[iwishihadmorefish]

hi, i have an empty 55 gallon that i will be setting up in june sometime so heres my plan

2x female firemouths
2x female convicts
1x pictus cat (if thats ok)
im just in need of a bottom feeder to clean things up a little if you guys have any ideas i would love to hear them

filtration:
2x penguin bio wheels rated at 350 gph each so a total of 700 gph which i think would leave my water crystal clear!

substrate: small river rock

aquascape: large and small clay pots, round stones and is it ok to put bricks in there i was thinking for a flooded backyard look. if not thats cool i was just asking since im wondering and if you have any knowledge towards that i would love to know.

so any feedback would be great i have some time to tweak ideas i appreciate any ideas you guys have.

thank you

 

[fmueller]

I guess you are not planning on breeding with all those females

The problem with that approach might be that both convicts and firemouths are monomorphic (males and females look the same). That means it will be very hard to make sure all your fish are indeed females.

Bricks should be OK, but I'd substitute the small river rock for Pool Filter Sand. Both species of cichlids love do dig, and they can't do that in small river rocks. Pool Filter Sand will bring some entertainment into your fishes otherwise boring life,s and will also give you a chance to observe more of their natural behaviors.

Best of luck!

 

[iwishihadmorefish]

no i dont have any plans because i dont have any room for the rabbits a.k.a the convicts and i want to limti agression and i will do pfs instead great idea! and i read somewere that female convicts have somewhat red pinkish bellies so i might just have to take a chance and then see if my lfs will let me swap out males for another shot of trying to get a female

 

[Valous]

female convicts will have the pink bellies. Firemouths will be harder to tell at younger age. I would not use bricks cause of the sharp edges but if you want to bang on them a little to smooth the edges off a bit then dont see a problem. Now pictus are schooling catfish. they are ok on there own but wont see them out so much. If you have hiding spots maybe a rapheal cat. But I cant recall how big they get at the moment.

 

[iwishihadmorefish]

thank you i will find a way to smooth down the edges. i had a raphel cat a long time ago but all he did was hide and wasnt much fun at all so heres a stupid question but ill ask anyways can i have 3 pictus cats?

 

[Valous]

3 is a good number but when i had 4 in a 55 it seemed to small for them as they flew around the tank. can look for a feather fin catfish some times sold as an upside down cat. they get a nice size come out more often then rapheal. but not as zipping around as pictus. Just be warned that the convict i had nipped the whiskers of the pictus to nubs. they will grow back if allowed.

 

[iwishihadmorefish]

thank you for the info