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Hiding?

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  iamntbatman 
#1 ·
I have a 20 to 29 gallon aquarium with 6 2 1/2 in or less convict cichlids, and they seem to only want to come out and swim around i f im not there or when i go to feed them any other time they are hding and if go near the tank they start darting around the tank like ther crazy, they have been like this for about 5 months.

Would upgarding there tank to a 55 gallon help them feel more at ease to swim around.

any help would be great.
 
#2 ·
Do all of the fish stay together as a group, or is there one or two fish that seem to bully the others? Convicts are aggressive cichlids, and as they grow they'll lose their tendency to school together. They will likely form male/female pairs and begin to breed, at which point you'll have an absolute bloodbath on your hands. Adult convicts don't really care for each other, and they'll be even more aggressive once they start breeding. A 20-29g tank is suitable for a pair of them, but you'd need a tank much larger than even 55g if you had more than one pair. Young cichlids tend to be pretty shy, though, so I'd say the way they're behaving now is pretty normal. Just be prepared for the behavior change (which, if they're 2.5 inches, should be happening pretty soon). You'll likely need to get rid of four of those fish once they start pairing off.
 
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