2pisces Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 is it safe to put young electric yellow cichlid with young red jewel cichlids, they r all about the same size I also have convicts. any advice on cichlids that might help me would b appreciated, I am new to cichlids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuri08 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yep you can house them fine together the convicts need different ph to the africans though and shouldnt really be housed with the others Ps welcome to the forum maybe introduce yourwelf in the welcome part :roey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pisces Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 thanks Zuri 08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pisces Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I have a big 6ft tank with Convicts...is there anything I can mix with them plz ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Most convicts come from water that is quite hard and not too dissimilar to that of the rift lakes of Africa, I'd be more concerned about the difference in pH for the Jewel which (AFAIK) is more of a riverine fish from neutral or slightly acidic waters (although in reality all three have been captive bred for countless generations and are tough as old boots and will do fine together with pH a little above 7). If you've got a breeding pair of convicts then I'd suggest getting rid of the females and just keeping a few males. In a tank that size I'd recommend keeping them with other Central American cichlids, like texas, midas/red devil, jag, nicaraguense, vieja, jack dempsey, salvini, firemouth, green terror, festae etc etc. yeah those last two are technically South American, but more similar to the CA's in terms of attitude and requirements... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pisces Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 thanks David We want to use the big tank as a community tank and we r putting 1 pair only in a smaller tank 2 breed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuri08 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Covicts come from more qcidic areas so should be housed with other american cichlids really.and the jewels are still african cichlids so should be housed with similar species.in a 6ft you could do a nice hap ta :slfg: nk ryanjury from here has some nice cichlids you could stock it with i would definetly go africans in a tank that size personally keep only male convicts and ur off :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Covicts come from more qcidic areas so should be housed with other american cichlids really.and the jewels are still african cichlids so should be housed with similar species When you say "similar species" are you referring to other riverine African cichlids, not rift lake fish like electric yellows? Not all cichlids from Africa come from lakes with hard water... As for convicts coming from soft water, have a look at the table on Page 3 of this link showing the water parameters in several Nicaraguan lakes where Convicts and many other similar Central American cichlids are found; http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=ichthynicar Yes I know they do have a wide range (although how much of that is due to mans involvement I'm not sure) and they can adapt to live in just about any sort of conditions, but they certainly not naturally a soft water species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pisces Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 We were not putting the Convicts in the same tank as the electric yellows or the red jewel cichlids We r not sure on what fish to house permanently in the big 6ft tank the Convicts r in there 4 now but as we set things up they mayb moved I will b playing it safe and asking lots of advice b4 I do anything thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuri08 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 The convicts do have a wide ph range but are mainly found in water 6.6 to 7.as for the jewels they are mainly found in ph upwards of 7.2 my stepfather worked in africa as a dive master and tour guide for 12 years.you could keep all the fish together including convicts as theyl adapt to there water.keep us updated with some pics :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Yup you are right you CAN keep em all together wanting to is another thing 2P has already said that they will not be kept together So 2P.... "Africans" come from a heap of places....lakes, rivers, swamps "Cichlids" come from the New World (Americas) or Old World (Africa) You have New World Cichlids ( Convicts) and Old World (yellows -lake & Red Jewels-River) Generally most people set a 6 ftr up as a habitat for cichlids of one region....hard to do sometimes here in the antipodes...but do able-as David R has suggested You can of course mix and match but be aware that some fish will not be in optimal conditions and this MAY lead to loss. or you MAY get away with it. Ask here and you will get mighty opinon ( that is why it is called a forum) pick what you think will work for you...and welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 ^ what he said. 2p, have a look at different species available and the kind of set up you would be able to build for them in your 6' and decide which one you prefer. I'd be inclined to go for either a central american community of mid sized fish (dempsey, convict, salvini, firemouth) with lots of rocks and sandy substrate or a soft water South American set up with earth eaters, angels, severum etc, sandy substrate and plenty of driftwood. But I am slightly biased towards New World species... The convicts do have a wide ph range but are mainly found in water 6.6 to 7. Reference please? Fishbase.org would suggest otherwise; http://fishbase.org/summary/Amatitlania-nigrofasciata.html "Environment: Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 7.0 - 8.0; dH range: 9 - 20" There are three recently described species in the genus Amatitlania (A. coatepeque, A. kanna, A. siquia, Schmitter-Soto, 2007) as well as other undescribed species (like the Hunduran Red Points) which would have once probably all been considered 'Convict Cichlids', so their natural range may not actually be as great as once thought. They are, however, often found in volcanic crater lakes, which are the very opposite of soft water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zuri08 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I dont have links because i have kept these fish for ages and they are mainly found in central america.BUT are found in alot of different regions where ph could be up to 7.2.i dont have to google a fish to know there origins. 2pisces you could have a mass of convicts in that tank and plant it with hardy plants and would look great There are lots of nice cichlids out there just choose the ones that catch your eye you could get some tropheus from smidey if he has some left :thup: Always research abit first though Looking forward to updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 i dont have to google a fish to know there origins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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