capekate

Well, I went to Petsmart yesterday to pick up a few Pictus cats for my 55g tank and a roomie for my JD in the 29g.
So after looking at the Pictus and finding out they cost 10 dollars each and I needed at least two, decided that I couldnt afford it at the moment. But I really wanted a catfish for a bottom cleaner. So in the next tank were Pangasius cats.. and I thought hmm.. they are half the price of the Pictus so I picked up two of them. Wellll... long story short.. after doing research on them when i got home I realized I made the very big mistake of bringing home two Iridescent sharks!! Sometimes i wish they would use common names on those tags at the fishstore.... uggh. So after a night of worry for my little cardinal tetras, I am heading to the store and will be there when they open to return these guys asap! I saw some 'clown barbs' that really look very nice, a bit bigger than the tiger barbs of which they look like but are less aggressive.So think I will pick up three of them on the return.
Now.... on to the JD tank...
I bought a gorgeous female convict with beautiful red belly and blue tinted fins. I added her to the 29 with Jackie my female JD and Jackie immediately started harassing the convict and would not let up. The poor convict was so scared of Jackie and I felt so bad for her so I moved the convict to the 55 where she is very happy now and no one is bothering her or vice versa. I have decided that Jackie can not have any roommates and will have to have the tank to herself.

I have 2 questions
1).. any thoughts of adding another female convict? Im wondering if the two females will fight with each other or get along? Or should I get a male? Or is one convict ok by itself?
2) Any thoughts on adding a male or female JD in with Jackie? Or will they just fight? And should I just leave well enough alone in that tank?
Any advice on this would be appreciated!
thanks! ~ kate

Shawnie

awwwww poor kate..what a tramatic night for you!!! WOW on the price of the pictus...mine were 6 a piece...holy differences...as far as jackie the tank hog LOL, take her out, rearrange the tank, then put in the convict and then add her a bit later...are they relitively the same size? and do you have hiding places? it might just take them a bit to get along..and as far as a male convict, remember, they breed like rabbits! LOL and then jackie wont stand a chance against the convict combo...im sure jackie and the newbie can get along after some time acclimating to one another...jackie has had HER tank for so long shes feeling brave and will probably try to bully anyone put in..hence the redecorating

capekate

Hi Shawnie
Thanks for the reply... I really appreciate it.
Jackie is such a brat, Im not sure that redecorating is going to help. She already killed that steel blue apisto that I used to have in with her. Tho it was a little instigator and tried to bully Jackie all the time, til finally Jackie had enough. Seeing the look of terror in that poor Convicts eyes as Jackie harassed her, Im not sure that any changes in the tank will help. The convict would hide under nook in the driftwood and Jackie would try to get in there and take nips and fan her tail at her in aggression. Or it would try to hide under the bubble wand and Jackie would be right there trying to get her. I know that redecorating the tank usually does help with aggression, I believe like you mentioned.. that Jackie has just been so long in her own tank and is not about to share it with any other fish.
So she is just going to have to have the tank to herself I guess. She certainly doesnt seem to mind it at all.
What are your thoughts on another female convict? would two females get along ok in the 55? Plenty of driftwood and hiding places among plants, rocks etc etc.

Allie

2 females would get along as long as there are no males in sight.
This is the first I have ever heard of a convict being bullied. lol Trust me, if she is anything like the females we had she will be the boss before long.

Shawnie

female convicts are no way even close to agression like the males...but get a combo and watch out LOL ...and yes two females will get along...but again, jackie is boss ..my jd's are totally the opposite..very skittish...hence why the redecorating I thought might help...was just reading on the I SHARK..holy moly talk about misrepresenting at the fish store..totally awful that they wouldnt educate you on them instead of trying to make that all might buck...

capekate

g'morning Allie
Thank you for the input. I was really wondering if I can add another female, thanks so much for the advice. She is a beautiful convict and seems to be at peace with the other fish in my 55, that I would love to be able to add another female for her. You and Shawnie both have convicts and I was wondering if both the female and male convicts have the red belly? Im sure that I have a female, but really want to be totally sure before I get another.
This female who is the same size as Jackie never once tried to be the aggressor and did nothing but hide and swim away every time Jackie tried to take a bite out of her. And Jackie would open her mouth huge and really try to bite! OUCH! The convict right now is doing great in the 55 and has not bothered any of the tankmates. The Bolivian Ram did put its fins up and was challenging her but that was it and now no one is bothering each other.
btw the convict is about 2.5 inches now, same size as Jackie...

Shawnie

jackie has spunk!! ill give her that LOL and yes only the fems have red bellys...although I did read in a forum that wasnt even close to knowledgeable as fishlore, that someone had red on a male...I dont agree..males do get the hump on the forhead also..but not always visible and sometimes very visible...

EDIT: ALSO.. I have plenty of fry if ya are in need
already have stripes n all the flavors of a convict LOL

capekate

Yep I agree on the misrepresenting these I. Sharks! I would NEVER had got them had I known what they actually where! What a mess its going to be to try and bag these guys this am! Im not looking forward to that lol...
Thank you so much on the advice I can add another female convict!
Jackie will stay alone in her tank! lol... Unless you know if another female JD would get along with her? Im probably asking for trouble if I try that tho right?

Shawnie

I have jeanette about 2 months before I added my second jd...she was much bigger also...and I had no issues..they didnt hang out together for the first 2 weeks or so and now are inseparateable (sp) ...both jd's are timid tho and are in with oscars..although the oscars dont care about anything that they cant eat LOL

capekate

ohhhh? hmmmmm..... now that is a thought! How long before you are able to tell the gender on them?
YES Jackie has SPUNK! lol.... living up to her namesake I guess.. lol...

Allie

We had a female convict, Chicky for almost a year. She was super aggressive, she beat up the male all the time. She was a devil. We never had a male which was overly aggressive.

Shawnie

DSC05854.jpg

DSC05858.jpg heres some pics I just took....I have not a clue when you can sex them as they all look alike for now...they breed young as young as 1-2 inches ..and as fast as mine are growing, I would say within 5-6 more weeks I should be able to sex them LOL

capekate

Ohhh Shawnie they are so cute!
and thanks for the advice on adding another female JD. For now I think maybe I will wait til I try that idea with Jackie. And when I do, I will take Jackie out.. re arrange the tank add the new one and then Jackie and see how it goes.
So today... I will get three clown barbs (if the price is right). If they are too expensive I will get one female convict.
thanks for all your help! Now I know I can go to the fish store with confidence!