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Convict Cichlid
Amatitlania nigrofasciata
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Photo by S. Olkowicz - User Hippocampus on pl.wikipedia · CC BY 2.5
Passport
- Grows to
- 15 cm (5.9")
- Lives
- 8–10 years
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Care
- Beginner
- Swims
- Mid-water
- Keep
- One is fine
- Water
- 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
GuatemalaPanama
Care requirements
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On record for Convict Cichlid: adult size, lifespan, minimum tank, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level, tank length.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- Minimum tank 151 L / 40.0 US gal
- pH 6–8
- Hardness 5–25 dGH
- Diet omnivore
- Tank length 90 cm minimum
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Convicts are the fish that will breed no matter what you do. Put a male and a female in a tank and you will have fry within weeks, then again a month later, and again, until the tank is full of them and you're phoning shops that don't want any more.
They're named for the black bars over a pale grey body. Females carry an orange flush on the belly and are usually the more colourful of the pair, which is unusual.
They are also seriously aggressive for their size. A breeding pair will hold most of a tank against fish several times larger, and they'll kill anything that can't get away. This is a fish to keep deliberately, not one to add to a community.
Tank setup
Give your convicts a tank they can own. Trying to run them in a mixed community is where almost every problem comes from — a spawning pair simply takes the territory it wants.
Provide caves and flat surfaces. Rock crevices, flowerpots and slate are all used as spawning sites, and having several reduces the argument.
Use sand or fine gravel and expect it to be moved. They dig enthusiastically and will rearrange the tank floor to suit themselves.
Rest rockwork on the base glass. They excavate under things and a stack on gravel will eventually topple.
Think hard before buying a pair. A single convict, or a group of the same sex, is a far more manageable proposition.
Feeding
Convicts eat anything and everything, greedily, and are among the easiest fish to feed.
A good cichlid pellet is a perfectly adequate staple. Add frozen and live food for condition, and some vegetable content for balance.
Don't overfeed. Well-fed convicts breed even faster, and the waste from a greedy fish in a heavily stocked tank adds up.
Avoid: feeding a pair heavily unless you have a plan for the fry.
Filtration and flow
Filter well. They're messy, they dig, and a breeding pair with a batch of fry produces a lot of waste.
Moderate flow suits them. They come from Central American streams and rivers and are robust about current.
They're tolerant of a wide range of water and will thrive in ordinary hard tap water.
With plants
Convicts dig up plants. Not occasionally — as a matter of routine, particularly when preparing a spawning site.
Anything rooted in the substrate will end up floating. Attach java fern and anubias to rock or wood if you want greenery, and accept that even those get moved.
Most convict tanks are rock, sand and wood, which is both practical and appropriate.
Health
They're among the hardiest fish in the hobby and almost never ill.
Injuries are the real medical issue and they come from other convicts or from tank mates that couldn't escape.
Watch the condition of anything sharing the tank rather than the convicts themselves. The convicts will be fine.
Breeding
They pair for life, spawn on a cleaned flat surface or inside a cave, and both parents guard the eggs and then the fry with total conviction.
They're superb parents and it's genuinely worth watching once — the pair working together, herding fry, driving off intruders many times their size.
Then think about what happens next. A pair produces broods repeatedly, the fry are easy to raise, and shops are full of them. Separating the pair is the only reliable control, and it's worth deciding that before you start rather than after.
Tank mates
Avoid58
- Amano Shrimp Convict Cichlid reaches 15 cm and will eat adult Amano Shrimp.
- Bamboo Shrimp Convict Cichlid reaches 15 cm and will eat adult Bamboo Shrimp.
- Blue Bolt Shrimp Convict Cichlid reaches 15 cm and will eat adult Blue Bolt Shrimp.
- Blue Dream Shrimp Convict Cichlid reaches 15 cm and will eat adult Blue Dream Shrimp.
- Cardinal Sulawesi Shrimp Convict Cichlid reaches 15 cm and will eat adult Cardinal Sulawesi Shrimp.
Only with care42
- Betta Convict Cichlid is noticeably larger than Betta and may bully it or outcompete it at feeding time.
- Boeseman's Rainbowfish Convict Cichlid is noticeably larger than Boeseman's Rainbowfish and may bully it or outcompete it at feeding time.
- Bolivian Ram Convict Cichlid is noticeably larger than Bolivian Ram and may bully it or outcompete it at feeding time.
- Bronze Cory Convict Cichlid is noticeably larger than Bronze Cory and may bully it or outcompete it at feeding time.
- Demasoni Cichlid Convict Cichlid is noticeably larger than Demasoni Cichlid and may bully it or outcompete it at feeding time.
8 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.