Cichlid question?

Question

How many months does a convict take to reach its full size? And when does a male convict start growing its hump? I actually have a male convict which i bought 5 months back when it was about less than 1" in size, I was not intrested in the fish, but the shopkeeper had only left with one, so he gave me that fish free along with something I purchased, Now it is more than 3" in size, and also had grown a prominent hump, its my favourite in the tank. Now I also have a green terror & some africans in the same tank (30g). Ive planned to shift the africans into another 75g, so the combination of a convict & a green terror(now 4") will be fine along with plecos & loaches(or corys) in the same 30g tank? Sometimes theres a conflict between convict & GT, will they be fine with some decent rockwork? Pleas give the answers to all the three questions

I am not really interested in breeding the convict, its a tough job every alternate month u'll have small fry and I only a single convict, moreover convict is a very rare fish here, no one buys it except cichlid owners, u can find them very scarce in the market.

Answer 1

I think you answered your own question about the hump :) As for reaching full size, well, fish more or less continue to grow (if they are healthy) through-out their lives. Of course, very slowly. At about 1 year of age they will have reached this approximate adult size, although they may continue to grow significantly over the next year. As for hump development, that depends on the fish and its diet, tank, etc; some within their first year and others not before their 3rd year.

All those fish in a 30 gallon is too much. You could keep a pair of convicts in a 30 gallons tank, but a green terror would need at least 40 gallons. Not to mention loaches, plecos and cories which will need much more room and will not be able to stay with the cichlids for long - green terrors and convicts can be mean SOBs.

So, no, they won't be fine in a 30 gallon tank, even with heavy rockwork; a 60 gallon tank would be the minimum if you wanted to keep them both in the same tank.

Answer 2

Convicts can mature to 6 inches in size. Most specimens avaiable today are captive breed and might not reach the 6 inches in length. The hump appears with age not with size. Older males will develope the hump while younger ones do not have it.

As far as combining all the fish you listed together here is your problem. Convicts are not suitiable for community tanks. Niether are green terrors. As the two fish grow they will fight as both are intolerent of other species as they mature. If your plecos are large they will be fine and only harrassed if the other two cichlids feel that it is in their space.

Convicts like a tank with gravel bottoms and rock hiding places no plants as they eat them unless you use floating ones for cover.

Green terrors like plants and roots to hide in with a fine gravel or sand for a bottom. They will use rocks but not as the convict does.

As far as how long it will take for your convict to reach its full size really depends on his diet, amount of water space, and how often you change the water. It sounds like you have gotten good growth out of him so far so I would assume you are feeding him well and your water is good.

We as breeders produce mature fish in 6 to 7 months. But we feed more and with a high protien diet, change water more often, and select the best specimens we have to grow.

I would suggest not only decent rock work with a cave or two for the convict but also some plants and roots for the terror, and for a time they will get along.

Good luck

Answer 3

Listen to Zoe, she's always right... ;)