Killer Cichlids

My pleco snape was killed by my convict cichlids...... I was handling my sisters dwarf hamster and then noticed snape.. He was upside down on the bottom of the tank.I was upset he had died but then I saw him twitch and I saw that something ripped his eyes out... The cichlids must have attacked him because he was cleaning the rocks too close to their eggs..

Sadly he died and I had to give him the big flush.. The cichlids will be getting th flush soon or what ever to get rid of them since no one I know wants them... Stupid cichlids.. he didn't do anything.. he never ate the fry...

sad day. Snape was my favorite.. He grew at least an inch since I bought him.. Now my tank is full of killers and I want them gone.. I'm probably going to sell the tank also.. I have no desire now to put effort and restock it

 

:'( we're sorry you lost Snape. The convicts instinctively are protective parents and not intentionally cruel. Flushing them would be though and I'd contact LFSs to see if you can trade them in for store credit, some will even do cash.

 

I know a place in town.. a little place.. I will see if he will take them off my hands. I wouldn't flush them.. that truly is cruel. But poor Snape.. I bet he was killed by my largest cichlid which was named... Dumbledore.. He and waffles(his female) recently hatched a mess of fry

Dumbledore killed Snape!


I might keep my tank.. It's just in the way right now.. We don't have a big house and my mom likes to rearrange the living room.. a lot. So this has been bugging her.

 

I brought the cichlids to my LFS and he took them.. I didn't want anything in exchange since I got them for free.

I am draining my tank as we speak so I can move it and get new substrate.. Rock and some of the stuff for plants to grow in.

 

It's the unfortunate thing about convicts, hence the name. They are so cute yet evil.
Sorry about your pleco. Central American cichlids are super aggressive especially when breeding.

 

Fish do not act out of stupidity or malice. They merely act as they have been programmed to do. It's our job to make sure we do our research and do not put combinations of fish in our tanks that will result in death or injury.

Convicts are well known to be among the most aggressive of cichlids.

I"m sorry for the poor pleco, but it wasn't the convicts' fault he was in there with them.

 

my convicts just had some more fry hatch, they killed a rosy minnow I had in there, I hope they leave my pleco alone!

 

All good reasons for US to do research on what we get, before we add something to our tanks.

Some folks like the aggressive fish, others like an active community tank, others love to have those fish that have personality.

What WE need to do is figure that out before we stock our tanks.

I think everyone has had the experience you just did in one way or another, and sounds like you took care of it the best way you could. NOW you will have a better idea of the type of fish you want to keep. I hope you do set your tank back up. Maybe start with a lovely fancy pleco, in memory of Snape! :;z

 

my convicts just had some more fry hatch, they killed a rosy minnow I had in there, I hope they leave my pleco alone!

I wouldn't count on it.

 

yea, even the least aggressive cichlids are pretty tough to keep fish around when mating and fry come into the picture.

 

I wonder if I could put my convicts in mt 72 gallon tank that houses African's?

 

I wonder if I could put my convicts in mt 72 gallon tank that houses African's?

Not unless you want dead africans.

I have a pair of these, and I love them to death, but once they spawn...they become the spawn....of... of... well, pick your favorite evil, diabolical character. They are fiercely protective of their fry, that is for sure.

This is my last set of fry, honestly. After this, the convicts go some place else.

 

so how does one care for convicts? do you just place them in a tank by themselves?

 

Yea, a lot of cichlids are recommended for species-only tanks, or only mixing with other cichlids from the same lake/river.

 

Convicts are extremely aggressive and shouldn't be kept with other fish. They have no hesitation to take on even an Oscar.

If you want to keep them with other species, be prepared for dead and/or eyeless fish.