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convict cichlid tank mate

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T

tyxwilkerson

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hello, i recently purchased a 29 gallon aquarium and originally stocked it with 8 tiger barbs and 1 convict cichlid and a few days later an impulse bought pictus catfish which i now intend to trade in to my LFS after doing much more research. they seemed to be doing fine at first but ive recently lost 3 of the barbs and they’re no wheres to be found in the tank so i can only imagine they were eaten. Does anyone have any ideas on recommendations on what i should stock it with?(keep in mind that i intend to trade in the pictus, and wouldnt be opposed to doing so with the barbs too if necessary . id really like to keep my convict)
 

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29 gallon is only just big enough for your convict. Convicts are mean as. Considering the size of your tank it looks like he will be by himself.
 
He seems to get along well the the bigger barbs though, the ones that can give a little aggression back to him per say. he really only picked on the smaller barbs, and doesnt mess with the pictus at all. i also dont know if i would count out the pictus as being the culprit of eaten barbs bc he was quite larger than the small tb’s.
 
The only tank mates that I have ever managed with Convict Cichlids is Tinfoil Barbs and a Bala Shark. The Convicts just couldn't get their heads around all that flashing Silver in front of them.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

The tiger barbs are hiding up the top in the corner, which suggests they are really stressed out. This could be from fear of being attacked by the pictus or convict, or from poor water quality. The convict doesn't look much bigger (2-3 times) than the tiger barbs and doesn't look full grown so it's unlikely to be the issue, although it could be but I don't think it is. Depending on how big the pictus is, that might be stressing the tiger barbs.

How long has the tank been set up for?
Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
if yes, what are the results in numbers?

How long have you had the fish for?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?
 
Colin_T said:
Hi and welcome to the forum :)

The tiger barbs are hiding up the top in the corner, which suggests they are really stressed out. This could be from fear of being attacked by the pictus or convict, or from poor water quality. The convict doesn't look much bigger (2-3 times) than the tiger barbs and doesn't look full grown so it's unlikely to be the issue, although it could be but I don't think it is. Depending on how big the pictus is, that might be stressing the tiger barbs.

How long has the tank been set up for?
Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
if yes, what are the results in numbers?

How long have you had the fish for?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?
Click to expand...
the tank was recently set up(over the past week) fish were added 2-3 days ago. correct the convict is a juvenile and so is the pictus(id say not even double most of the barbs size)i have not checked for ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,or ph but i will do so tomorrow to see if that is the problem.i did dechlorinate all water before adding it to the tank though.
 
Yeah I agree with Itiwhetu. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until you get the water tested for ammonia, nitrite and pH. After that, post the water test results and we can go from there. But at this stage, it is probably an ammonia problem due to being a newly set up tank.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Reduce your feeding too. Feed the fish 2-3 times a week until we know what is going on. Less food means less ammonia, and less stress on the fish. Don't worry, the fish won't starve.
 
Colin_T said:
Yeah I agree with Itiwhetu. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until you get the water tested for ammonia, nitrite and pH. After that, post the water test results and we can go from there. But at this stage, it is probably an ammonia problem due to being a newly set up tank.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Reduce your feeding too. Feed the fish 2-3 times a week until we know what is going on. Less food means less ammonia, and less stress on the fish. Don't worry, the fish won't starve.
Click to expand...
that may be part of the problem, i think i may have been overfeeding. ill start feeding them less and see if that helps
 
Do the water changes too though. If you have been feeding a lot, the water will already be bad. So water changes first, and reduce feeding until you get the water tested.
 
Colin_T said:
Do the water changes too though. If you have been feeding a lot, the water will already be bad. So water changes first, and reduce feeding until you get the water tested.
Click to expand...
yes i did, i did a water change somewhere’s between 50-75% just now. i was just saying for the future ill begin feeding less. going get water tested tomorrow
 
Colin_T said:
Yeah I agree with Itiwhetu. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until you get the water tested for ammonia, nitrite and pH. After that, post the water test results and we can go from there. But at this stage, it is probably an ammonia problem due to being a newly set up tank.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Reduce your feeding too. Feed the fish 2-3 times a week until we know what is going on. Less food means less ammonia, and less stress on the fish. Don't worry, the fish won't starve.
Click to expand...
Just got back from getting the water tested. Everything was good besides my pH which was high. I bought pH decrease and just added it to the aquarium. Do you have any idea how long it may take to see results? or should i keep bringing water to get tested daily?
 
Any idea what the pH was in numbers?

As a general rule you try not to modify/ adjust the pH of the water unless it is really high or really low. Then the safest way to do it is to add some pH adjuster to a bucket of water and aerate it for 24 hours to get the pH a bit closer to where you want. Then use that water for water changes. Over a period of weeks you slowly bring the pH up or down.

The other way to change the pH is to use reverse osmosis or distilled water mixed with tap water. However, this costs a bit more money if you have to buy the water.

When testing the pH of tap water, test the water straight away and then let the water stand for 24 hours before testing it again. The pH of tap water can be affected while in the water pipes and change when it is exposed to air.
 
Colin_T said:
Any idea what the pH was in numbers?

As a general rule you try not to modify/ adjust the pH of the water unless it is really high or really low. Then the safest way to do it is to add some pH adjuster to a bucket of water and aerate it for 24 hours to get the pH a bit closer to where you want. Then use that water for water changes. Over a period of weeks you slowly bring the pH up or down.

The other way to change the pH is to use reverse osmosis or distilled water mixed with tap water. However, this costs a bit more money if you have to buy the water.

When testing the pH of tap water, test the water straight away and then let the water stand for 24 hours before testing it again. The pH of tap water can be affected while in the water pipes and change when it is exposed to air.
Click to expand...
the pH was very high at 8.4, i added pH decrease to the aquarium before seeing your reply. would you advise me to do as you recommended and do 10-20% water changes every 2-3 days until the pH is where it should be?
 
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