White Convict Cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata)

Meet the White Convict Cichlid, the pale form of a famous character

The White Convict Cichlid, also sold as the pink convict, is the pale form of the convict cichlid, Amatitlania nigrofasciata. Where the wild fish has black vertical bars on a blue-grey body, this one is pearly white with a soft pink sheen and a rosy patch on the gill cover, and mature males grow long, pointed dorsal and anal fins. It is small, hardy, easy to feed and full of personality, and it is one of the best fish there is for watching real cichlid parenting at home.

It is also a convict, and that matters. Seriously Fish describes the species as aggressive and territorial, says it becomes "downright violent" when breeding and calls it "not a good community fish" even though it is often sold as one. Buy a White Convict for a species tank or a carefully planned cichlid aquarium, not as a pretty addition to a peaceful community.

Check the names on the label

Wikipedia explains that the pale colour is a leucistic strain lacking the dark barring, caused by a mutation in one gene and inherited recessively. Seriously Fish lists pink, long-finned and marbled forms of the species. Several former convict populations are now separate species, including the Honduran red point (A. siquia).

Tell it apart from our other convicts

All of them are grouped on our Amatitlania page and the convict cichlids page, inside the wider South American cichlids category.

Know exactly what you receive

• One live White Convict Cichlid per purchase, supplied at about 3–4 cm long.
• The fish is not sexed. Wikipedia notes that young convicts look alike until they mature.
• Our photographs show the colour form, not the individual. The pink tone, the rosy gill patch and the fin length vary from fish to fish and between the sexes.
• Dispatch days and our Live Arrival Guarantee are explained on our delivery page.

Learn to sex them as they grow

These differences come from Seriously Fish and Wikipedia; Wikipedia says sexual maturity can come at 16 weeks but more often at about six months.

Decide on one fish, a pair or a species tank

Seriously Fish says the simplest way to get a pair is to put a male and a female together, or to grow on a group of young fish and let them pair. Once a pair forms, the other fish must be moved, because the male will not tolerate them in his territory. A single White Convict can live in a robust cichlid aquarium, while a pair needs its own space and will almost certainly breed.

Match the plan to the space

Our tank volume calculator converts your aquarium's measurements into litres.

Plan for a 10–15 cm adult

The sources measure differently and give different maximums.

Standard length leaves out the tail. Most convicts end up around 10–12 cm long, with males the larger sex, but plan for the larger figure.

Build caves and rockwork for a digger

Wild convicts live in rivers, streams, ponds and lakes, and FishBase describes adults in flowing water from small creeks to the shallows of large, fast rivers, among rocks with crevices, roots and debris. Seriously Fish adds that they are almost never found in open water and prefer areas with cover. In the aquarium that means rocks, wood and roots for hiding and spawning, with clay flowerpots laid on their sides as extra caves.

Convicts dig. Seriously Fish warns that plants may be uprooted, and Wikipedia suggests plastic plants or robust ones such as Java fern and water sprite, and an external filter rather than an undergravel system because the fish shift the substrate. Use sand or fine gravel, as OATA recommends, and bed rocks on the glass so they cannot be undermined.

Lay out the tank by job

Keep warm, moderately hard water steady

Seriously Fish recommends 24–28°C for long-term care and says the alkaline side of neutral is ideal. A good target is 24–27°C and pH 7.0–8.0 in moderately hard water. There is a behavioural reason not to run the tank hot: Wikipedia reports that convicts are more aggressive at 30°C than at 26°C.

Use UK tap water to your advantage

Convicts tolerate a wide range, and the hard, alkaline tap water found in much of the UK usually suits them well; soft-water areas may need a buffer to keep pH steady. Test pH, GH and KH, treat every refill with a conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramine, and compare your readings with our water parameter matcher. OATA's waste limits are zero ammonia, zero nitrite and nitrate no more than 20 mg per litre above your tap water.

Filter well and change water every week

OATA's routine for American cichlids fits convicts: test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and hardness weekly, change about 25% of the water each week while siphoning the substrate, and rinse filter media only in water taken from the aquarium. Seriously Fish uses larger changes, up to 50% weekly, when conditioning a pair to spawn. An external canister filter copes better with digging fish than an undergravel plate.

Run the weekly checklist

1. Test and record the water values.
2. Change about 25%, siphoning waste from the open sand.
3. Refill with conditioned water at tank temperature.
4. Check rocks are still stable after a week of digging.
5. Check the heater and thermometer.

Our cichlid care guide explains the same routine in more depth.

Feed a varied omnivore diet

In the wild, FishBase records worms, crustaceans, insects, fish and plant matter in the convict's diet, and Wikipedia adds algae. Seriously Fish calls it very unfussy and recommends a varied diet to keep it in good condition. OATA suggests cichlid pellets or granules as the staple, supplemented with frozen or freeze-dried daphnia, brine shrimp and bloodworm, once a day and only as much as is eaten in a few minutes.

Good everyday choices from our range are the Cichlid Omnivore Small Pellet and, for the plant part of the diet, the Cichlid Herbivore Small Pellet, with a frozen cichlid mix as a treat.

Build one measured meal

Introduce it calmly

Add the fish only to a cycled aquarium with zero ammonia and nitrite, as OATA advises. Switch off the lights, float the sealed bag for about 10 minutes, add small amounts of aquarium water over up to 20 minutes, then net the fish across without the bag water. Because convicts claim territory quickly, add them together with, or after, their tank mates, not before. Our acclimatisation guide shows each step.

Check in every day for the first week

Choose tank mates for a fish that fights above its size

Seriously Fish says convicts will attack fish several times their own size and are best kept in a species tank; in a very large aquarium they can live with robust Central American cichlids. Wikipedia lists biting, chasing and size displays as typical behaviour, especially when breeding. OATA's rule for aggressive American cichlids is the same: keep them alone or with equally robust cichlids.

Screen each companion

For a large Central American cichlid set-up, look at the T-Bar Cichlid and the Firemouth Cichlid, and read our firemouth cichlid guide; a Bristlenose Pleco is a common armoured companion. Always check every fish's adult size and run the mix through our tank mate checker.

Watch for problems early

OATA lists the signs to watch: changes in swimming, colour, temperament, breathing, appearance, condition or appetite, plus clamped fins, flicking against décor and shimmying. In convicts, injuries from fighting are the most likely problem, and Wikipedia notes that low social status and the stress that comes with it can affect a fish's digestion, so a bullied convict may lose condition even when food is plentiful.

Pair each sign with an action

Breed White Convicts responsibly

Few cichlids breed as readily. According to Seriously Fish, the female picks and cleans a site, often inside a flowerpot or cave, and lays as many as 300 eggs; FishBase gives about 100–150 eggs per spawning. The female tends the eggs while the male guards the territory. The eggs hatch after about three days, and the young are moved between pits in the substrate before swimming freely a few days later. Wikipedia describes the parents fanning the eggs day and night, gathering the fry back into the cave at dusk, and caring for them for four to six weeks in the wild. In aquaria, females can spawn again every 12 or 13 days.

Start the fry on newly hatched brine shrimp, then move on to crushed flake and small cichlid pellets, as Seriously Fish suggests; the fry also graze on algae and detritus. Because the pale colour is recessive, two white parents produce white young, while a white fish paired with an ordinary barred convict produces barred young that carry the white gene, unless the barred parent carries it too.

Plan for the fry before they arrive

• Seriously Fish warns that convict fry are hard to find homes for: many shops will not take them and they fetch low prices.
• Keep a single pair, and remove eggs or separate the pair if you cannot rehome the young.
• Never release convicts or their fry. FishBase lists the species as a potential pest, and Wikipedia records introduced populations in Australia, Japan, Mexico, Colombia, Taiwan, Réunion and the USA.

Find more robust cichlids, including the other convicts, in our South American cichlids shop.

Answer White Convict Cichlid buying questions

Is the White Convict the same species as the zebra convict?

Yes. It is a pale, selectively bred form of Amatitlania nigrofasciata. Wikipedia calls it a leucistic strain that lacks the dark bars and is sold as the white, pink or gold convict. Its care, size and behaviour are those of the species.

Is a pink convict an albino?

No. Wikipedia describes the white and pink convict as leucistic, a strain without the dark barring, caused by a recessive gene. The eyes in our photographs are dark with a silver ring, not the red or pink eyes of an albino.

How big does a White Convict Cichlid get?

Usually around 10–12 cm. FishBase gives a maximum of 10 cm standard length and Wikipedia about 12 cm total length, while Seriously Fish lists 15 cm standard length as the maximum. Males grow larger than females.

What size aquarium does a pair need?

Seriously Fish says a base of 90 × 30 cm is adequate for a single pair, FishBase gives an 80 cm minimum, and OATA recommends at least 120 litres for a pair of smaller American cichlids. Multiple pairs or tank mates need far more room.

Can White Convicts live in a community tank?

Not an ordinary one. Seriously Fish calls the convict aggressive and territorial, says it will attack fish several times its own size, and recommends a species tank, or robust Central American cichlids in a very large aquarium.

Do White Convicts breed easily?

Very. Wikipedia says females in aquaria can spawn many times a year, Seriously Fish records as many as 300 eggs in a spawning, and the parents guard the young for several weeks. Plan where the fry will go before you keep a pair, because many shops will not take them.

What do White Convicts eat?

Almost anything. Use cichlid pellets or granules as the staple, with frozen daphnia, brine shrimp and bloodworm and some plant-based food, fed once a day in an amount eaten within a few minutes.

What exactly do I receive?

One live White Convict Cichlid of about 3–4 cm per purchase, unsexed. The photographs show the colour form, not the individual fish you will receive.

Consult the care references

• Seriously Fish: Amatitlania nigrofasciata (Convict cichlid) — names, range, habitat, maximum size, aquarium base, set-up, water values, diet, behaviour, sexing, breeding and the pink form.
• FishBase: Amatitlania nigrofasciata (Convict cichlid) — maximum and common length, water values, distribution, wild diet, clutch size, minimum aquarium length, IUCN status and pest status.
• Wikipedia: Convict cichlid — names, the 2007 move to Amatitlania, the leucistic white, pink and gold strain and its recessive inheritance, size, range, habitat water values, breeding timings and aggression.
• OATA: How to look after American cichlids — UK guidance for American cichlids: water quality, tank size, set-up, maintenance, feeding, compatibility, introduction and health signs.
• Tropical Fish Co delivery policy — current dispatch days and Live Arrival Guarantee terms.