Compatibility Question

[Jaiden]

Just like the title says...What kind of problems would I expect from a 75 gal with 5 Pink Convicts, 2 Green Severums, 2 Flowerhorns and a Firemouth? Keep in mind, they are all under 2 1/2 inches right now. And I know Severums get huge and so do the Flowerhorns and I know I'm going to have to rearrange the occupants at some point. I'm just looking for input on others experiences with these fish and their compatibility together.

And before I get flamed, I had absolutely NO intentions of having anything more than the Convicts in this tank but hubby keeps coming home with more fish! I even forbid him from getting more but it didn't help...

 

[funkyhoney]

Other than the severums possibly getting too large the only problem you may encounter is them being bullied!

A lone firemouth shouldn't cause much aggression, but if it does it's fairly easy to relocate a single fish.

Unless the convicts breed (chance are they will) you won't have any deaths... well, you shouldn't have any deaths. But if they do, say goodbye to tankmates.

No idea about flowerhorns sorry

 

[Jaiden]

Yeah, I know Flowerhorns are a type of hybrid and not really for this section lol

So far, the only issues I've seen is one Severum chasing the other quite frequently...and last night one Flowerhorn was mouth-fighting (don't know what you'd call it) with one of the smaller Convicts. It didn't last long and was the only time I've seen an issue.

I'm thinking of rehoming 3 of the Convicts. I don't know. I hate when he comes home with fish. And he never puts much thought into what he gets.

 

[shroob]

In a 75 gallon, with (2 FH, 5 cons, 2 severums and a firemouth) there is only one outcome. One flowerhorn. There is a chance they may pair up if they are M/F and that will result in a species only tank even quicker. An adult male FH is probably one of the most aggressive fish there is, and in a 75 gallon will not tolerate any tankmates. They grow quickly so I would expect it to be around 7 months (at 2" now) before they mature and start beating badly on the other fish. It is possibe they will start before this time, but at around 7-9" they 'snap'.

I would try and rehome as many fish as possible as soon as possible. Also sit down with your husband and decide on a sensibe stocking together, try and make him understand that some fish just arn't nice.

 

[Jaiden]

I'll let him read this when he gets home lol

What bugs me even more than him coming home with random fish is the guy at our LFS that sells them to him knowing full well what we have. And he's not stupid, he knows what gets along with what. He just doesn't care. Ugh. But I guess this is the same guy that sold me my Convicts as baby "Parrots". Oh well. Sorry about the rant

So would it be better to just get rid of the 2 FH?

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

I'm going to give you advise based upon these fish being adults.

The convicts will breed, and they will take over about 1/4th of the tank. I have never seen a tank with a male and female convict in which they did not breed. You said you have 5 pink convicts, so this could mean that half of your tank would already be taken over by breeding convicts. 2 green severums and 2 flowerhorns will not be able to live in this space. I would suggest getting rid of the flower horns, because I dont like them, and because if you were to keep one, it would need the whole tank to itself. I would also suggest getting rid of the convicts, because they are really aggressive. Maybe you could keep one. The Firemouths tend to be less aggressive, but you have a lot of cichlids in that tank and I would think the firemouths would become the victim of aggression. I would suggest trading in the convicts and flowerhorns for some other types of fish, ones that are not cichlids. There may be potential problems with the severums and the firemouths so keep an eye on them. I would suggest getting other fish like silver dollars or some other types of schooling fish to make the open area of the tank seem more lively. Maybe even completely redo the tank with some more peaceful fish and create a nice thriving community. I'm not talking about tetras and little fish, but you could have some cool oddballs and some larger less aggressive cichlids.

 

[Jaiden]

See, I had a nice community tank with Tiger Barbs, Gold Barbs, an Angel and a bunch of Tetras. I threw these stupid little white fish in (still not 100% convinced of what they are lol) and I was told they would mature, pair up and kill the rest of the fish so I got rid of the Barbs, Angel and Tetras.

Right now, the largest fish in my tank is one of these white little "supposed" Convicts and it is not in the least bit aggressive. It does have it's little side of the tank and will chase others who come too close to it, but NOTHING compared to what happened when the Flowerhorns got shoved in there. When it was just the Convicts and Severums, it was really peaceful. They all got along great. Then the Firemouth got added. It was still peaceful, though. The Firemouth seems like a comical little fish. It's the 2nd smallest in there (one of the Convicts is smaller) but they still all got along great. Then these nasty little Flowerhorns came along and a fight erupted.

At the moment, everything is peaceful again. I've been watching them ALL day though and only ONE fish seems to have a huge chip on its shoulder and that's the larger, lighter colored Severum. And it's aggression is mostly directed at the other Severum...it will chase the Firemouth if it gets in the way, but that's it.

I don't know. I don't really want these Flowerhorns and that one Severum.

Just wanted to add...I know I've posted pics of these white little "Convicts"...but from all the pictures I've seen and compared them to...personally, I think they look exactly like Gold Severums without the gold And they aren't aggressive like everyone tells me they should be...

 

[8inary]

"I would suggest getting rid of the flower horns, because I dont like them"

Whilst I do not agree with this person's view in that if you have a fish that he does not like, that you should get rid, I would however agree that keeping two flowerhorns in that space will unfortunately cause issues.

A bigger tank is potentially on the cards?

 

[Jaiden]

Bigger tank? I've got two 75gal in my tiny little living room now lol

Just a thought but...joining my other thread with this one...would the Flowerhorns be ok with an adult Jack Dempsey? lol I know it's a long shot and would obviously be temporary...but worth asking

 

[8inary]

I have many similar types of fish, jack dempsey, also a blue jd, 2 flowerhorn, green terror, red spotted severum and many more.

I think most of the time these fish are all ok and then now and again, you will see one pushing the other away, I have not had any issues but then again I do have a big tank with plenty of caves, and drewlling areas (1000ltr tank).

I need to update the video below as I have more plants/caves etc but you can see some of the fish.

If you want to see these fish click (or copy/paste) this link


<a href="http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcC6bF_L0T4" target="_blank">http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcC6bF_L0T4</a>

 

[8inary]

Bigger tank? I've got two 75gal in my tiny little living room now lol

Just a thought but...joining my other thread with this one...would the Flowerhorns be ok with an adult Jack Dempsey? lol I know it's a long shot and would obviously be temporary...but worth asking

if you have two in your living room, then you still have your kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom to go with lol !

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

if you have two in your living room, then you still have your kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom to go with lol ! laugh.gif

I agree with you there...

Jaiden, can I see pictures of your "convict cichlids"? When they are younger they tend to be peaceful, once they pair up they become really aggressive. I had a pair that took over a whole 30 gallon tank and brutally attacked any other fish that came near. They even attacked my hand while doing water changes.

Around 5 years ago in my 55 gallon tank I had too many cichlids. What I found was that the cichlids all picked on one fish and beat it ruthlessly. I removed that one fish, in this case, a firemouth cichlid. Then the next day, the other cichlids decided to do the same to a rainbow cichlid. There is only aggression in cichlid tanks when each species feels that it's territory is being violated. If they all have enough room to themselves, then they will get along peacefully with minor conflicts. The problem you have with your tank will not be with the current situation, it will be when they reach adult size. As for keeping a JD with a flowerhorn, I do not know how it will work out.

 

[Jaiden]

I took a video of it awhile ago because I had a hard time taking pictures of them lol My tank has drastically changed since...looks nothing like that and the Cichlids are quite a bit bigger now.

http/smg.photobucket.com/albums/v296/kui...nt=DSCF0086.flv

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

Those are pink convicts. I noticed one seemed to have a deeper body than the others, that's because it may be a hybrid between a pink convict cichlid and a parrot I believe. I had one myself, and it was a male which I bred with a regular female pink convict. This is the breeding pair that took over my 30 gallon tank. As they get older, these fish will become aggressive, and will pair up. If they do not pair up, which means they are all one sex, then they will probably be more aggressive towards each other. You can tell males from females because when mature, the females will have orange coloring on their underside. Males will have elongated dorsal and anal fins.

Trust me though, those fish get aggressive when they start breeding and towards each other.

 

[cheesy feet]

Just like the title says...What kind of problems would I expect from a 75 gal with 5 Pink Convicts, 2 Green Severums, 2 Flowerhorns and a Firemouth? Keep in mind, they are all under 2 1/2 inches right now. And I know Severums get huge and so do the Flowerhorns and I know I'm going to have to rearrange the occupants at some point. I'm just looking for input on others experiences with these fish and their compatibility together.

And before I get flamed, I had absolutely NO intentions of having anything more than the Convicts in this tank but hubby keeps coming home with more fish! I even forbid him from getting more but it didn't help...

This has probably been said already but I haver no time to read the thread I'm afraid.Once the convicts pair off you will have to take them out the aquarium or else all will be killed, and you will also have to remove the flower horn as these are highly aggressive and will annihilate the firemouth and sevs, it will also probably start a death match with the convicts.Convicts and flowerhorns are both faster growers than sevs and meeki's as well so they will be in danger very, very soon.

Keep us updated.