I have two convicts in a 39 gallon tank. What else would be good with them?

Question

I want to get something for the convict's tank. Is there any crab or shrimp that would be cool with them? Or any type of fish that would be compatible with them? I have a red belly piranha that eats only krill, but my luck he would make dinner of my convicts, what do you think?

Answer 1

Convicts are an aggresive species. Even more so when they breed. Something to keep in mind if you haven't kept cichlids before. Don't add the piranha. Maybe a festivum or a ram (german or bolivian)...or some geophagus species. Also keep in mind any other fish that is already in the tank. Cory Cats may be ok.

Answer 2

"This cichlid should only be kept with other tough centrals - NOT MALAWI CICHLIDS - this is not good for either. They can become very aggressive when they spawn and can also fight against much bigger cichlids. They are like rabbits, they spawn in almost any tank with enough water and take wonderful care of their fry. They have been known to attack the owner if they try to catch the fry. They're not suited for a society tank, because they'll estab;ish territory and start to breed and certainly kill other fish.

Convicts may become bold when another fish intrudes. A convict will attack or "Dance" with larger fish in their territory. Most of the time the intruder only receives a few bites as a warning to stay away.

Male convicts should not be put together (Unless the tank is 20gal or larger). Most of the time, the males will fight until one of them is seriously injured. Females can become very aggressive too if they have a nest or they just spawned.

For a fact cichlids are not to be kept with gouramis. I found out the hard way my convict cichlid was whoopin the tar out of it and the gourami was 5 times bigger than it. so point is they are not your community fish at that. - hobbist chris fuller

I have an 80 gallon tank with 12 different MALAWI CICHLIDS and one male convict. The convict is my favorite in the tank because of his personality. He spends most of the time in his cave, with his head sticking out, and he is one of the least aggersive fish in my tank. However, I wouldn't recommend keeping a spawning pair of convicts with MALAWI CICHLIDS because they will kill other fish to protect their fry."

I personally have two convicts in a 16 gallon tank with a jewel, a jack dempsey and two catfish. They all do just fine. Don't add a piranha, ram or any shrimp.

Answer 3

Cichlids are pretty much restricted to species-only tanks.