Alcatraz

[Bri]

Best name i could come up with for a Convict Cichlid Tank (sorry)

This weekend has been a busy one, hence the lack of initial photos but here we go.....

The 2ft tank that housed my red eye tetras was shut down and rescaped following a mystery illness which wiped them all out.

All subtstrate has been removed and replaced.

New specs are are follows....

Tank: 2ft Non-branded tank, approx 66 litres
Substrate: Zolux granite black & Dorset Pea Gravel as a base dressed with a Zolux/Pets at Home White sand mix.
Furniture: Large piece of Granite off Tony, various sizes of bogwood with well established Anubias (nana golden & petites)
Plants: All from the previous setup, trimmed and tidied (exact list to be added later)
Filtration: Filter from previous setup with the spray bar removed to give a more direct flow for the Convicts.
Livestock: 5 Juvenile Convict Cichlids
Ferts: Daily addition, mon-fri of APFUK mix
CO2: Tetra Optimat System - i wasnt going to use this but i had it spare so why not :)

The granite has been GENTLY placed against the glass in the corner to provide height in the tank and shelter for the fish, the largest piece of bogwood has been wedged in next to it to carry the design across the tank and again provide more shade for the fish. The remaining pieces of wod have been arranged to tidy up a corner and provide a cave-type entrance.

Plants have been arrange in no particular fashion other than to soften the bottom edge of the granite.

Tank water is a generous mix of boiled kettle water, treated tap water and a bucket of water out of the Rio 240 for good measure.

Tank temp was holding at 26deg at the last check, an update on this will follow tonight.

Pics to follow.

[Bri]

Pic Time.

Just the one for the moment.



It would also appear that one of the Convicts has escaped, MIA etc, It's nowhere to be seen and without lifting things up and disturbing the others im going to assume it didnt make the trip over and has perished. I'll be keeping a close eye on the others though for any deterioration, they had a few flakes of New Era tonight and yummed it up so for the moment i shall assume they're happy and well

[Bri]

OK, a couple more lol.

Here's 3 of the convicts that seemed to be quite interested by the red light on the camera and came for a look :)

[ghostsword]

They look very cute. How big do they grow?


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[Bri]

They're currently around half an inch, the cichlid forum say they grow to a max size of 6" but others say more like 4-5"

Either way, if they get too big for their tank they'll have to be rehomed.

[Sparkyweasel]

They certainly are cute. Have you never had any Luis? They are lovely fish, and full of personality. I think 6" is the size they would reach in the wild, but a lot of tank-raised stock will not reach that size. Also when they start breeding they put their energy into that instead of growth, so if you let them breed as soon as they are ready you sometimes have a male grow to 3" and the female about 2" and then stop growing almost completely.
They are very territorial and aggresive for their size, so you have to be careful choosing any tankmates, but if you bear that in mind they are excellent.

[ghostsword]

I may have to buy a pair for a 50l tank, a school wants an extra tank. Do they go well with plants, or they a cave fish only?

They do look very cute.


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[Sparkyweasel]

They do bash plants about a bit, most rosette plants will be OK, especially if they get well rooted before the fish are added, or if the fish are small when you put them in, so the plants can root before the fish get big enough to do much damage. Stem plants suffer quite badly; at home you can replace them with cuttings from other tanks, maybe too much attention for a school tank? Hornwort will survive (having no roots) but it won't stay where you put it!
They should be OK with swords, Anubias, Java Fern etc. I've not tried them with mosses or crypts.

[ghostsword]

Thanks, I would have them with anubias and ferns on wood and rock.

I will research them further, but they seem like a good choice for a 50l tank.

[Alex]

Nice set up Bri, did you get them from Ferry Bridge?

There was a documentary on one of the documentary channels devoted to Cichlids and also the lakes they are from, most of them looked very barren, just rocky/sandy bottoms

Here's a link to some thing similar

http://www.youtube.com/user/OzAquaForums#p/u

[Bri]

Cheers Alex :) No i had them given from a guy that breeds them in Barnsley.

[Sparkyweasel]

Nice link, Alex, that was very enjoyable. A lot of those African Rift Valley cichlids are nice aquarium fish, but they do need specialist set-ups.

Convicts are much more adaptable, as they inhabit more varied habitats in the wild; some are quite bare rocky areas, but also weedy streams, rivers and backwaters over most of Central America.

[Bri]

Update time....

Been a while and boy have they grown, the biggest of the bunch has taken up residence in one of the coconut shells and dug through nearly an inch of sand to get to the glass, i think she is getting ready to breed. Trouble is in diggin out the sand or scooping up mouthfuls and spitting it out just outside the entrance she's covered the other shell lol.



Another one of the convicts has stayed white with black stripes and one of them has developed a blue colouration to the dorsal fin and red speckles on its belly, hard to get a pic of that one but if i do its a beautiful fish to look at :)

Bri.

[fishfan]

Bri - The one with the red speckles on the belly is a female. I currently have an ad on this forum for Convict Cichlid juveniles if you want to replace the one (or more) that you lost. These will be free to all good- home- providing- regulars on this site.  In that post I also give some general and welfare info eg a pair need AT LEAST 100 l tank. I made a biotope which is more wood and pebbles than plants for authenticity. They like to re-scape their home, which does include some up-rooting of plants over time. Not as much as Goldies however! LOL

They really are beautiful fascinating fish, full of character. I'm not just saying that as I have fry to home. I would rather the fry went to someone on here than to local fish retailers where they could end up anywhere.

Anyone interested, pm me.

[Bri]

Thanks for the sexing info :)

I forgot to post this when it happened but the missing convict made a reappearance a few weeks ago, strangely it emerged from its hiding place roughly the same size it was when it disappeared. But now, a few weeks on its growing well and as happy as its tankmates.

Being a fellow keeper, have you experienced their compatibility/suitability in a community tank environment? I say this because i have read that on their own (without other convicts) they are quite placid and friendly fish and as such suitable tankmates for other similar sized fish like Rams and smaller fish like tetras and danios.

If this is so i may consider giving one of them a home in the Rio 240 and add some more caves to provide shelter.