not looking like convicts to me.. someone will know..

the one in the plant is a firemouth and the one in the back is a jaguar

Thanks Joshua-i knew the firemouth, just couldn't find out the other. Hey-paid $1.94 each for them, got about 3 of the jaguars and 2 firemouth.

I just read that the Jags get up to 35cm...guess I may not be keeping them too long in a 55gl.

they do get big and quickly too. they have a pretty bad attitude as well. a 55 won't hold them for too long.

How much could I get for them when they grow a little more? I paid $1.94 each

depends on where you get rid of them and at what size. if you bring them to a lfs they usually have a set price they give you.

appreciate your help/advice

no problem

both nice fish, but really small tank for the Jags, Firemouth will thrive great there.
I would let Jags go, and make a nice planted mid size CA biotope tank.
As far I know, here in NY NJ Tri State area, really hard to move fish around. Even the pretty uncommon one.
I went to nice LFS today, the one who buy Jeff Rapps fish, and ask if they care to get some of my adult and juv fish. Cocky bastard even hardly look my way. In my experience it is really hard to move adult fish around, unless you know LFS owner, etc. It's sucks:(
Jaguars are very common, and you may have problem not only sell it, but even let go for free, in the good hands. Of course some sh%ty place will get it from you, but wont pay any money, may be some small store credit.
Def, you wont make any money on it

Alex, LFS where I used to live (Lindenhurst, LI - nassau,suffolk border) appraises your fish (what they could sell it for), and pays you half. Not a bad deal. Store is clean too and they know what they are doing. If you want me to introduce you to the owners if you are ever on the island, I can. Also, agree that Jags are hard to get rid of, and you wont get much for it.

Thanks Frank, unusual deal, they must have many free tanks, cause this LFS around me just load with the fish.
Do you really was able to sell some of your fish? Not store credit? WOW

so get rid of the jags and leave the texas/firemouths? What about the 3 jewels I have in there-will they b ok or should i move those out too? Thanks all.

I'm giving them my GT tomorrow for credit, but thats because I have some filter media and deco to pick up anyway. I have sold to them in the past for cash, but didnt think of it because I dont live in that town anymore. They will tell you right away if they have no interest though - apparently GTs move quickly in their store... maybe thats why. When I walked in, I felt like Norm in cheers - "Frank! Where have you been???" Really nice guys. I think I might start using them again regularly now :)

Jamie,

Texas and FMs (how many?) will be fine. Jewels are pretty aggressive, and should hold their own if you dont add any other large tankmates. Texas will probably be king.

A a male tex will get too big for a 55 at adult size. Firemouth and Jewels will be fine in a 55.

Frank, I'd say about 4 tex's, 2 firemouth, 3 jewels (1 male-2 female) and 3 jag's...

Aaron or Frank, how long can I keep the tex/jags in their b4 they get too big?? (6 months or so)?? Thanks again.

yep, agree with Aaron, I'll let go all except Firemouth and Jewels, and even better keep just Firemouth and some livebearers to make biotope CA tank.
Texas are big azz fish, Jewels are Africans, not American cchlids.
Also Firemouth will dominate jewels and push them around, jewels will never feel comfortable.

Assuming they are 2-3" now, I'd say at about 6" they will start to fight over teritory. These big guys can grow quick so you probably have 3-4 months.

Alex-what other types of livebearers then? Thanks. oh yea-i know bout the Jewels, had them in there 1st-will prob. take them out too once I take out the jags/texs

Thanks Aaron-I know the lfs here will give me credit and prob. a little more than what I paid for them.

Thats alot of fish Jamie :) I thought you meant 1 of each :) Also Jamie - if you are breeding jewels in he other tank, why keep them in this one? You will have your hands full of jewels soon enough :) I like the FM biotope idea too ... they are small, manageable, and full of personality (flaring gills and whatnot)

PS - I'm getting schooled by Alex today .. damn :)

Hey Alex. How's that remodel comming along?

These are great fish you have Jamie. Personally my rule of thumb is to have a tank that is a few inches wider then the adult max size of your fish. For instance a Male Jag can get to 18" long so if I were to house them I would get a tank that is at least 24" wide like Alex's 240 gallon. Also keep in mind that two males of just about any american cichlid will not tollerate each other when adult so buying 4 Tex and planning on having them in the same tank will most likely end in death for a few of the fish.

got ya; I'll be honest, I thought they were convicts and figured at 2 bucks each would b a good deal...I'll end up taking the jags/texs out and putting the jewel's in with other 30gl w/jewels

like josh said, jag and firemouth

also-I like the firemouth, cool when they flare. Just need some advice on what I can put in there with the FM and have variety of colors, etc and get along. Thanks all...

I had 2 Firemouths, 1 green severum and 6 tiger barbs in my 55.

Jamie:
4-5 Firemouth, 7-10 Swordtails or Salfin molly, drift wood and if possible some plants. It'll do. You'll have some nice CA tank.
Check pictures from the user "the chuck".
You'll see what I mean.
Common Frank, you'll make me blush:)
*Aaron, working hard, but now Bacardi time:)

generally speaking, you can put FM's in a community tank, unless spawning, if you don't want a community setting, these may be good suggestions....
JD,con,sev,sal,tex,rainbow,jewels golden,...any of those would sound fine, then again temperments are different from fish to fish

I'd rather have cichlids, not a community tank. Had community tanks b4 and they r ok, but I like the attitudes of the cichlids. Will prob. go with some JD, Sevs, and what about GT's? What are jewels golden?

JD and GT get just as big as the Tex in some cases... JDs commonly grow to 9", GT 12+

dang this is frustrating...lol
maybe I will just go back to getting peacocks then :) Roger tried to tell me!

Beware: JD, GT ,Severum can all get 8"+ so you will run out of room quickly in a 55. This is why we suggest picking 3 cichlids and then getting something like Barbs, Mollys or Giant Danios to add movement but won't add aggression. If you put 6 or 7 6"+ cichlids in a 55 you'll end up with problems when they get big. Usually what happens is one or two will domminate and the others will hide for their lives all the time. Not very interesting to watch.

If you want some variety/color look into smaller CA species like Rainbows, Cutteri, etc ... You may need to mail order to get what you want, but there are lots of interesting fish hat stay in the 6-8" range, and would be perfect for your tank.

sorry, but steve doesn't know what he is talking about. JD's can get too big for a 55, so can sevs and tex. I would go salvini or rainbows if anything, but the biotope is the best idea, having 4 firemouths with some swordtails. You would still have your cichlids, but also livebearers to constantly offer live food.

Thanks all..this is why I ask various things to get the expert advice. The swordtails are the livebearers right? The FM's will eat the young?

Roger, my friend, this site needs more CA keepers! :) No peacocks! Stay CA! :) Look at my pics - I have 6 CA cichlids in a 72 gal... kinda pushing it a bit, but only 1 (loisellei) may grow past 8"

I'm with Frank - CA/SA are my favorite the only draw back is that most take big tanks.

Frank, when your parachromis gets his "para" big teeth that 72 is going to get small quickly.

They also make big big messes...

If I stick to SA/CA, I need to redo my rockwork and add some more plants in the 55gl? Thanks.

yes jamie, I would do more wood, some rockwork and plants. A good plant, as i say to everyone, is the val. they get 12"+ and grow fast, and reproduce fast, so you can buy 5-10 and end up with 30 plants in a couple of weeks. Another good choice could be an amazon sword, some java ferns, etc.