I have a 3" Jack Dempsey, 4" Convict, 3 Tiger Barbs, and a medium size Pleco.
Can I add a electric blue or electric yellow cichlids? (1 of each)
I'd probably start w/ juveniles and let them work their way up. If the tank is large enough, what about aggression?
Thanks.
Answers:
It's really not a good idea to start mixing rift lake Africans with your New World cichlids. By randomly stocking a cichlid tank without knowledge about their needs, you will end up with a nothing but problems once they start to grow (cichlids only get more aggressive as they grow and mature). New worlds and Rift lake species essentially speak different languages - they can't communicate and it causes issues. On top of this, mbuna from Malawi, like those blues are yellows, are very social grouping fish that do best kept in 'Malawi' tanks, rockscaped and catored to their needs, with compatible tankmates including others of their own kind, and alkaline water.
Here's what's going to happen right now:
The JD will grow up, and if you're really lucky the Con and JD will tolerate each other. If you are less lucky they'll begin to fight over the tank and you'll need to intervene. The tiger barbs will do fine for a while, but the chances are eventually they'll be killed by your cichlids.
If you want to mix cichlids, keep to the same biotope and try to match aggression closely. New worlds with New worlds, Malawi's with Malawis'. If you want to see cichlids at their best, keep them in appropriate pairs, harems, or groups and let them have the tank. Sometimes you can get away with odd mixes, but that doesn't mean it's the best thing to do, and starting off wrong means you'll never know what it's like to see a cichlids true character as it is when kept properly.
Remember, while we may manage some sort of tolerence between certain species, cichlids are never friends, and keeping multiple species of New World together in a tank is going against their nature and you'll be missing the largest and best aspect of keeping these fish.
Though I don't know about the Convict, I have two Jacks mixed with two yellow and two blue and a red zebra. The only fish I have problems with is the red. I would think that if you don't have probs with the others bothering with the barbs then you shouldn't have any issues with the yellow or blue. Good luck!
