separating a pair of convicts

Question
QUESTION: Dear Ron,
I started my first fish tank 3 weeks ago following what I seem to remember were your guidelines for a convict cichlid tank.  It's a 125 litre and has only a pair of cichlids and a juvenile ancistrus.  True to form, the cichlids have produced a brood and now police the tank so that poor "Beefy" ancistrus is living under the filter housing.  We think the fry issue will probably settle itself with parents gobbling them up once they decide to mate again, but we think that's no life for poor Beefy if he has to constantly live in hiding.  Therefore, we're buying a second 1 metre tank to separate "Bonnie" and "Clyde" and only breed them occasionally.  My question is stocking the two separate tanks, as most stocking suggestions on-line are about avoiding most anything with a breeding cichlid pair.  Do you mind making suggestions, and explaining how different the cichlids' aggression will be separated as well as Bonnie v. Clyde in terms of aggression?  Thanks.  Kat.

ANSWER: Hi Kat,
  Personally, I would keep them together and just let them breed.  The real issue is that Beefy needs more hiding places.  He would need that regardless of whether the convicts are in the tank.  The best thing to do would be to get some driftwood, actually a bunch of it would be nice. That is what an Ancistrus really wants.  They like to live on the underside, mostly in the dark, most of the time. Then he can come out only when he wants to.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well, that's a thought: to let them breed (and breed and breed).  Can I just ask how I deal with so many fry, or does nature take its own course in these things (i.e., do many survive very long; do the parents eat them)? When are the fry considered old enough to pass on, sell, etc.? What I don't want to do is have to get a lot more aquariums to cope with the off-spring of my fish-rabbits!

Answer
Hi Kat,
  In most cases, nature takes its own course.  That is why convicts breed so often and have so many kids at once; most of them don't survive very long.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>