# Plants for Jellybean Cichlids?



## lilmamabear (May 21, 2012)

Hi I'm starting a new 30 gallon tank for my 4 Jellybean cichlids and one red tailed shark was wondering what plants are fast rooters they won't dig up immediately. I use flourish fertilizer, have a gravel bottom, hornwort, wisteria, and some other fluffy leafy plant but I forget what its called. All of my other tanks are planted so I know the general care and ow plan to get plant lights for all of my tanks. So back to my question (long question short lol) what can I use for my cichlids? :fish-in-bowl: 

*c/p*


----------



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Because Blood Parrots can't close their mouths properly they do not usually rip plants apart like many cichlids do. They do like to dig so plants getting uprooted will still be a problem. To get around that you may need to experiment a little. Try rocks around the base of the plants so they can't be dug up, potted plants or skip plants in the substrate and go for floating plants and plants like anubias and java fern that can be attached to driftwood and rocks.


----------



## Tomorrowland (Mar 9, 2012)

I have had Blood Parrots for going on ten years and have never seen them successfully uproot any of my plants. By the way, BP's grow to about 8" and I would suggest at least a 75 gallon tank for your little school. A 30 gallon is nowhere near large enough.


----------



## lilmamabear (May 21, 2012)

Thanks I'll try it out and if I see problems I'll try the rock thing. And yes I'm trying to find a larger tank. I think I'll buy one when I next get paid. And turns out (thanks to an answer to another q about these guts that I posted) I've found out they are short bodied convicts and not jellybeans at all.


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Aha, convicts with scoliosis! The jellybean convict, or balloon convict, is a way smaller fish. It's a convict hatched out with a birth defect of the spine, that has been cultivated and made to breed 'true'. The birth defect (their main selling point, sadly enough) will usually cause intestinal problems.

That's the big fad in pet shop cichlids - the use of selected and possibly painful handicaps to control cichlid behavior by making the fish too deformed to move or act normally. I find it quite cruel, and if I owned some, I'd not let them breed. 

This is a little different from blood parrots, which are a cross between species that gave the easily managed mouth deformity and the 'big baby' shape buyers seem to love. Jellybean convicts are a naturally occuring deformity that has been 'set' by fish farms looking to sell novelties.
I see this deformity in maybe one in 1000 tank bred cichlid fry. Someone decided to make money with it.

If they are physically capable of acting like convicts, they will dig. Oh, will they dig.


----------



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I don't really agree with the way breeders breed in deformities either but now that you have the fish just concentrate on giving them good care and enjoying them.

Usually convicts and plants are said to be a bad mix but I've seen people saying they have planted tanks with convicts so it's worth having a go, maybe start with cuttings from plants you have already so as not to waste a bunch of money if it doesn't work out. I'm not sure how the 'jellybean' part effects things, they may be a bit more plant friendly than ordinary convicts.


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I'm with snail - once you have it, you have to take care of it and do your best to give it the best conditions possible. Most hobbyists who buy these poor things don't realize what they have gotten, and the industry thrives on selling them. The balloon deformity is really big money. In Germany, I believe this falls under the category of "Cruelty Breeding", and is banned from sale in the stores. 

I wish they weren't sold, but they are. The question, once you have them, is what they can accomplish trying to be functional convict cichlids. It's a species that can be very hard on plants, and that has been known to excavate entire tanks. Whether these guys are capable of that behavior is a good question. Probably.


----------



## lilmamabear (May 21, 2012)

Wow that's really sad! Peoplt are so dumb that's mean way to make money. Oh well, they're already born tho so I may as well treat them like the rest of my fishy family. I rescued the lil guys, may as well give em a good life


----------



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

You didn't even buy them from a store, so it's not like you even supported the industry buy buying them, you just rescued them, so well done for that .


----------



## lilmamabear (May 21, 2012)

Thanks ...I'll be sure to do a lot of research on any odd looking fish to be sure they aren't bred in cruel conditions. Thank you all for your help


----------

