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tank mates for a 4 inch male convict?

Need to know what size aquarium first ... if he's on his own in anything under a 30 gallon, I'd leave him there as he's probably used to having the entire tank as his territory ...

Even in a larger aquarium (say a 55 or bigger) chances are he'll be a tad annoyed at having to share what was his exclusive domain with something else. However, if that something else is a female Convict, and you introduce them carefully, he could accept that ... having to turn over part of his bachelor pad to a lady being the price he gets to pay for being able to fill the world with lots of little junior Convicts.

However, if the introduction is handled carefully, I suspect he'll forget all about being a lone bachelor in his watery condo once he discovers the fun of having a regular girlfriend

If you're not thinking of breeding anything, then the situation becomes more complex. Because you can't use the lure of a fothcoming wedding night to distract him from the fact that part of his domain is being taken over by some interloper(s). Before suggesting possible other Cichlids to live with him, though, I'd need tank size data. It's perfectly possible to have a Convict and several other feisty Cichlids living together, but they need space if you're going to pull it off with only occasional flaring of fins taking place. Wouldn't chance it in less than a 55, and for a decent community of medium sized Central American Cichlids, I'd be looking at a 90 or up.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

he died

Sorry to hear that.

sorry for your loss

Cheers
TW