JD & Convicts nipping eatchother

I have a 75g with 3 JD, 3 covicts, 2 EB Acara, 2 red hump geo, and 3 loaches. all between 2" and 3" inches

I noticed one JD bosses the other 2 around and nips a bit. And same with the convicts. But they only do so to their own kind.

The less aggressive acara and goe's don't get bothered and none of the cichlids even seem to register that thr loaches exist.

Some of the ones lower in thr pecking order have little tears in their fins. Nothing realy bad but enouph to notice right away.

I am new to judging their behavior and have no experience. But I thought I would post this to see if anyone could give me some knowledge about behavior and what I should watch out for.

Other than that everything in the tank seems good. I feel like all the fish are generally happy. I do not have a quarantine tank. But I realy want to add more plants to distract them from eachother. I started feeding them all pellets now since they have gotten bigger.

I know it takes time to learn all this stuff so I tend to ask many questions. Don't let my newbie-ness bore you.

Thank you everyone !

Fairly typical behavior for cichlids. Once they all are grown, you won't have enough space to keep them all happy.


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Yeah I had a feeling that would be the case. I think when they are grown I will find new homes for the jd and convicts and try and keep the less aggressive dudes. Or maby start fresh again. With new stock. I haven't kept any fish long enouph to see them grown fully. Only the gurami in my little 10g

I agree. It would take a lot of space to keep those guys together long term. ESPECIALLY if you keep both sexes. Pick your favorite and keep them.

Would i have enouph room to keep the 2 acara and the 2 geo? I don't know the sex of thr acara they looks the same but the geo are one of each sex.

Its so hard to choose I realy like the flow of the convicts and also the jd vibrant colors

Maybe. It would depend on the aggression and if they pair up. If one of the groups breed, it's probably going to cause death. Cichlids are VERY protective of their young,

Can you be more specific when you say "cause death"? If 2 of the fish in a group made a pair where would the death come in. Would the male thats In the pair potentialy kill some of the other fish or vise versa. Or are you refering to the fry being eaten?

If a pair is made. Is it better to keep them alone without other cichlids in the tank or only with their own kind. I'm sure this won't come down to a defined answer but in your experience?

To my best knowledge I believe I have:
Convicts - 1male 2 females
JD - 2 male 1 female
EB Acara - 2 male
Geo- 1male 1 female

For a novice cichlid keeper who's looking forward to havaing a good experience with the well being of his adolescent rapid growing little buddies. Which of these dudes would benifit my learning and understanding the best. I heard the geo are more difficult to keep? The acara seem very laid back. The convicts seem more on the playful side, and the jd seem the most aggresive.

If only I have more tanks blahh

So, cichlids in general guard eggs and young with relentless aggression. They will kill just about anything in the tank, even fish larger than them, to keep their young alive. If a pair wants to lay eggs, they first clear a spot and then they clear the area of all threats. They will drive the other fish in the tank to the top opposite corner and then continue to nip, bite, push, and in general hurt the other fish to make sure they stay away from their nest of eggs or young. A big pair of Jacks or Geos would probably shred the rest of the tank mates in order to guard their precious cargo.

To answer your question, I don't know if they would kill them, but they will persue them the entire time of breeding and stress the other fish out and potentially hurt them. I doubt you could keep two pair of larger cichlids in a 75 gallon. You would need more room or more tanks.

The convicts are about the right size for that tank, firemouths would be another good choice, an acara pair should do well, just not at the same time... you could get some dithers, something fast and resilient, I've used Australian rainbows, silver dollars etc... that also helps the pair you get to focus their aggression on someone besides their mate, and helps them to bond better.
It can be a lot of fun, they don't always act the way that you want them to, or expect them to. It's great having forums like this these days, so you can hear from folks that have been down that road already.
Good Luck, and keep in touch

Okay thanks for the info it goes a long way. I think the geo are my favorite so I think I will keep them. They seem like they might pair up if they had the tank to themselves. So I was planning on keeping the 3 loaches in the tank, but as dithers go. What are some other good species? I've had silver dollars and they did not tickle my fancy to much. I like the loaches althought they don't like the high ph as much. The Australian rainbows look cool, are they best in groups? What about catfish or plecos? I know I have limited space. Care to make some more suggestions. I know very little about the different species and am not familiar at all with them. I see so many differect names on this forum but they don't seem to stick in my memory untill I have kept then myself!

I keep Tiger Barbs with my Jacks, and they do fine. They are very brave little fellows. They help keep the big fish feeling safe and keep the activity in the tank up. I also keep Bristlenose Plecos and Nerite Snails in my tanks to help with clean up of any brown algae. While these are my favorites at the moment, I have done many other things. Some successful, some not. If you browse the web and find a species that looks great, post it here with your suggested tank mates and we can help make recommendations based on typical behavior. Previously, I have kept other smaller barbs and tetras with DWARF cichlids, but this was in a large tank, such as your 75 gallon. The rainbows suggested sound like a good option as well.

Remember, while we have much experience and knowledge of many species, we have never kept your specific fish. Part of the fun of keeping cichlids is that they tend to have a personality of their own, and sometimes do not follow conventional wisdom regarding behavior. We will do our best, but it is up to you to keep an eye on the situation and act accordingly if something doesn't seem right.

thank you i appreciate the advice very much. i guess it takes time to become familiar with more species. but so far i am thinking about the rainbows or the danios they both seem like they have similar behaviors and would hopefully do well.

but like you said, finding new homes for the ones have now comes first