hey guys hwats up it me again ok i have a 5 inch tiger oscar and a 4 inch blood parrot i just added like a 2 & 1/2 inch pleco and a 2 inch black convict they all get alonf pretty much but the little black convict gets chased a little but not bad though but he seems to pick on the pleco i was wondering if this is normal and if a black convict was a good choice for a tank mate the lady told me they can grow up to 5 inch so i dont see why it could be a problem and it is a cichlid as weel so they have the smae temperment how should i know when the oscar thinks ita food and not a tankmate? the oscar lip locks the blood parrot but when i first put the convitct in there he dint he more approached it like he does the live food but now they get along and its been a week there is the occasionla territory chase but i change my driftwood and plants around also is a 80 gal tank bi enough for my 4 fish : my tiger oscar, bllod parrot , balck convict and pleco and i know pleacos grwo big and are messy fish like oscars but i have enough filtration for a 160 gal tank 2 emperor 400 HOB filters

also my second part is the algea in my tank this was happening before i added the fish all the levels are fine in the tank except a lil high in nitrate and brown algea has been growing very wast and discoloring my white gravel i was wondering if there is anything i can do to help rhis or add anthing to the tank i just scrape it off when i do weekely water changes but i leaves it on the back this is also why i got a pleco i know it wont make much off a difference but also should that be enough food for th pleco r should i get algea waffers??? and how fast to plecos grow because everntually my oscar migh be big enough to eat him

I had a convict about a year ago and he was a proper little bully so I got rid of them. He wouldn't dare pick on the Oscars, it was the clown Loachs that he used to have a go at.

There is obviously aggression between your Oscar and blood parrots that's why they are lip locking.

Algae can be a nightmare. High nitrates can encourage algae. Having a very bright room can also bring on algae a lot in a fish tank. How long are you leaving your lights on every day? Try minimising the time you have your lights on and see if the algae growth slows down a bit. Unfortunately, algae is something that comes naturally with aquatic environments, you're not going to be able to stop it growing. I get it growing on my big tank, I just have to scrape it off once a week when doing a water change.

well i know the convict would not dare pick on the oscar nor the blood parrot for that fact he is just too small i was wondering there is no way my oscar could eat him is there?!? cuz i would not want him to hurt my oscar if he tried to eat him but for now there getting along fine the convixt just stays out of the oscars way actually all my fish stay out of his way he is the dominant fish in the tank i try to control this by moving everything around helps a little and yeah i have already cut down the light time by 1 hour at first now by 2 hours helps a little but o well still i have a qestion about food for my pleco i have read that algea in the tank is enough for small pleacos and then i read fead them algea waffers and the only way i mihgt be able to do that is whgen the lights are off anf maybe my fat oscar would not eat it if he does not see it othere wise anything that hiots hte surface he gets also i live in south florida and we have these soft body gekos that i feed him when they come into my houyse is this ok he seems to love them well he seems to love all food and what size pellts whould he be eating i am feeding medium ones now is he big enough for large pellets?!? he is almost 5 inchs

I'm not 100% sure about the growth rate of convicts. Oscars however do grow very quickly to have to keep an eye on the situation. 2 inches is a little bit dodgy with a reasonably sized Oscar. Even a 5 inch Oscars has got quite a big mouth and it may well attempt to eat the convict even if he's got no chance of actually swallowing it.

Regarding the pleco, unless your tank is absolutely caked in algae most of the time, you will have to supplement their diet with things like how algae wafers, cucumber, aubergine, things like that.

Also, slow down when you're typing

Convicts grow about from 1/4''-1'' an inch a month, depending on the amount of food thei given and the tank size. I'll bet yours will grow 3/4'' a month. I doubt your oscar will eat the convict, but then again, how big is your oscar? And convicts can get 7'' although 6 is more common. How wide is your tank, and what kind of plec do you have? An adult common plec needs a tank 18'' wide, but 24 is better.

Cheers,
Art

my oscar is about 5 in. but growing very fast he out grew the blodd parrot very quickly adn i have had hm for 3 months yea i doubt he will eat the convict and as far as the plec i dont know for sure what kind i might upload i pic later if i got time i paid like $8.00 for him and the plecs were not labled more thatn just plecostomus so i am not sure and i forget the dimenson of my 80 gal tanks and am too lazy to measure but i am sure he will be fine and when he gets like more than 8 inch i was planing on possibly taking him and goving him to my freind who has a 210 gal tank with big stumps and the most amazing freshwater tank i have ever seen

The problem with you tank is that you have several different types of cichlid. They are all territorial fish and require their own space. As the fish grow you may find your problem gets worse and im not sure that changing the decor around will have much of a difference. Personally I would much rather have a few Oscars together then a variety of fish with Oscars. Imho i would never keep a single Oscar i think they deserve to be with other O's and those that have several certainly reap the benefits as the fish grow

well the convict and oscar are like best buddies lately which have pushed the blood parrot away but he is fine too and i know but i wiuld need like a 100 gal tank to have two oscars and i dont want to buy a bigger ank just yet and i love cichlids and i know they are all different i am just hoping they will all learn to cope with each other and seems to be working well and i could not imagine another oscar or how that would make mine feel i love my oscar and he is the main reason for my tank anything messes with him and they will be gone i spoil my oscar and think all oscars should be they are the best fish i have ever kept and will be keeping them for the rest of my life i can describe the bond i have with him but he welcomes we when i come into the room and he does not to my girlfreind who lives with me and i can stick my hand in the tank and he is fine but if she does he starts going crazy

oh yeah i read in this site if i leave my lights over for like 20 hours the algea can die well i did this and guess wht it actually worked all brown algea gone some green still left but not near where it was i dont know if this is the proper way to do it but it worked for me and made my nitrate level drop 10 ppm

Good.

Oh, and female convicts only get to 4 inches. Females have orange on the belly, while males lack it.

If your plecostomus was just labled "plecostomus" it's probably just your average common or even sailfin plec. Both get about 24 inches.

Cheers,
Art

do even black convict females have an orange belly cuz my black convict is just grey with black stripes

ok well i got algea waffers for my plec and tried to feed him one when i was feeding the other fish i droped the waffer on the other side by him he did not move for it and the other fish found it and ate it so how whould i ffed my plec i have had him 1 week and all he has had is algea from the tank i am worried he is not gettign enough food what should i do i am going to try in tonight when i turn off the lights