3 Convicts
- Thread starter EOD
- Start date
IMO keep all the females and leave it at that. Breeding cons is alot of work.
I got a 5inch male convict and just him is hard to deal with, he rips up my plants attacks anything he see's, cant keep anything with him.
I got a 5inch male convict and just him is hard to deal with, he rips up my plants attacks anything he see's, cant keep anything with him.
One of them may have come pregnant from the LFS because the two bigger cons are protecting an area and they won't leave it unattended. They have also dug out the sand in this area. I can't see any eggs but it's a weird angle and I don't want to disturb them. I took some video. Those of you who have bred them would know if this is what I think it is.
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I went and took a closer look and there's actually a rather large group of eggs attached to the wood. You can't make it out very well with the pictures but I did my best. What should I do now? Should I make a divider for the tank? If I do cut some plexi and a divider, should I drill holes in it so that water still gets through it therefor they still get filtered water? What would you do next? Is the fact that there is no male in the equation going to be a problem? HELP!? lol....How long until they hatch? Can I grind up pellet/flake food and feed that to them?
EOD;4549657; said:
Thats awesome!! Hopefully they hatch and you get some wrigglers
I've heard of this for food : http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Infusoria & http://freshaquarium.about.com/b/2007/12/30/infusoria-culture.htm
But I have 0 experience with this, sooooooo wait for the more experienced to tell you what to do.
I found this info on badmanstropicalfish.com. Heres the page : http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile58.html
"Someone once described breeding convicts as "just add water and fish", and this is pretty accurate! An excellent fish for beginners to start breeding, but just be careful what you wish for... these fish breed at the drop of a hat and will produce many young. The male and female will pair off, and do a mating dance that involves shaking their heads at one another. They prefer to lay their eggs on the inside of a flower pot, as shown in the picture, and both parents will usually dig a depression in the gravel around it. A breeding pair will vigorously defend their territory against encroaching fish, and will quickly push all the other inhabitants of the tank to the opposite corner. They are one of the very best when it comes to parental care, and will sometimes bury newborn fry when they are threatened, so don't be alarmed if they go missing for a day. Fry usually hatch in under a week, and take another 3-4 days to consume their yolk sacs and become free-swimming (do not feed during this time). Once swimming on their own, they can be fed live microworms. They will also take fry powder foods and then eventually graduate to flake food."
And found this also on worldcichlids.com : http://www.worldcichlids.com/fishprofiles/convictcichlids.html
"Spawning usually takes place in pits dug into the substrate or in a cave if one is provided. Eggs generally number between 100 and 500. After fertilization, the eggs will be guarded by the female while the male patrols and defends the pair's territory. This is not a good time to be putting your hands in the tank for any reason, as Convicts have no problems attempting to remove fingers if you make the mistake of getting too close. Unfortunately, too close often means just looking at the tank. Convicts are one of the few cichlids that don't need more that one or two attempts to get the hang of being parents. Most pairs will get it right on the first spawning and will be excellent parents to all their spawns. Once the eggs have hatched after 2 to 3 days, the parents will transfer them to other small pits dug in the substrate around the tank. Both parents will continue to be extremely protective, defending their offspring against anything else that happens to be in the tank and many things that are just passing by outside the tank. Convict fry tend to be a little adventuresome and will take to wandering around the tank at an early age. The parents will attempt to keep them close by for the first few weeks and don't' be surprised if you see either parent picking up the fry in their mouths and spitting them back into the pit. After 2 to 4 weeks, the parents will probably be ready to spawn again and at this point it can be a good idea to remove the previous spawn if you have them in a small tank. Sometimes the parents will try to remove a previous spawn to make room for the next batch, but this doesn't always happen and the best idea is simply to watch the tank and see what your pair does."
Hmmm. So since there is no male in the tank the eggs are unfertilized? Or could she have been carrying fertilized eggs from when I bought her?
Don't stress. I'd just leave the tank as is. Throw in a cube of frozen baby brine shrimp everyday and the babies will grow really fast. Just watch to make sure they get some. My convicts have raised 4 broods now and they are in a tank with like 18 other fish.
