FishJones

Hey all, would convict fish be a good hardy starter fish for a Central American aquarium? If not a convict, what would you recommend? Using Safe Start so hopefully the cycle won't be too long. Also too, would they do ok with the Jack Dempsey (the one fish I want)? Thanks all.

capekate

Hi Fishjones
SA Cichlids are terrific fish to keep! I have a SA tank due to my low pH level. What is your PH level? Most SA Cichlids prefer a lower PH.
Jack Dempseys are great fish, I have two that I really enjoy but they are pretty shy and tend to dart around the tank if I move suddenly. The convict would get along ok with them and IMO I would go with only one convict, as you will cut down on any aggression if you ended up with a mating pair of convicts. Are these fish for your 120g tank? You can add one oscar with them or some silver dollars and a SA catfish. Unfortunatly there are a lot of SA Cichlids you would not be able to add with the JD like, angels, Discus, cardinal tetras. Any other SA cichlids you are thinking about adding?

FishJones

Happy New Year Kate!! Thanks for the great advice, you are the best The two I wanted were the JD and an Oscar so that's cool you said the Oscar would work. Would 2 JDs and 2 Oscars be ok you think? I love those Silver Dollar fish too so cool you mentioned those. My PH is lower too, think it was like 6.6-6.8. Would Firemouth and Texas Cichlids be ok also? Saw where they said those were compatible. Do you think buying them all as juveniles will help down the road as far as aggresssion? Thanks Kate, take care!!

capekate

Happy New Year to you as well.
I have had firemouth cichlids in my 55 with the fish in my siggie with no problems. Only problem I saw was having two firemouths together. They would chase each other around. So I would suggest keeping only one firemouth in the tank an they should all get along great together. Not sure about the GT cichlid tho, as I have never kept them but I have also heard they can be kept with JDs and Oscars. I think that in your 120, 2 JDs and 2 Oscars would work but then I would forget about the silver dollars who grow very large. You can try a stock list of say:
2 Jds
2 Oscars
5 convicts.
OR:
2 Jds
2 Oscars
a SA catfish of some type
OR:
2 Jds
2 Oscars
2 Parrot Cichlids
OR: ( lol) the list keeps coming..
2 Jds
2 Oscars
1 firemouth cichlid.
for just a few stocking suggestions...

FishJones

Hey Kate!! Thanks, you are awesome-if the site owner is watching this, please give Kate and Lucy a raise, they deserve it!!! Thanks for the stocking tips. Like your parrot, JDs, and Oscar ones. Thanks again Kate!!

capekate

Thanks FishJones!
Did you hear that Mike? To get paid for doing what we love to do? heheh... No fishJones, we do it for the love of the hobby and thats enough for me!