Some great food options for Convict cichlids can be found below: - Xtreme Krill Flakes - geni.us/iTAWsN - Xtreme Big Fella Pellets - geni.us/9Cra - Xtreme Nice Pellets - geni.us/6ADcc
Great video my convict was added as kinda a dither for my GTs and salvini but has quickly became one of my favorite fish extreme personality every time I enter the room
I purchased A black convict online during pandemic A year ago. She is a female we named Phobe. She is the only fish in a 20 long and she is doing great, made caves out of rocks and some driftwood, she loves swimming in and out. She is very interactive with us and she loves going into a cave and waiting for you to put your finger to the glass so she can charge! I have a five gal tank next to her and she patrols her tank to make sure no intruders enter from the other tank..lol. She loves getting attention from us. I plan to get another one for a different tank, my local pet store has them for 5.00. I hope A 20 long is ok, I keep up with water changes.and I live in Wisconsin so my water is hard. I run an internal filter, sponge filter and a corner box filter. She is very healthy and has fin trails, I think the black convict gets a bad rap, she is awesome! I subscribed to your channel, love the videos!
Have had one female I rescued about three years ago. They said she’s a hybrid 🤷🏼♀️ She’s currently in a 50 gallon with a dozen skirted tetras, a bristle nose pleco, and shoal of corydoras. The tank is well planted and she has her special cave but has other options. She had a bit of fun rot when I got her but she’s beautiful and colorful to date. Hope your boy is doing well throughout this year.
I bought my convict cichlid about a week ago at Petco I noticed she is swimming up and down the glass sometimes when I walk up or if I'm just sitting on the couch watching. I have a 75 gallon tank and half of it has decorations and some hiding areas but my three Rafael catfish take over the main hiding tree trunk I need to get more decorations
I put 5 convicts in a 35 gallon tank a few years back. Two pairs paired up and left the one loaner out. They would pick on him quite a bit. I moved him to my African tank where he did really well on his own. The African didn't both him at all.
I have a lone convict with African haps and one peacock. He is an "unofficial boss" of the tank, and I also notice the smaller fish hang around him like a protector. I love him. His name is Big Diddy Bubs, and he has a big nuchal hump.
Having kept convicts in the past, I can honestly say I don't think I'd have them again. Maybe one in a community tank like you have, but never a group again. My niece gave me hers when the six she started with were over 60 three years later. I had them around a year and I stopped counting at 100. A friend of mine with a big tank was kind enough to rehome them for me. They're super easy to keep, though.
My original pair of Convict cichlids have made 3 generations worth of babies, (all 3 generations are still alive and doing well including the original pair that are almost 2 years old) I may even have a 4th generation too because I have another pair that had fry almost a month ago.
Interesting, I had convicts (Loonie and Toonie, Loonie turned one 2 days ago and Toonie died on Feb 13) and I had 35 kids, which I sold 15. P.S Krakens sucks, Vegas is better
We sell them $5 each as adults. They come in all the time and I use them to maintain Bio in QT tanks and then random people ask about them and sure enough a breeding Pr goes out the door.
I used tigers as dither for my jack dempsey, but once the jack got a little bigger he started picking off the tigers at night. I know JD isn't Convict but yeah it didn't work for me lol
We always learn from your videos I've heard that a 3 spot gourami are semi aggressive I have 1 in my 47 gallon would a single convict be a safe tank mate? Thanks
I have a tank with five convict cichlids and my 3 spot gourami that was hassling a tank mate in another tank. I put the gourami in with the cichlids because he was being a bully. They all get along great, the cichlids and the gourami. The convict cichlids in that tank are all males as I have been pulling them out of my convict tank when they get big enough to breed.
Good video. Tank looks great . What brand is that black gravel if you remember. All the black gravel here is shiny and fake looking that looks natural.
I have 2 convicts in a 55gallon with a golden severum and 8 buenos aires tetras everyone gets along, they ear tetras crisps and every other day live worms
I am about to put one young convict in my 350 ltr (90 gal) tank with a similar community tank. I have two pearl gouramies, two blue acaras, a bunch of cories, 4 diamond rainbows, 6 mollies and a bristle nose. I still have doubts on how the young convict that i will put in next week will behave. Would be interested to know how yours are.
So I recently bought a breeding pair of what I thought were Polar Blue Parrots, but I was told by others that they are just convicts. This is all new to me as I've always just had community tropical fish. How can I tell what they actually are? I'm so confused now. 😢
I have a pair with an Oscar and they do well. The Oscar is only a juvenile at 3 inches and the two Convicts are only 2 inches but as a pair they make sure together the Oscar isn’t so aggressive in the tank as Oscar’s aren’t aggressive but will chase off and bully out numbered fish. However the Oscar I bought is very docile even with live food so it all depends on your Oscars personality.
I just got a 10 gallon tank, a little disappointed i can’t get one of these yet because they will get too big, but will definitely get one in my first bigger tank :)
Hey brother thanks for the video. I brought 7 baby convicts about two months ago. I have noticed that some of them are beginning to turn white in colour but keeping some stripes. What does this mean. Someone told me it means that the white ones where female.
i had a mixed african and south American cichlid tank a few years back. My convict, like yours, was the smallest fish in my setup. it was a 55 gallon tank. it also had w turtles in it. 1 Texas Map & 1 southern painted turtle. I then moved from NY to Cali and to leave the tank behind. At that point I noticed about 200 small frye hiding all over the bottom of my tank. I couldnt tell but I had the feeling my convict civhlid was one of the parents. My electric yellow cichlid had become qhite agressive not too long before then so i suspect it was the other parent. so fast forward a year and a balf and my freshwater turtle tank was looking sparse. i fill my turtle tanks all the way up and this new tank was a 60 gallon model. So i decide to buy a couple convict cichlids. i had been out of the cichlid game and freshwater hame for a moment at that point and just wanted something hardy. Prior id been trying to stock it with neon tetras but the turtles would eventually get hungry and/or territorial and eat them. that said, i needed a more aggressive fish to share the space and decided again to go with eomething i knew could handle the tank a d got 2 convict cichlids. They were sympatico for a year or more before the fighting began...it got worse a d worse and they started lip locking. After a few weeks of this i go inside my fish room and see that the female has half her face ripped off and is still alive and trying to swim. I tried my best to save her but i couldnt. Afterwards the male like doubled in size. Liveaquaria.com says their max size is 6 inches. mines at least 8. its huge. Now i worry about it eating my small map turtle. The turtle seems fascinated by trying to see inside the fish's mouth and the fish tries to bite its head off when he does it. he so chases the turtle out of caves and such in the tank. Its bee. just the 2 of them in there for a couple years now. My lfs said theyd take them but no cash or credit so i wasnt in a gurry to seperate them afyer hearing that. but at least i know i can bring my 8 incher in and start a new tank with just the 1 turtle. He doesnt really go after fish. i jad a fahals puffer who likely ste all my tetras. itd be sweet to have 100 neon tetra in there
convict ciclids can also be found in the Central part of Visayas, Philippines. me and my cousin cought a pair from the river. I have them until now, mine has a bit of orange in the belly and greenish iridescence in the fins. at first I thought it was just a random tilapia but it looked a bit different.
I am about to put one young convict in my 350 ltr (90 gal) community tank. I have two pearl gouramies, two blue acaras, a bunch of cories, 4 diamond rainbows, 6 mollies and a bristle nose. I still have doubts on how the young convict that i will put in next week will behave. Tank has plants and hiding spots, but after reading all the comments I have doubts. The guy in the store said it should work.
My personal preference for convict cichlids is having tidy stripes which are clearly separated (not sticking together), the black strips should be really black and the white stripes should be white.
Hey! Thank you so much for the care guide. I just brought a pair of convicts today. I'm thinking of adding a pair of bala sharks with them. Would that work?
Hi cichlid bros, i had 7 convict cichlid in a 75 gallon after 2 weeks 3 males developed tale rot idk how any advice to prevent this in the near future, plz let me know
That green terror is amazing. I have had one convict die from bladder disease and another just started showing symptoms, why do the get it? How should I treat
I got got a convict from Petco a while back, but they were all black/yellow. I got one mostly a pale yellow, but can't tell the gender, hard to see any red/orange on the belly. It's still about an inch and a half long
I have a problem for my convict pair since I removed my fries the male convict agrresively attacking the female what should I do to keep my pair fish together again
Off topic but, Do you think I can put a green terror in with severums, electric blue acara, blue acara, rainbow cichlids, threadfin acara, and geophagus tapajos? In a 210 gallon tank. Hope to have an answer from you.
I would say yes, in most cases that would work. Just be extra careful and have a back up plan with the GT. Some can be very aggressive, it just depends on the fish sometimes
@@CichlidBros My apologies I had another question. I want to stock my tank so I'm trying to find other cichlids that are compatible with my tank mates. Could you recommend other fish or other cichlids?
How big can they get and how long do they typically live? Anyone know? I don’t trust google with fish questions when they say things like one can keep a betta in a vase without issue 🙄
@@CichlidBros wow. Ty very much. Have had a rescue for about three years now. Not sure of her age when I received her. She’s beautiful, very colorful. They said she is a hybrid but she looks mostly convict to me 🤷🏼♀️ Glad to hear she may be with me for years to come.
I have one convict in my 55 gallon community tank also have two giants danios,angelfish,sunshine peacock,yellow lab and they are doing great thinking about add a Oscar to the tank.
Me watching this video because I bought 3 convict cichlids about 4 months ago, and went to feed them today, and seen I had OVER 50 Babies in my tank! Lol holy shit! Idk what to do 🤣
Some great food options for Convict cichlids can be found below:
- Xtreme Krill Flakes - geni.us/iTAWsN
- Xtreme Big Fella Pellets - geni.us/9Cra
- Xtreme Nice Pellets - geni.us/6ADcc
I have new life spectrum cichlid max and algae max and my convict loves them!
Great video and makes so much sense. I have 2 convicts in a 50 and the bigger one is brutal on the smaller one
I have lots of convicts, started out with a few. They have the best parental care I have seen in fish. Plus great personality!
Agreed!
Great video my convict was added as kinda a dither for my GTs and salvini but has quickly became one of my favorite fish extreme personality every time I enter the room
My convicts won't stop breeding. It's awesome. The female looks gorgeous in her breeding colours.
What do you do with all the fry?
3:49 Convict Cichlid Coloration
I purchased A black convict online during pandemic A year ago. She is a female we named Phobe. She is the only fish in a 20 long and she is doing great, made caves out of rocks and some driftwood, she loves swimming in and out. She is very interactive with us and she loves going into a cave and waiting for you to put your finger to the glass so she can charge! I have a five gal tank next to her and she patrols her tank to make sure no intruders enter from the other tank..lol. She loves getting attention from us. I plan to get another one for a different tank, my local pet store has them for 5.00. I hope A 20 long is ok, I keep up with water changes.and I live in Wisconsin so my water is hard. I run an internal filter, sponge filter and a corner box filter. She is very healthy and has fin trails, I think the black convict gets a bad rap, she is awesome! I subscribed to your channel, love the videos!
Haha that's awesome this really is a fun hobby
I've been waiting for a video live this!! I just started caring for a neglected convict and am working on redoing his tank
Have had one female I rescued about three years ago. They said she’s a hybrid 🤷🏼♀️ She’s currently in a 50 gallon with a dozen skirted tetras, a bristle nose pleco, and shoal of corydoras. The tank is well planted and she has her special cave but has other options. She had a bit of fun rot when I got her but she’s beautiful and colorful to date. Hope your boy is doing well throughout this year.
Thank you, for sharing your knowledge on Convict cichlids. I had this type of fish when I was kid😊😊😊
Convict cichlids are my favourite cichlids they are the terrier in the fish tank ❤
They’re awesome for sure
I bought my convict cichlid about a week ago at Petco I noticed she is swimming up and down the glass sometimes when I walk up or if I'm just sitting on the couch watching. I have a 75 gallon tank and half of it has decorations and some hiding areas but my three Rafael catfish take over the main hiding tree trunk I need to get more decorations
I put 5 convicts in a 35 gallon tank a few years back. Two pairs paired up and left the one loaner out. They would pick on him quite a bit. I moved him to my African tank where he did really well on his own. The African didn't both him at all.
I have a lone convict with African haps and one peacock. He is an "unofficial boss" of the tank, and I also notice the smaller fish hang around him like a protector. I love him. His name is Big Diddy Bubs, and he has a big nuchal hump.
Having kept convicts in the past, I can honestly say I don't think I'd have them again. Maybe one in a community tank like you have, but never a group again. My niece gave me hers when the six she started with were over 60 three years later. I had them around a year and I stopped counting at 100. A friend of mine with a big tank was kind enough to rehome them for me. They're super easy to keep, though.
Thank you so much for these videos. They are so incredibly helpful and informative.
You’re welcome. Glad they’re helpful!
@@CichlidBros
My #1 most favorite tankmate for the firemouth cichlid is:
THE CONVICT CICHLID!!!!!!
My original pair of Convict cichlids have made 3 generations worth of babies, (all 3 generations are still alive and doing well including the original pair that are almost 2 years old) I may even have a 4th generation too because I have another pair that had fry almost a month ago.
Interesting, I had convicts (Loonie and Toonie, Loonie turned one 2 days ago and Toonie died on Feb 13) and I had 35 kids, which I sold 15.
P.S Krakens sucks, Vegas is better
Quinn, the Convict is a badass Cichlid
Agreed!
Yeah agree really very beautiful video friend thanks for sharing😊❤️👍
Hello it’s Cooper found the channel keep up the good work
ahh, the guppies of the cichlids. Mine bred in a 10 gallon quarantine tank and their fry made great feeders for my dovii lol...
I have a male convict. Almost 6 inches. Ive had him since 2016
Very nice!
We sell them $5 each as adults. They come in all the time and I use them to maintain Bio in QT tanks and then random people ask about them and sure enough a breeding Pr goes out the door.
Very informative video!
I got a pair last Sunday and they laid eggs last night already lol male is about 3.5 and female is about 3 inches in a 40 gallon by themselves
Haha very nice
Tiger barbs would be fantastic dither fish. The fact that they look like convicts really distracts them from other fish.
I don't agree. I have them.
I used tigers as dither for my jack dempsey, but once the jack got a little bigger he started picking off the tigers at night. I know JD isn't Convict but yeah it didn't work for me lol
We always learn from your videos I've heard that a 3 spot gourami are semi aggressive I have 1 in my 47 gallon would a single convict be a safe tank mate? Thanks
Glad the videos are helpful! that would likely be okay. I'd just keep an eye on the convict
@@CichlidBros Thanks eh
I have a tank with five convict cichlids and my 3 spot gourami that was hassling a tank mate in another tank. I put the gourami in with the cichlids because he was being a bully. They all get along great, the cichlids and the gourami. The convict cichlids in that tank are all males as I have been pulling them out of my convict tank when they get big enough to breed.
Convicts are one of my favorites too. There like swimming Pit Bulls
Good video. Tank looks great . What brand is that black gravel if you remember. All the black gravel here is shiny and fake looking that looks natural.
That green terror is beautiful
Thanks!
My all time favourite fish
Will they work 29 gallon tank tall.?
A tiger botia loach would do great in this tank as well. I've had tiger botias with Salvinis and Convicts without any problem.
Great video thank you.
I wanted to ask what do you have your tank such as heaters, wave makers, canister filter?
I've had convict cichlids with albino oscars, pike cichlid, tilapia butterkofri and the red devil cichlid.
Can’t wait to keep some myself!
👊🏻👊🏻
I have 2 convicts in a 55gallon with a golden severum and 8 buenos aires tetras everyone gets along, they ear tetras crisps and every other day live worms
i have my convicts with angel fish, guarami, corey cats, guppies and algea eaters. and i noticed they currently laid eggs in a tree stump cave.
Update??
I am about to put one young convict in my 350 ltr (90 gal) tank with a similar community tank. I have two pearl gouramies, two blue acaras, a bunch of cories, 4 diamond rainbows, 6 mollies and a bristle nose. I still have doubts on how the young convict that i will put in next week will behave. Would be interested to know how yours are.
This is amazing 🤩
Thank you!
Looks like the convict and the Dempsey are together, no aggression and remain in the same area
I want a green terror. So beautiful
The set up in the tank is beautiful
Thank you!
Great channel...have learned alot from cichlid bros
Thanks for watching!
these profiles are great
Glad they’re helpful!
May I please ask where you buy your driftwood , plants and rocks for your convict cichlids. Than you
So I recently bought a breeding pair of what I thought were Polar Blue Parrots, but I was told by others that they are just convicts. This is all new to me as I've always just had community tropical fish. How can I tell what they actually are? I'm so confused now. 😢
can I keep a pair in a 65g planted walstad tank?
Do they mix good with African cichlids?
I’ve seen it work, but I wouldn’t recommend it
If I want to convict fish what is the minimum tank size you would recommend? Thanks.
For a single convict, 30 gallons would probably be bare minimum. With tank mates, definitely 40G+
What kinds of plants are those in the tank?
I have a pair with an Oscar and they do well. The Oscar is only a juvenile at 3 inches and the two Convicts are only 2 inches but as a pair they make sure together the Oscar isn’t so aggressive in the tank as Oscar’s aren’t aggressive but will chase off and bully out numbered fish. However the Oscar I bought is very docile even with live food so it all depends on your Oscars personality.
I just got a 10 gallon tank, a little disappointed i can’t get one of these yet because they will get too big, but will definitely get one in my first bigger tank :)
Is 30 gal enough for 1
Or can I have it in a smaller pls tell me
That’s probably fine for one. They could probably live in something smaller but wouldn’t thrive. I’d recommend 30g+
Hey brother thanks for the video. I brought 7 baby convicts about two months ago. I have noticed that some of them are beginning to turn white in colour but keeping some stripes. What does this mean. Someone told me it means that the white ones where female.
i had a mixed african and south American cichlid tank a few years back. My convict, like yours, was the smallest fish in my setup. it was a 55 gallon tank. it also had w turtles in it. 1 Texas Map & 1 southern painted turtle.
I then moved from NY to Cali and to leave the tank behind. At that point I noticed about 200 small frye hiding all over the bottom of my tank. I couldnt tell but I had the feeling my convict civhlid was one of the parents. My electric yellow cichlid had become qhite agressive not too long before then so i suspect it was the other parent.
so fast forward a year and a balf and my freshwater turtle tank was looking sparse. i fill my turtle tanks all the way up and this new tank was a 60 gallon model. So i decide to buy a couple convict cichlids. i had been out of the cichlid game and freshwater hame for a moment at that point and just wanted something hardy. Prior id been trying to stock it with neon tetras but the turtles would eventually get hungry and/or territorial and eat them. that said, i needed a more aggressive fish to share the space and decided again to go with eomething i knew could handle the tank a d got 2 convict cichlids. They were sympatico for a year or more before the fighting began...it got worse a d worse and they started lip locking. After a few weeks of this i go inside my fish room and see that the female has half her face ripped off and is still alive and trying to swim. I tried my best to save her but i couldnt. Afterwards the male like doubled in size. Liveaquaria.com says their max size is 6 inches. mines at least 8. its huge. Now i worry about it eating my small map turtle. The turtle seems fascinated by trying to see inside the fish's mouth and the fish tries to bite its head off when he does it. he so chases the turtle out of caves and such in the tank. Its bee. just the 2 of them in there for a couple years now. My lfs said theyd take them but no cash or credit so i wasnt in a gurry to seperate them afyer hearing that. but at least i know i can bring my 8 incher in and start a new tank with just the 1 turtle. He doesnt really go after fish. i jad a fahals puffer who likely ste all my tetras. itd be sweet to have 100 neon tetra in there
convict ciclids can also be found in the Central part of Visayas, Philippines. me and my cousin cought a pair from the river. I have them until now, mine has a bit of orange in the belly and greenish iridescence in the fins. at first I thought it was just a random tilapia but it looked a bit different.
I have here as well..
I lived Bato sa Leyte ug Cebu but wala haha
Why do they turn Brite yellow & very aggressive
They do great with Red Ear Slider Turtles as well 🤘
I am about to put one young convict in my 350 ltr (90 gal) community tank. I have two pearl gouramies, two blue acaras, a bunch of cories, 4 diamond rainbows, 6 mollies and a bristle nose. I still have doubts on how the young convict that i will put in next week will behave. Tank has plants and hiding spots, but after reading all the comments I have doubts. The guy in the store said it should work.
Could you keep them with butterfly cichlids?
My personal preference for convict cichlids is having tidy stripes which are clearly separated (not sticking together), the black strips should be really black and the white stripes should be white.
Hey! Thank you so much for the care guide. I just brought a pair of convicts today. I'm thinking of adding a pair of bala sharks with them. Would that work?
It should be okay if the tank is big. The Balas get up to a foot long and actively swim back and forth
@@CichlidBros Thank you
What do you think about mixing American and African cichlids and can I have more Convict cichlid with African cichlids?
Are hongi cichlids hybrid or are they pure? Good video too, thanks guys ✌🏽
How many breeding pairs should you allow in a 60 gallon tank ( thye are all about 3-4 inches long
Hi cichlid bros, i had 7 convict cichlid in a 75 gallon after 2 weeks 3 males developed tale rot idk how any advice to prevent this in the near future, plz let me know
They have pink convect too
what about with yellow labs?
I have mine with polar blue cichlids
That green terror is amazing. I have had one convict die from bladder disease and another just started showing symptoms, why do the get it? How should I treat
Firemouth species profile next?
It’s been on the list for awhile!
I got got a convict from Petco a while back, but they were all black/yellow. I got one mostly a pale yellow, but can't tell the gender, hard to see any red/orange on the belly. It's still about an inch and a half long
Would a red tailed black shark work as a dither fish?
I wouldn't do it honestly
Help me sir my male convit cichlid has hug bally how to care ? Plz hlep
Can I keep Oscar with convict cichlid
Sometimes works. Not always recommended
@@CichlidBros thanks for replying
I have a problem for my convict pair
since I removed my fries the male convict agrresively attacking the female
what should I do to keep my pair fish together again
Same goes with me
could a single convict cichlid live alone in a 30 gallon?
Should be okay if it’s just one
Do convict cichlids need a air bubbles?
I had convicts in with my flowerhorn.
Off topic but, Do you think I can put a green terror in with severums, electric blue acara, blue acara, rainbow cichlids, threadfin acara, and geophagus tapajos? In a 210 gallon tank. Hope to have an answer from you.
I would say yes, in most cases that would work. Just be extra careful and have a back up plan with the GT. Some can be very aggressive, it just depends on the fish sometimes
@@CichlidBros thanks for your response, I appreciate it a lot. Have a good night.
@@CichlidBros My apologies I had another question. I want to stock my tank so I'm trying to find other cichlids that are compatible with my tank mates. Could you recommend other fish or other cichlids?
Green terrors didnt work out for me with the acara...
What gravel is that?
I love convicts and have bred them myself but they do not make good beginner fish because of their aggression
I breed "Polar" convicts to feed the fry to the big fish. Since they breed SO FAST!
Definitely prolific breeders!
What about a black backdrop?
Yep, would look good
A breeding pair of convicts have no suitable tankmates?
Not many unless the tank is very large. Most tank mates will be picked at by the breeding pair often
How big can they get and how long do they typically live? Anyone know? I don’t trust google with fish questions when they say things like one can keep a betta in a vase without issue 🙄
Usually max out around 5-6 inches. Can live up to around 10 years if kept in good conditions
@@CichlidBros wow. Ty very much. Have had a rescue for about three years now. Not sure of her age when I received her. She’s beautiful, very colorful. They said she is a hybrid but she looks mostly convict to me 🤷🏼♀️ Glad to hear she may be with me for years to come.
Do they eat feeder fish and shrimp?
Your comment is answered and made it in this video: th-cam.com/video/izkLa9SkL0Y/w-d-xo.html
Nice work
Thanks!
the toilet bowl is a perfect place for fry or even better the pirahna tank.
My convicts are changing color i don't know if male or female help me out please
I have one convict in my 55 gallon community tank also have two giants danios,angelfish,sunshine peacock,yellow lab and they are doing great thinking about add a Oscar to the tank.
Loonie turned 1 year old 2 days ago, reply if you wish him a happy bday!
P.s I have 20 convicts left, I managed to sell most of them
I have 11 convict cichlid babies. Can I house them together?
Can you do a giraffe cichlid care guide
Here you go! Nimbochromis Cichlids | Care Guide & Species Profile
th-cam.com/video/qztXESaDecA/w-d-xo.html
Where can I get those plants
" the female convict can lay up to 300 eggs at the same time "
no wonder the prison system is soooooo full !!
😂
That's pretty 😍 how do you think those convicts would do with red top hongi cichlids? Probably someone would die 😔
Me watching this video because I bought 3 convict cichlids about 4 months ago, and went to feed them today, and seen I had OVER 50 Babies in my tank! Lol holy shit! Idk what to do 🤣
Nice video.
Thanks!
So polar blues looks completely different from a convict
Yes
10 Tiger barbs are the best dither fish for big cichlids.
Depends on the cichlid, but would probably do well with convicts
How about feeding only 1 male inmate to 50 gallons? Will he be happy alone?