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Ok, right now I have a 55 gallon with one severum (around 3.5 inches), a Jewel (around 2 inches or so), two convicts (each around 1.5 inches) and three small cory catfish. There are plenty of hiding places and swimming places, and everyone seems content. The convicts chase each other occasionally, the jewel is displaying bright red, and the bigger severum seems to be the king of the tank, like he knows he's the biggest fish. But will this work long-term? I need advice. Should I add? subtract?

i seriously worry about them attacking the corys at some point becasue my convicts attacked and killed my corys when they were breeding convicts get extremely nasty when breeding and the corys just dont have the the meaness to defend them selves

Last edited by LOACHESRCOOL at 28-Jun-2005 22:20

Well the first thing I'd do is definitely get the cories out of there. Their just not going to mix well with those cichlids and will most likely end up getting picked at if there's any territorial disputes or breeding aggression.
As far as the cichlids go I really don't like the ideal of the severum which can grow up to 8 inches but is usually thought of as a peaceful mild mannered cichlid in with the jewel cichlid that is considered one of the more aggressive cichlids. The convicts can also become very aggressive and territorial during breeding and thou they only get about 5 inches in size or very fiesty and can usually hold there on against larger fish. Your tank size and the potential size of these fish may also lead to problem. So, in the long term I'd say no this set up probably isn't going to work.

Last edited by Cichlid Keeper at 28-Jun-2005 22:36

Last edited by Cichlid Keeper at 29-Jun-2005 05:49

Like the others have said, the cories probably shouldn't be in there.

What will make a big difference with the remaining fish is if you have a M/F pair of cons. If so breeding time is going to cause some major problems.

Many people keep jewels in community-type cichlid tanks; I had one with a con in the past without problems. Agressive when breeding but I don't believe that's always the case when kept singly, it depends on the personality of the individual fish.

IME sevs can stick up for themselves. I don't know if this is always the case, but it seems to me the non-cichlid shaped fish (angels, sevs, etc) aren't the targets of agression. Again, this is only my experience. I have a sev, Cuban, GT, blue acara, and an angel together. The GT & acara have spawned a number of times; the only physical agression I've seen is between them Even with eggs or fry they didn't attack, just chased the other fish away from their territory.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

well i just had a bad experiance with a jewel. i put it in (1 1/2" with my oscar 4 ish" !!!bad idea!!!! my osacr thought it was meal time in the end i had to take the jewel back to the shop and un usually got a FULL credit note (first time ever) so i bought my oscar some white clouds to "play" with coz i think he was a bit upset with me that i took his "play thing" away

(what a child)

Ok here we go.............

Sexing your convicts are quite easy. Females have orange bellies and males do not. When they grow up males get quite a bit bigger and get a small bump on their head. I have a male and female in my 55 Gallon and they don't bother the other fish too much. They also are not much of a breading pair that these fish are known for. If you want to see my stocking list check out my profile.

I have never kept Sevs before but I know that they get to be about 8 inches and your tank is only about 12 wide. This doesn't really give this fish a lot of room to turn around.

The Jewl is an african not an american like the others. I have never really heard of too many people mixing african and american cichlids and it seems that most people tell you not too. It all really depends on your fish and how they handle them selves.

As everyone else has said the corys shouldn't be in there. If you want to have a bottem feeder try a pleco, pictus catfish, or maybe a Synodontis catfish. Be careful of the Synodontis and plecos though because some get quite big. I have a Featherfin that only get about 6 inches and he hangs with my cons in a 55 gal.

I hope I helped.

Last edited by Wingsdlc at 29-Jun-2005 19:30

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