Rescued An Adorable Cichlid!

[PrincessKiara]

Sorry, I just had to do it. I saw an ADORABLE cichlid in a tiny tank teeming with feeder fish, both alive and dead (he was maybe 1.5" long and the biggest fish in there, and some sort of Apistogramma, I'm nearly sure) and couldn't stand the thought of him getting eaten, so shoot me, I bought the whole bag of feeders and gave 'em a two day soak in a tiny tank (all I had) with methylene blue and malachite green before I could take them to my school tank. It is quite small (5 gallon or so I'd say, but better than what they were in before), unfiltered, unheated and unaerated, but they seem to be eating well, although unsurprisingly "Jack" is behaving somewhat aggressively toward the livebearer ex-feeders.
I keep losing the smaller livebearers though. Some have shredded fins.
I don't want to lose "Jack" especially, but I cannot buy any equipment for this tank! I do 50% w/c's once every two days except on weekends, but they are not done with water conditioner as they don't have any at school and I barely have enough left for "my own" fish. Is there anything I can do to improve their chances?
One of the smaller livebearers has a raised black lump on his back, but it doesn't seem to bother him
If "Jack" pulls through, can he live with my angels?
He's a sort of light tan color with white underside and darker stripes running vertically down his sides.
Thanks in advance!
~PK.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I admire your compassion, but how many fish are in this temporary 5g and how did you cycle it to cope with this mass of new arrivals?

 

[Freedom]

The lives of those of us involved in rescue, chapter nth!
 
The best thing for the fish may be to post him for resale asap.  He definitely needs a proper tank, proper water, care, etc.  The other fish, too.  Use the $ to buy some proper supplies for the school tank, like water conditioner.

 

[PrincessKiara]

That's the thing though. I can't sell them or take them back to the store. If I take them back they will just resell them as feeders AGAIN, and these fish (with the possible exception of my mystery cichlid) are so cheap here that you can buy thirty or more for the equivalent of less than 50 US cents. That won't buy much! LOL

Even the "big" chain fish stores here are hole-in-the-wall places. I could gift the fish out to some classmates of mine, and wouldn't mind doing so since I know they will at least not forget about them, but first I must make sure they are parasite- and disease-free. I would like to keep "Jack" with my angels if at all possible, but I don't know if this is a good idea...how will I know when he's healthy and it's safe to plop him in my community tank? Also what kind of fish is he? He looks just like this: 

But he is not blue; he's a very light, dull tan and his stripes are dark brown and completely straight. His fins are transparent. He has more stripes than this also, his underside is white and he is maybe 1" long.
 
I definitely want to rehome them soon. 20+ fish (some quite big) in an unfiltered and unaerated 5 gallon... *shudders* but what else could I do? They would all have been eaten or otherwise dead by now, they were in a tank this same size but with hundreds of other fish, not just 20 lol...With me they at least have a chance. They're in the lab, so many of my classmates have seen them and have asked me for one. I don't want to give them sick fish though! How do I make sure they are healthy? 
 
There were also many other cichlids just like him in the tank, but I chose him due to his larger size, the others were very tiny and to me that means a lessened chance of survival...am I right?
 
Thanks again in advance!
~PK.

 

[Ryan10]

If it is anything like the picture, that is a very aggressive fish you picked up.  He won't be able to live with your angels.  

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Why is this tank still without a filter (and some mature media)? 50% water changes every other day is not going to keep these fish alive in healthy water, especially when there are ~20 in something like a 5g! 

 

[PrincessKiara]

Because I can't buy one! :'( But what else could I do, leave them all to be fed to other fish assuming they didn't die from parasites or disease or kill each other first? They have a chance with me, at least! Jack is now in a tank with only the two tadpoles, he leaped out of the water and I picked him up off the floor, still alive but already with dry skin. I gave him a salt/methylene blue dip and put him with the tadpoles, his fins are still clamped from the stress of his jump and dip but he looks a bit better now. Lemme see if he's feeling photogenic today.
EDIT: He was!...sort of. Here he is. What is he? And what kinds of tadpoles are those?
 
Thanks again guys!

 

 

 

[sawickib]

That actually would be best for them, rather then being crammed in a unfiltered, ammonia ridden tank, that will stunt their growth and they will die slow and painful deaths, rather then quick ones, idk if its painless but its better than that.

 

[FTM22]

I would advise just giving them to your students. If they are sick, they will just get the others you are keeping them with sick, so it is best to give them to your students with a heads up! I don't know much about cichlids so I can't help with Jack but I'm sure he would have a better chance if you gave the others away! Great job rescuing them, I hope all turns out well.

 

[sawickib]

Well its not really rescuing them, if you dont support the trade of feeder fish "rescuing" them only brings in more feeders to replace them. That cichlid if its the species in the photo is a african cichlid and is a territorial fish, and im pretty sure needs a minimum of 55 gallons, not 5 with 20 other fish

 

[PrincessKiara]

Here are some pictures of Jack.
I have a 63 gallon to put him in once he's healthy, assuming he won't kill my three angels. This is the best pic I could get, he's stressed now, but he will be in there only until I'm sure putting him in my main 63g won't kill all my other fish. It's cycled, filtered, aerated, heated and heavily planted (mostly with floating plants), if that helps. 
What are the tadpoles, BTW?

 

[Ryan10]

Jack is a convict cichlid.  They are aggressive fish.  He is not a good choice to live with angels.

 

[PrincessKiara]

:'( Me likes him!

But me likes my angels too!
 
What were he and like 5 other, super tiny convicts doing in the feeder tank!?!? How do I care for him? Is there any chance at all that he might get along with my angels for a while, just until I can re-home him? Will I infect my other fish with all sorts of stuff if I put him in now? He looks round and fat and his skin, fins and eyes look smooth and clear. But he looks very, very stressed from the move and jump (which is understandable). I don't want him to die! He is so cute!
Will he kill my angels now if I put him in? They are definitely bigger than he is, he's just a baby!
 
Thank you for the ID though!
Anyone know the tadpoles' ID from the pics?

 

[sawickib]

i cant see any tadpoles...

 

[PrincessKiara]

Yeah, there's one in the bottom right of the last pic I posted, right behind Jack. There are two total, in the tank.