Convicts - black & 'white'!

[Big Vine]

These series of threads I've had lately here in the cichlid section are a real trainwreck---blame it on me and my indecisiveness---so I must apologize. Actually, chalk it up to me wanting to create a setup that I really want in a tank that is, in reality, too small to handle it. There, I've admitted it.

(Choosing the salvini was in large part for the sake of doing something a little 'different.' They're beautiful fish, but I think I'd do them and myself a favor by passing on them for now and fitting them into my plans later on down the road...when I actually have the space and larger tanks to house them in).

So what happens now?
Yes, for real this time. No going back on this decision!

I've been really wanting a black convict lately, so my decision is to get a male black con and a few lighter-colored females (preferrably white with black stripes) and let a pair form.

I will house them long-term in my 55 gallon tank.

My only question is this...
Do you think it would be nuts to keep the female salvini in there?
(I'm thinking yes, but maybe someone else has a crystal ball that I'm not aware of).

Thanks for bearing with me as I come to grips with the limitations of my 55 gal. tank.
BV

 

[fish_chic]

i am not to sure, but i would think that if you have a pair form that they might become very aggressive towards the salvini female. exspecialty during mating and such. i dont dunno just my 2 cents.

 

[Fuzz16]

when cons breed...or when theres even a pair they becom very territorial. i had mine in a 20H and the male would jump out of the tank trying to attack me...
i would say nothing goes in with them if you want to see them. i ntheory though if the sals there first then they shouldnt bother him too much.
i tried it with a guppy...took the cons out and threw a guppy in, changed the tank around and the guppy lived at the top behind the filter and was never touched.

 

[Dino]

No crystal ball, just a Santa Scope that tell me when people have been naughty or nice.

With one male and 2-3 females what you would more than likely see is a pair forming and then that pair taking over half the tank.

If you must go there, I would use some type of visual barrier to cut down on line of sight, placed in the middle of the tank.

Once the pair formed, I would remove the excess convict females.

The "pair" of salvini should be fine in this set up.

 

[Big Vine]

Thanks guys, I'll keep the salvini 'pair' in there for a while and see how their next spawning attempt(s) go prior to making any stocking changes. As I mentioned in another thread, the male and female seem to be getting along a lot better now that I've removed the other 2 sals, so for now we'll just maintain the status quo.

BV

 

[FreddyJ]

Maybe the boy sal thought that his girlfriend was cheating on him with the other sals and so he got crazy and that's why he ate the babies and snubbed her for a little bit? That's the thing about cichlids, so much d-r-a-m-a. And they are such notorious wife-beaters...they make Ike Turner look like a saint.



Good luck!

 

[Big Vine]

I like that theory of yours, FreddyJ.
A lot of the time I wish she'd just turn around and beat him senseless, but I guess she's just too 'lady-like' for that sort of behavior.

BV

 

[Milo]

Maybe the boy sal thought that his girlfriend was cheating on him with the other sals and so he got crazy and that's why he ate the babies and snubbed her for a little bit? That's the thing about cichlids, so much d-r-a-m-a. And they are such notorious wife-beaters...they make Ike Turner look like a saint.

That is the funniest thing i ever heard!

 

[FreddyJ]

LOL Glad you enjoyed it.

Female cichlids haven't got onto that feminist bandwagon yet I suppose...... Poor things... If only there was a Susan-B-Anthony Cichlid.