Agressive fish: Stuck in a corner

[MinimalJedi]

OK, i have searched to forums for info, but havn't been able t get what i needed, so here goes.

I picked up a 20 gallon tank, set it up, balance ph/tempaerature, etc. (freshwater)

My First fish were some black mollies and 2 clown loaches, I added some angelfish later. a couple of the mollies died, so I went fish shopping. I picked up 4 Black convicts. I should have figured, but didn;t know before hand that the convicts are very aggressive.

So now i'm stuck in a cycle. The convict are agressive, so I have to pick up other fish that are as aggressive so that they don;t get killed. The combination i have now is: 4 convicts, 2 gold Guaranis, 1 tri color shark. I also have 3 Clown Loaches, which stay on the bottom and dont bother anyone(great fish).

But the guaranis and the convicts are obviously niping at eachother. and I think even the tri-color which stays away mostly is getting chased a bit.

so my question is this, How do I end this cycle? I don't want to just kill off the fish. But If i try to buy aything 'petty', they will get ripped apart by the more aggresive fish.

Also, I have gotten a second, 25 gallon tank. Can you sugest some good NON-aggressive combinations of fish that I can put in that will look nice? Also freshwater.

[FisheyLisa]

You may check out the species profile on AC. I believe it still lists aggression. I then would compare info to that on myfishtank.net and liveaquaria.com. I don't go with just one opinion.

Also search for things under "community fish" and there was a post if not made into a stickey that put fish combinations together here on AC. I will see if I can find it.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60880&highlight=fish+compatibility

Also remember that despite the lists recomendations, you should observe fish behaviour in your tank and remove fish that are causeing trouble. They all have individual personalities to watch out for, regardless of what the internet says.

[liv2padl]

convict cichlids are extremely aggressive when spawning and typical cichlids when not spawning (aggressive). a twenty gallon tank is far too small to house a pair of convicts with ANY other fish, and four convicts require about 55 gallons minimum. add other fish and you're looking at 75 gallons.

gourami's and cichlids don't make good tankmates ... they just don't have the temperament for coexisting with aggressive species.

[MinimalJedi]

well i know that now.

thanks lisa