Yellow Convicts

[Mrs.JP]

I read that they can be with livebarriers.. Has anyone tried this or does anyone have some.

[Gage]

they should be ok with most livebearers. not guppies or anything small, but sword tails and mollies are your best bets.

[Melody]

Personally I wouldn't put them with most Livebearers. Sometimes its recommended based on the similar environmental requirements. They might hold their own when the Convicts weren't breeding, but even then they'd be stressed. Livebearers can't take stress without it resulting in disease or sudden death. You could try the more aggressive varieties, like X. eiseni or A. splendens. Eiseni would set them off nicely.

[nathan u]

lol ummm convicts are convicts albino or not ::(:.

any livebearers will become tasty and possibly precious snacks.

personally wouldn't ever mix any cichlid with a livebearer really

[_Aaron_]

I would tend to agree with Nathan.

[Mrs.JP]

Thanks Guys.. I was reading up on them on FishProfiles so I figured I would see what some of you guys thought..Now there were a few other cichlids that mentioned community tank what do you think of these
Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid
Bolivian Butterfly or Bolivian Ram
Apistogramma Viejita

[_Aaron_]

Those 3 are much less aggressive & much better suited for a community setup.

I have had all of them in a community setup at one time or another without a single problem

[Gage]

i dont think hes talking about pink cons guys, i thought he was talking about Archocentrus nanoluteus (yellow dwarf), if your talking about pink cons (archocentrus nigrofasciatus) then no, no livebearers will live longer then a couple weeks max.[/URL][URL="http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=131"] (http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=131)

[nathan u]

in my experience couple hours would be a long time with convicts lol

[Mrs.JP]

Thanks Gage.. You are right the nanotuteus I have 4 different names for the first part LOL
Heros nanotuteus
Cichlasoma ""
Archocentrus ""
Cryptoheros ""

So Gage it is also called a Yellow Dwarf, thanks good to now..You should see me in a pet store with my lists of fish & plant names sometimes I just give the salesperson the list and see what happens..LOL

[Melody]

Keep in mind too that community isn't necessarily community. Cichlids marked as community can be housed with other fish of equal aggression and not kill each other. It doesn't mean they can be with community fish like Livebearers. The only Livebearers that should be housed with Cichlids are the more aggressive varieties as mentioned. Even if they survived, they'd be miserable, at which point you have to ask yourself who you're doing it for. Making any fish live with one that is more aggressive is going to cause stress and whether we want it to work or not, its not providing a humane environment. Surviving and thriving are two different things. :yes:

Glad to hear the questions being asked. You obviously care a great deal about what you're doing Mrs. JP :smile: . How about a straight Dwarf Cichlid tank? There's certainly enough beauties in that group to fill a space nicely. Otherwise, if you'd like to try the more aggressive Livebearers with Cichlids, Blainep breeds both suggested species, he ships, and I can personally recommend him from experience.

[Mrs.JP]

Thanks Melody. I already thought of the community thing, I thought it could mean a community of dwarf cichlids. Except for the yellow convict, get this, it's recommended that they are with SMALL livebearers... The more info I find is that I might have more of a problem with my mollies being too aggressive for the cichlid.. go figure.
I am still in research mode right now, there is no guarantee that I would be able too find the fish up north here. Fish are like fads up here. I am still kicking myself for not grabbing some upsidedown catfish a little over a year ago they haven't been in the stores since.

[Gage]

Thanks Gage.. You are right the nanotuteus I have 4 different names for the first part LOL
Heros nanotuteus
Cichlasoma ""
Archocentrus ""
Cryptoheros ""

So Gage it is also called a Yellow Dwarf, thanks good to now..You should see me in a pet store with my lists of fish & plant names sometimes I just give the salesperson the list and see what happens..LOL
yes, yellow dwarf is there common name :), which in that case im sticking with my first post, yellow dwarfs are very peaceful as compared to convicts, i think people thought u were talking about pink convicts, which is why they said no to ALL livebearers so quickly, as i said, swordtails are the best bet. a pair of these with some swords as dither would be a very good stock list maybe some catfish and stuff, a lot of people, as soon as they hear the word cichlid immediately think aggressive, which is not always the case, in this case, there may be a bit of chasing, but no deaths, they are like the good side of a convict (if they have one :lol:), if u want, sign up for cichlidforum.com in the forum section, they have a lot of very experienced people there, not that i think there isnt experienced people here, but a lot of people on cichlidforum have had 30 yrs + with cichlids and know exactly what they are doing.

[ChrissyFishy]

I put swordtails with dwarf cichlids and they didn't leave the swordtails alone. I read a lot of places that said I could and I tried it with 3 different kinds of dwarfs that are supposed to be nice and everytime they chased the swordtails and bit at their swords. I have dwarfs and other cichlids and livebearers and I know that dwarfs are supposed to be nicer and they are but not nice enough for my livebearers. If they chase them they will stress them like melody said but a lot of people don't care about that and as long as the other fish live they think its ok. Thats why people say its ok to have them together. I tried them with mollies to but thats all because they were the biggest livebearers I had. Good luck!!!!

[Melody]

but a lot of people on cichlidforum have had 30 yrs + with cichlids and know exactly what they are doing.


That's the problem actually...lol...they know Cichlids, they are primarily focused on Cichlids and they work their tanks around Cichlids. When it comes to Livebearers, they sometimes go researching, find some outdated info about Swordtails and Mollies being tough and sassy, and decide they'll be fine.

I know this because the old Swordtails and Sailfin Mollies were sassy buggers who would often take over a community tank. That's wild-types though. If you get a Sailfin Molly with a lot of wild-type in it, they can be a bit pushy but only if the tank is too small, in my experience. Domestic Swordtails aren't aggressive anymore because they have too much Platy in them and even when they were fiesty, it only got violent between males. Domestic Mollies aren't aggressive anymore because all of the retail level Mollies are a mix of two or more Molly species.

On top of all that, Livebearers used to be recommended as a tough fish. They are now considered hobby weaklings. They can't handle stress of any kind anymore. Hard to believe they were once recommended as cycle fish.

So basically, anyone who tells you that your mainstream Livebearers belong with Cichlids, probably don't know their Livebearers very well (which is understandable because there is so much conflicting information). They may survive, but the aggression levels will be tilted and they won't be in a good environment. If it doesn't matter to the person if some of the fish are stressed or not, they might hit it lucky and the Livebearer will live through it.

There was a time a few years ago that I wanted Apisto's and was told that some could be with my community fish. I was thrilled since they are so gorgeous and I wanted both. Then I spoke to a highly respected breeder of both so I could choose the right species, and he enlightened me. I didn't want to hear that...lol...so I kept digging but everytime I asked someone who was an authority on both, they told me no. I skipped it because they were all well known for their knowledge, so I can't say how it would have went. I would still like to have a tank of them one day though.

Great to hear everyone's opinions & experiences and like everything, I'm sure there are situational variances. Thanks for taking the time to post & I hope to hear some more.

Mrs. JP, the offer to scout and send you fish that you can't get up North always stands, so if you find something here by all means give me a shout. You can also ask Paul at Pacific Aquatics to let you know when your wishlist fish are in as he ships (I am almost positive that I've seen upsidedown Cats in his store in fact). Let us know what you decide on and if you do mix them with mainstream Livebearers, I'd be very interested in hearing how it goes. Maybe there will be a certain combination of species that will work better than others.

[Gage]

lol, ive found our swordtails at my work (i work at a LFS) to be quite the aggressive little farts, as in there constantly killing eachother. a lot of people on that forum use swordtails with there convicts as dither, and yellow dwarfs being much more peaceful then a convict, i personally think it would be fine for swordtails to live in there with them, i wouldnt put them with a convict personally, but i honestly think swordtails are a very safe way to go as far as dither fish for smaller, less aggressive cichlids.

a lot of people, as i said, still today use swordtails as dither with no problems, as long as u arent throwing them in there with large or aggressive cichlids (Carpintis, Festae, etc.) becuz there eatable :twitcy:. but either way, it is up to the OP whether they will try swords or not.

IF your concerned about the swords getting beat on, try going for higher bodied tetras(black skirts or my personal fav. bleeding hearts) or a high bodied barb (like tiger barbs)

ps. i think the sailfin molly i had must have been one of the old ones u mentioned, he beat up my figure 8 puffer for many months until my puffer decided to get even, it was a beautiful sailfin molly to, night black with blue iridescent spots on him, to bad he died really.

i dont know the old style of mollies and swords, being 15yrs old, i never had experience with the old types, so all my experience listed here is on the present day swords.

[Melody]

I can also guarantee you that those Swordtails at your work aren't killing each other. Something else is up there I'm afraid. Livebearers always make a big show of challenging and chasing each other though.

Anyways, I think we've reiterated our opinion enough. Thanks for your input. Good luck with your choices Mrs. JP!

[Gage]

I can also guarantee you that those Swordtails at your work aren't killing each other.im not going to argue, but i know for fact they are, please dont try and tell me what is going on at the fish store I work at. ive watched them rather carefully to see why they are dying, as i didnt believe it either until i saw it, no, their is no disease, nor parasite, and i have watched the males grab eachother, whether it is the stress of the chasing, biting etc. thats killing them, they are still the cause.

[Slipstream]

Just cause they grab at each other, doesnt necessarily
mean that is their cause of death, but it MAY have a hand in it. It could be causing extra stress, along with housing conditions in a fish store are VERY SELDOM whats recommended for home aquariums. Try setting one aside in a separate tank, ALONE, with the same water and everything, if he still dies, than you KNOW that its not the other ones killing him.

[Gage]

lol, i think there killing eachother, partially becuz i see them stressing each other, and partially becuz we are always left with one male and a hole **** load of females :twitcy:, but ill se about them letting me move a male to a different tank and we'll see, i kinda doubt the boss will let me, but i can ask him.

oh ya, and not to brag or anything, but we are one of the best and most respected fish stores in the city.

[ChrissyFishy]

If anyone would know about livebearers its melody and I have never had that happen with a whole tank of males growing out for over two years. They always chase each other and even babies do that and girls to. If they are to crowded or in bad conditions the chasing might be one more stess on top of it all so they die but I agree that males don't kill males out of nowhere. If it is a good store the manager will want to find the real problem and if they really thought they were killing each other they would seperate them like bettas so they don't lose their money. There are more members who know a lot about swordtails and they could tell you to. I don't think this is helping our friend who wants to make a cichlid tank.

[Melody]

im not going to argue, but i know for fact they are, please dont try and tell me what is going on at the fish store I work at.

I didn't tell you what was going on, I told you what wasn't going on :wink: . Where they are has nothing to do with it. I'm sure that's how it appears to you though.

Now we're going to get back on topic. Thank you.