Topic: Convicts and firemouths

[Ezekial]

I have a similar post in american cichlids but was wondering if a pair of convicts and a pair of firemouths would work in a 60 gallon tank?  Or would it be better just to do a species tank, all convicts or all firemouths?  Part of my problem is the tank is only 3 ft long but deeper and taller than a standard 55 gallon.  Thanks for the advice.

[wullie]

i would wait until someone who has a little more experiance with convicts gives you more advice but i had convicts with firemouths and it was ok for a month or 2 then the convicts started to bully the firemouths quite badly. also when the convicts start to breed (and they will,,,,,,,,,,,,lol) you might find 3 feet just a little to short for your brooding convicts.

[JC]

I'd think that in a 60g tank you'd probably be ok. As long as you had enough  hiding spaces and caves for everyone, they really should be able to share that space. And even if that didn't work then you  still have enough volume to put in a separator if need be and camouflage it with artificial plants if you just can't stand the unsightliness of them.   Are you sure you want to put up with all them babies though? lol

[fnesr]

should be fine in my opinion (actually a pretty good combo).

[Dan]

You should be fine with that, but, if you don't want all those fry,  I would suggest maybe just 1 Con, 2 Firemouths and maybe a bottom feeder or 2, with some dithers like Giant Danios.  Good luck.

[Ezekial]

thanks for the replies.  I will have two pleco's in there as well and they are both good sized.  I am actually thinking of severums as well with some community fish.  I probably won't do anything for awhile because we may be moving so no sense in getting new fish now and then have to put them through the stress of moving in month. 

[Gerry]

.  I am actually thinking of severums as well with some community fish. 

I would think twice about that,,I have a 2" red sev and he is a mean little bugger.

[Ezekial]

I was under the impression that Severums were relatively peaceful considering they are cichlids.  Thanks for the heads up Gerry.  I still am exploring my options and am considering going with something that is more peaceful to avoid the major problems of aggression and territory. 

[wacked]

well id go with the convict firemouth thing its easy when they small as they grow they'll have their set territories and rarely have a conflicts ,i had that set up before the only time they used to fight was when the babies swam in the others territory it worked out well imo
i wouldn't really choose sevs if you want peaceful fish ,with my xperiance with them they usually didn't fit in a community tank rainbow cichlids are cool fish they dnt get big and they arnt aggressive and every once in awhile youll get a flash of colour on their dorsal fin i also keep those with cons try em 

[JC]

Though severums can be mean, sometimes it's the luck of the draw. I'd personaly be goign with that rather than cons and firemouths since both those fish are great hiders and in my personal experience, didn't make for a whole lot of movement in the tank. Even just a pair of severums would be spectacular in a 60g since they are very much very visually appealing fish and substantial enough to draw the eye

[Dan]

I agrre with JC about Severums. I had a pair of T Severums and they were not only Beautiful, but extremely owner friendly also. They come right up to the top like Oscars do. I'd go with Severums and maybe 1 Firemouth or and kind of mixture of both.

[Gerry]

The sevs are nice and do have some personality,,I was just warning about community (normal) wise.

 or do you all mean a community of cichlids?

I don't think I made my post to clear   I would have a couple of sevs over a community (normal) any day

[Ezekial]

I'm just really exploring my options at this point.  I was thinking sev's with community fish (tetras, etc) not a community cichlid tank.  I like severums especially once they are bigger and they're colors come out better.  What about a pair of Sev's (one gold, one green) and a firemouth like JC said?  Would that work?  I still have the fish listed below and will keep them as long as they survive.  If the cichlids don't kill them i might add to the columbian tetras so they are more of a school (total of 4-5)  They are actually built too big for sev's or firemouths to eat until they near full size for sure.  Thanks for the replies. 

I talked to the guy at the lfs and they have some options for obtaining different kinds of fish so i'm just doing a bunch of research to decide what i want.  Like i said i would like to have a more peaceful tank if possible with more fish so am really considering the dwarf cichlids in the archocentrus species.  Not real sure how peaceful they are.  I realize severums get bigger but they are relatively mellow from what i understand. 

[Gerry]

trust my luck to get the only mean sev on the planet    he hounds my o who is now slightly bigger than him    he's a little red sev so may be thats the devil    in him ha ha

Best of luck with yours

[JC]

A pair of sevs and a firemouth would possibly work though I"d keep an eye on the firemouth myself they are bold little buggers and think they are much bigger than they actually are. I had no problems keeping one in a neon community tank, but as soon as there were other cichlids around him, holy cow he was insane! lol

I rather like your idea of that and the columbian tetras though, that's something I think would look really interesting 

trust my luck to get the only mean sev on the planet he hounds my o who is now slightly bigger than him he's a little red sev so may be thats the devil in him ha ha

Gerry, you're not the first to mention that about a red sev  . I think those are supposed to normally be on the slightly more neurotic scale hehe  Too bad cause I really would have liked one but I dont' think I could wing it