I bought a convict the other day. I have been hearing bad things about housing them together but, they seem to love each other and swim back and forth in my tank together like they are schooling. they never leave each others sides. is this normal? and what does anyone else have to say about housing them together? another thing.... will oscars and all other cichlids grow to the size of their environment or do they just grow huge no matter what? and if i get a smaller oscar what is the minimum size that the smaller oscar has to be to ensure that my 6 inch oscar and 4 inch convict will not pick on it? any help would be appreciated much.... thanx......


Nik.....

oscar and all south/central american cichlids grow to there genetic markers. if it id kept in an aquarium tht is to small for it it will become stunted and stop or slow its external growth however the internal organs of the fish will continur to grow and then health problems arise.

housing a convict and an oscar is fine provided you have a tank large enough to accomodate them. one oscar one convict 75 gallons or more. 2 oscar and a convict 110 gallons or more. it is not advisable to keep a pair of convicts in case they breed. if this happens they will make life difficult for the oscars.(convicts can be really nasty when breeding)

thanx