Another Convict Question

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bobblehead27

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 15, 2010
925
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Tampa Area
Ok, my convict pair are fanning the eggs that they laid last night... The problem is, if they hatch, i'll never be able to get the babies out (large gravel=lots of hiding places which is what i wanted so they could hide from the parents, but that didn't work last batch) so I wanted to try a new approach, could i take the clay pipe that they laid the eggs on out? or would this likely kill them?

Out of the last two batches that i've tried to let the parents raise, they did a great job at first, but then eventually killed them all off, i've only got one baby to show out of all those babies...

Any Suggestions since the parent clearly can't handle the responsibility? (teen mom's are never responsible)
 
Yes you could move the pot.
 
My convicts killed their first two batches cause the female wasn't ready em but the third and fourth are adult sized now and have lived with their parents and one other pair their whole lives
 
yep just takes a couple times and theyll get it right. Id wait until they are free swimming then net them out. Should just be a fairly easy to swipe the cloud of the fry
 
you could always get a new substrate like playsand so they cant hide in the crevices like in the large gravel, but you can remove the fry like said when they are free swimming and set them up in a different tank
 
bobblehead27;5143753; said:
Ok, my convict pair are fanning the eggs that they laid last night... The problem is, if they hatch, i'll never be able to get the babies out (large gravel=lots of hiding places which is what i wanted so they could hide from the parents, but that didn't work last batch) so I wanted to try a new approach, could i take the clay pipe that they laid the eggs on out? or would this likely kill them?

Out of the last two batches that i've tried to let the parents raise, they did a great job at first, but then eventually killed them all off, i've only got one baby to show out of all those babies...

Any Suggestions since the parent clearly can't handle the responsibility? (teen mom's are never responsible)
Click to expand...

YES, take the clay pot out.......PLace the clay pot inside a 20-55g tank........Hatching the eggs is easy.........Just let the eggs hatch on their own and let the wigglers soak up the yolk sacks....After about five to seven days, the wigglers start to turn into free swimming fry.........When the spawn starts frre swimmming, start feeding babay brine shrimp.........Feed baby brine shrimp for the next 3 weeks.......The fry will grow fast...............
:headbang2
 
I would leave them with the parents, they will do much better with them. People have done tests with separated fry Vs. fry left with the parents and the fry left with the parents did much better.

If you do decide to hatch the eggs, you can not just throw them in another tank, you will need an airstone to move the water around the eggs. This is to simulate the fanning of the parents. If you don't do this you will lose a lot of eggs to mold (they will turn white).
 
ok, thanks everyone... I've left them in, but I don't see them and the mom's eating again, so she's not mouth brooding them... hopefully they're in the substrate
if not, next time i'ma take them out and use the airstone technique :) thanks guys
 
Kind of a side question, I used some of the 98c strawberry pots from HD and cut notches in them for the convicts to use as little breeding houses (think of the cone hotels from the movie Cars) and the fish LOVE them! Only problem is I cant see in there for crap, I have a few pair of cons co-habitating / defending them and I "think" I have some eggs happiness going on, so do I just wait or can I tip it over for a sneak peak and then put it back?
 
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