May be geting into S.A. cichlids, some Q's

[hughitt1]

Convicts can be pretty aggressive from my experience, and i would be more worried about the tetra than the convicts, but since BA's are larger tetra than some, i really don't know. I would try and find other people who have BA's in community tanks, and see what has worked for them. For the tank you are considering i would say some dwarf cichlids would be very suitable depending on how the BA's are torwards them. Most of them i would imagine could take care of themselves. Incidentally, firemouths are central american cichlids, and are little more aggressive than most of the SA dwarf cichlids in a community setting, although less aggresive than convicts.

Having some fast-growing plants (Hygrophila polysperma, foxtail, bacopa, etc) may also help by providing cover, and giving them something to snack on instead of other fish's fins

 

[sirasoni]

If you took the tetras out I think a pair of cons would work pretty well. Haven't had any experience with the others but firemouths should also be ok. But yeah you're going to have aloooot of fry.

 

[acer1]

do you have access to keyhole cichlids? they dont get too big, seem to be good breeders, so you get to see the natural cichlid behavior & you wont have to worry about having small fish in there with them... i currently have a mating pair & they never bother my glo light tetra school of 15 in my 30 long... hth

 

[InR reason]

Any of those cichlids mentioned needs atleast a absolute minimum 35gal to itself, perhaps a few dithers but no other cichlids.
A 55gal would be very preferrable even for just one, but would enable you to keep two, especially if they were a mated pair. Two single specimens of those species could also be kept in a minimum 55gal, three would be needing a minimum 75gal or better.
However, If you opt for the FM's then you are taking a chance on the FM's personality/temperament, thy can be either fairly peaceful or very pugnacious.

These are minimums, much better chance of success with larger tank sizes.

Not everyone has a 55 gallon- get a little more original. A 29g is fine for a pair of angels, a few Firemouths, or a few Convicts.