This species is not recommended to those lacking the facilities to house it for life. Sadly it’s all too often seen for sale as an attractive, silvery 2-3″ juvenile, supposedly suitable for the general freshwater community tank. To make matters worse, it is also usually given an ‘alluring’ name such as ‘black-finned’ or ‘silvertip’ shark catfish. The fate of the majority of these specimens is in all likelihood a depressing one.

A hugely popular and very adaptable species, the convict is one of the most ubiquitous fish in the hobby. It is often referred to by synonyms such as Cryptoheros nigrofasciatus and Cichlasoma nigrofasciatus. It's difficult to know how much to recommend it to the beginner, as despite its hardiness and ease of breeding, it's not really a community fish. However, if you want to breed a species and witness some amazing parental behaviour, it's an unreserved recommendation. It now exis…