I need advice on my Convicts!

[TwoStonedBirds]

Hello, i recently just bought two convict cichlid fry one of which i bought a week before. The first one (Mickey) i bought seemed like a super happy little guy. Then when i put the new one (Tony) in they seems to be fine, until Tony started getting comfortable, not he chases Mickey around the tank like crazy! I put some more accessories in the tank for hiding spots but its not really working. I am wondering will Tony kill Mickey? or is it common? Thanks in advance for all the help

-Blair

[mikebike]

Yes it is normal Convict behavior.

I like to think Convicts got their name as they act like Convicts.

They are very territorial. I have had convicts die of stress.

You are doing the right thing by providing hiding places.

If you want to come to S Surrey I can give you more convicts<G>

[mcrocker]

Yes, it might be worth adding some more of them to reduce the aggression, or at least spread it around a bit more. However, once you get a male and female paired up, the aggression will probably become much worse than what you have seen so far. You will have the pair in one end of the tank, and all the others cowering in the other end. Once you have a male and female though, you should end up with as a many convicts as you need.

I, for one, find them to be cool little fish, and watching them breed/raise their young was what got me really interested in this hobby. You have to accept the fact that within a group, they will never really be peaceful with each other. They are also extremely hardy, so they can handle the stress pretty well.

[TwoStonedBirds]

thanks both of you for your good advice! I will have a 20 gallon for just the convicts no other fish in it unless you guys have any suggestions on other fight that might be tough enough and able to fit into the 20 gallon

[mikebike]

I have a 20 gallon tall with 2 pair of Convicts hatching broods all the time.
I will have as many as 4 generations in the tank between harvesting.

I have to remove everything from the tank and then use drilled plastic sheet to herd them into a corner for netting.

I have plants in the center to suppurate their territory and it seems to work the fri ignore who's territory they are on.

The parents have clay flower post to lay the eggs in.