Convict Cichlids With Cories?

I wanted to try my hand at cichlids and thought I would start with a convict. I currently have a 29 gallon tank w/ 4 cories, (I'm adding 2 more) and I was wondering if I could add 1 convict to the tank. Thanks in advance! P.S. If I can't have a convict should I try keyholes?

 

Keyholes are lovely! They are very peaceful, you could add a school too.
What kind of cories do you have?

 

bronze/albino.

 

I wouldn't do a convict in a 29 gallon. They are pretty aggressive and unless he's going to be the only fish in the tank may kill everything else depending on the individual personality. They really need a 36 inch tank minimum.

A keyhole would be a much better option. Should be peaceful and fine with a proper school of cories. Other options would be any of the other dwarf cichlids like bolivian rams, german rams, apistogrammas, laetacaras, or maybe a kribensis.

 

Definitely a Keyhole! Convicts can be quite aggressive with other fish.

 

so 1 keyhole and 6 cories? am I fully stocked? is a Firemouth out of the question? Sorry for all the questions. ops:

 

You could do a pair and a couple of mid dweller shoaling species or just the one and mid dweller shoaling species

But 8 of each species

 

I wouldn't doa firemouth in a 29

1 keyhole
8 aeneus corydoras
8-10 of some other schooling fish like skirt tetras, harlequin rasboras, cherry barbs, lemon tetras, etc

 

Any other cichlids instead of keyholes? Not dissing them, I just want to know my options.

BTW I don't really want to do a community tank with tetras and variety, I just want 1 interactive ''larger" cichlid and some cories, ('cause they're so darn cute.)

 

See my post in #4

 

here s a pic of the tank in case you are interested. I might add some more flowerpots.


Which of the cichlids you listed is largest? what about a female convict? I have read that they are far smaller than the males in comparison, about 4'' when fully grown.

 

Male bolivian rams can get pretty hefty. Same as laetacara dorsigera/curviceps. As well as the kribs.

Though I think the keyholes will be the biggest.

 

How can you determine the sex of a bolivian ram?

 

That's a more difficult question. The adult ones can be vented to figure it out. You can also look and see if adults have pointed ventral and analfins. If so it could be a male. Bolivians are notoriously hard to sex

 

Aww man, But like I said what about a female convict?

 

It would be a risk. I personally wouldn't do it with cories in a 29

 

Dou you think she would bully them?

 

Yes. Or kill them. No way to know for sure. Could be fine. Could end in disaster. Convicts are not predictable. If this was a 55 gallon or even a 40 gallon I'd say it is probably fine. But in a 29 gallon it's a risk.

 

I could get the cories a different tank I guess.

Is there another larger personable fish I could get besides a cichlid?

 

That would be a solution

Edit: How about a couple sunset thicklip gouramis. The ones I had would always eat out of my hand and let me pet them. Top dwellers so they should leave the cory's alone and they aren't anywhere near as aggressive

 

How big do those get? (sorry about double posting)

 

about 4 inches I believe. Maybe a little less. Similar size as the keyhole

 

Ok, I'll add that to the list of possibilities. Is there anything bigger I could have? I'm sorry for being so picky, I just really want to find the perfect fish. I really appreciate your help so far. Thank you for your patience.

 

It's not a problem. I'm not sure of any fish that gets over 4 inches I would feel comfortable putting in a 29 gallon long term. Maybe a bandit cichlid or a festivum? But that may be an awfully tight squeeze.

 

Oh well, I have to think about what is best for the fish. On most websites, (including Fishlore) people say it is fine to keep a Convict cichlid in a 29 or even a 20 gallon? Now I'm getting confused.

 

I try to stick with seriouslyfish and common sense when it comes to tank sizes. Convicts get up to 6 inches. They are also highly aggressive. I would not stick any 6 inch fish in a 29 gallon tank unless it was the only fish in the tank or I was trying to breed them. And even then I'm not sure that it's advisable. Just because you can stick one in there doesn't mean you should. If I looked hard enough I bet I could find a website saying I can put a common pleco in a 20 gallon as well.

I'll flag in some others though to give you a second opinion. TexasDomer Anders247 I believe anders actually has a convict in one of his tanks.

 

Seriously fish says that a 35''x 12'' is fine for a pair, so I would assume that I could keep 1 convict without any tank mates in a 30"x 12" tank.

 

A 29 gal tank would be the minimum for a convict with nothing else in the tank, but bigger is better. I wouldn't personally keep a single convict in a 29 gal - what a lonely life.

 

Oh well, dwarf cichlids it is!

 

Agreed with TD there.

I think a few paradise fish would be fine in this size tank.

 

I have a flamemouth cichlid with my cories, and he doesn't mind them. In my 72 gallon

 

I'm not trying to contradict you guys, I'm just playing "devil's advocate." How come it would be lonely for a convict to have no tank mates but for a betta or Oscar that would be perfectly fine? I thought convicts were aggressive fish that do best alone or with an equally big or bigger fish to keep the con in its place, therefore I would think that keeping it in a tank without other fish would be in its best interest and not just to please the owner. Sorry, I guess I really wanted a convict, their colors and personality are boisterous and charming and they act as though they're interested in what is going on outside the tank, I guess they will have to be my dream fish for now.

If I go with dwarf cichlids how many could I keep in the tank without cories? and how many could I have with cories? Thanks.

 

A sailfin mollies can get quite large. A spotting climbing perch looks cool.

If you really want convicts. Set up the ideal place for them and go for it.

 

A sailfin can get quite large. A spotting climbing perch looks cool.

Thanks but mollies are not really what I have in mind. Are spotted climbing perch rare in the hobby? (I've never seen one)

 

No way you can upgrade to a 30 long or 40 breeder so you can get the convict you want?

You'd only want one species of dwarf cichlid in a 29 gallon. But I honestly think you could do a m/f pair regardless of if you had cories or not. Most dwarf cichlids are far less aggressive than the convict.

Something else you could try (I've never tried it but seen others do it) is try and get 3 females. The problem with sexing dwarf cichlids is that it is near impossible until they are much more mature (other than apistos or german rams). But you'd have to keep a close eye on them and make sure the aggression is manageable.

 

Are spotted climbing perch rare in the hobby? (I've never seen one)

Probably won't see one at you LFS, but you can track them down online.

 

I'm not trying to contradict you guys, I'm just playing "devil's advocate." How come it would be lonely for a convict to have no tank mates but for a betta or Oscar that would be perfectly fine? I thought convicts were aggressive fish that do best alone or with an equally big or bigger fish to keep the con in its place, therefore I would think that keeping it in a tank without other fish would be in its best interest and not just to please the owner. Sorry, I guess I really wanted a convict, their colors and personality are boisterous and charming and they act as though they're interested in what is going on outside the tank, I guess they will have to be my dream fish for now.

If I go with dwarf cichlids how many could I keep in the tank without cories? and how many could I have with cories? Thanks.

You're comparing apples and oranges. Male bettas will kill female or male betta it is kept with. In the wild, they form their own territories that you can't replicate in most tanks.

It would be ideal to keep oscars together, but it's a similar case - oscars get very large and need a very large tank to be kept with other tank mates as they are territorial, and most tanks are much smaller than their territories would be in the wild.

I'm not saying that convicts have to be kept in pairs. In fact, I would recommend against it in most cases as they are prolific breeders, and it's very hard to find homes for fry as they are very common. I'm just saying I wouldn't keep a convict alone in a 29 gal tank as I think it's cruel to the fish. Keeping a single in a 40 breeder with dither fish would be much better.

 

Ok so your issue is with the tank size and not with the fact that the fish would be alone, I'm sorry I misunderstood you.

 

Well both. I think it should be kept with dither fish at the least, not alone. And a tank this size isn't big enough to keep it with other fish.

 

Ok, do you have any recommendations for cichlids that I could have? Maybe like a group of dwarf cichlids? or just 1 bigger fish?