can mollies be used as dithers for cichlids in the convict complex?

[J. H.]

With any luck, they'll breed almost as soon as you put them in, and the tank will be full of baby and juvenile cichlids. It'll be an active tank no matter what. And I can honestly say I have never heard of a shy convict, so it's not like you need to keep them from hiding.
Why not keep the mollies you want in a pond made of a plastic box? you can even add an acrylic window. It's cheap, and the mollies don't evn need a heater, just an airstone and some substrate for the bacteria to colonize. If you stick some house plant cuttings in, you'll be able to waterchanges only when you feel like. Easiest fish there is to keep. Mollies are easier than bettas, goldfish or guppies, and they breed constantly.

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

Get a bigger tank- or stick to smaller fish. I wouldn't put breeding convicts in anything smaller than a 50. Even a 50 gallon with breeding convicts and mollies would be tricky.

 

[Hybridfish7]

A lot of you are missing my points and messages... 1, I said these are smaller species of convicts, being A. Nanoluteus and or a. Siquia 'blue Honduran'. And since it will be a breeding pair, there will be aggression between the spawns may not be successful, which (if you know most convict and other cichlid species) to the male means useless mate, so he attacks her. To point more of the aggression away from the female, I would have dithers. Dithers are literally meant to be targets for aggressive fish, or active fish that can make shy fish feel more secure. As I also said, this tank is a plan, I don't have anything but an empty 10 gallon quarantine/growout tank right now.
I also stated that I'm just gonna go with variatus platies. Smaller than mollies, and breed much less.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

A lot of you are missing my points and messages... 1, I

I don't think we are.
Imo your tank is only just big enough for a pair of true dwarf cichlids. It's too small for nanos,hrp's or any other cryptoheros species.
You may get away with a pair of laetacara or Apistogramma and even then you could still get aggression.
Regarding the dithers,target fish whatever.Do you really think it's fair to put them in such a small space with defensive parental cichlids? I know I don't.
Several people, knowledgeable people I might add,have given you the same response and you still won't except it.
If you don't like what is being said,then don't ask on the forum.
Ignorance is bliss my friend,carry on.

 

[RD.]

To point more of the aggression away from the female, I would have dithers. Dithers are literally meant to be targets for aggressive fish, or active fish that can make shy fish feel more secure

Dithers are used to make shy fish feel more secure, so they come out in the open. Target fish are used as targets, to help the pair bond and keep the pair from taking their aggression and frustrations out on each other. Two different terms, used to describe two totally different set of circumstances.

And the point wasn't missed, your tank is too small to be adding target fish.

 

[elting44]

Dithers are literally meant to be targets for aggressive fish, or active fish that can make shy fish feel more secure

This is accurate. However, in order for dithers to be successful they need to be able to:

A) be fast/agile enough to get away from the aggressor (ie Silver Dollars or Roseline Sharks in an Oscar tank)

And or B) have enough tank space to get far enough away from the territory the aggressor is protecting or claiming (in this case the spawn site) for the aggressor to relent. In the case of convicts this can be 36" in my experience.

I haven't tried Mollies/Platys with breeding con types. But I have tried Swordtails with a pair of convicts in a 55 and it worked for a while. Then after a water change the convicts went into spawn mode, chose the middle of the 48" tank to lay, and the male did what breeding male convicts do. My dithers became feeders.

TL ; DR- I think the mollies will be sitting ducks

 

[elting44]

Get a bigger tank- or stick to smaller fish. I wouldn't put breeding convicts in anything smaller than a 50. Even a 50 gallon with breeding convicts and mollies would be tricky.

I assume you mean "put other fish with a breeding pair of convicts" in anything smaller than a 50g.

A pair of convicts will do fine in a 40b or even a 30g long by themselves.

 

[RD.]

never mind, waste of bandwidth at this point .....

 

[duanes]

I grew out my group of nanoluteus in a 75 gal, and in that size tank, dithers were a reasonable possibility, the OPs tank is too small for more than just a pair.
To me any cichlid need at least 10 gallons minimum per inch as an adult, nanos get about 4", so I would consider a 40 gal minimally adequate for the pair, then in that tank, maybe a little room few small dithers (maybe).

 

[Gourami Swami]

I think the HRP pair will probably kill platies or mollies in a 20 gallon.
Tank size is an opinionated topic, you will get varying answers. You could do a single male with some platies in my opinion.
Not sure why you seemed to get defensive? you got some very good responses to this question