the convicts made a jailbreak!

[mickey85]

Hee hee. This is the convict tank that I keep 2 of them in, a friend gave me three cons in a 10 gallon tank, and the little one was being really beaten up so I moved her to the 2.5 gallon tank for now, until I can find another home for her. Anyway, this is the tank:




And this is the male.



I must say, he's a lot more photogenic than the bettas are, but my camera still sux.

[abm]

Hey Mickey85,
What kind of car is that? ;D

I like your convicts! I have never heard of them before ::she admitted with embarrassment:: I assume they are named for their coloring? Are they easy to keep? How many can live together?

Thanks for posting the pics!

[palepinkvase]

Mickey - are those real rocks? How do you position them so there isn't a cave-in? I am curious I worry about entrapment with my Bettas, especially Scraggle Fin who woke me up last night because he was moving his marbles around (no joke) plus he is quite the "treasure hunter". Also, I will soon be setting up an aquarium where I work. It's main purpose is to grow and maintain Elodea, but I would like to put some fish in as well. Any suggestions you can throw my way would be greatly appreciated. I have been reading about setting up and maintaing an aquarium, but I admit that I am concerned. I wish it were as easy as throwing some fish in some water and adding food daily.

[Megan]

"Convicts" are actually Convict Cichlids. They probably did name them that for the stripes, though there are other varieties as well, pinks and golds that are solid colored w/out the stripes.

They are considered to be dwarf cichlids, and don't get very big... about three-four inches fully grown. They have the tendency to get pretty territorial once they pair up and decide to spawn, which explains why two of Mickeys were picking on the third. They will get very territorial and aggressive towards other fish species as well when they are spawning, or planning on spawning.

Theres not much risk of them getting stuck in the rocks. A lot of cichlid species like rocky, cave like environments. They come from places like that in the wild, where as bettas come from still, rice patties and slow moving streams.

I would say that a ten gallon tank would be the minimum size for a pair, and I wouldn't try putting any other fish in with them in a tank that small... if your thinking about setting a tank up at work, you might want to go with some less aggressive fish, that can "get along well with others".

[mickey85]

yeah, the convicts are Central american cichlids that are really, really territorial. The previous owner said that this pair already killed one of the others that he had in there. The rocks I got just from walking around, and yeah, they';re real rocks. I wouldn't reccomend it for bettas because some are sharp and could rip the fins, but for the females it's OK. THese guys burrow in the gravel for their nests, so ya gotta make sure that all your base rocks are on the glass itself instead of just sitting on the gravel otherwise they could burrow under them and crush themselves. I would reccomend getting 10 gallons per fish with these guys (at least, if you're breeding a pair and have some other ones, think maybe 55 gallons for 4 of them), though a pair seem to be OK together.

On another note, these guys are so mean that they scare the heck out of, and if the pair gangs up on it, can kill an oscar (12" or a little less).

The rocks I just carefully placed and ran the tank for a couple days jiggling it every once in a while. If one fell, I'd replace it and see if I could make it sturdier, but they really don't bother the rocks themselves. I gtg now, but if you have any more questions on them, I'll prolly be able to answer them.