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Do convict cichlids need to be a pair2007-11-24 23:11:11

Hi I was hoping to get a convict cichli ive read abotu them alot i like to educate myself but the info mentions a lot of tiem about a pair of convicts i was planning on gettoing one do i neeed to get two?

Answers:

No, you don't need to get two. Definitely get a male/female pair though if you do. You can have two males but make sure you have a large tank so they don't fight each other.

Just in case you don't know how to do this, the females are typically smaller and have red dots on their belly. Their fins are different but this is the easiest way to identify them.

Convict Cichlids breed very easily, so unless you're prepared to use them as feeders, give them away, or whatever, you probably shouldn't get a pair. I'm talking breeding easily, frequently, with large broods.

Cichlid breeding and rearing behavior is very interesting to observe. Convicts are about as easy as it gets if you want to watch this, just make sure you have an empty tank b/c they'll aggressively pursue other fish and probably kill them. I had a 30 gallon with a pair in it with catfish and plecos and they survived and had enough sense to stay away. Although it probably was a high stress environment for them.

One Convict in a tank is kind of uninteresting though. They're kind of aggressive so there are only a few types of fish of other species you can match them with.

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He he, if you want lots and lots and lots of baby convicts! ;) No they don't need to be in pairs or anything.

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Eric pretty much got everything down. Just make sure that if you do get a convict, that the rest of the fishes you put it in with are compatible with it. Sometimes they can get downright aggressive and harass some fish to death.