they have 2 caves one for the male and one for the female and they will only go in one cave when they are ready to breed. Even though they are mated pair they still establish some territory and moving the caves around might confuse the fish and gives a better chance for the new fish. My 135gal use to house some bad ass like convicts, red devils, green terrors, red terrors, jaguars and flowerhorns and they are lived together 
I do agree with you that the Kribs are better choice in the 20gal but sometimes when you have a fish and grew attached to it...it is hard to get rid of it so maybe finding a compatible mate is a better choice


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