Breeding Rookie Questions

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pelleeklund

pelleeklund

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
May 23, 2009
1,494
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Pennsylvania
Hey i'm looking to breed a pair of convicts I bought last week but am pretty new to fish reproduction. I realize that these guys are supposed to breed like crazy and I most likely won't need to worry too much about it, but was wondering if there is anything I should be looking for to be sure that they are at least attempting. They are in a 30 gal. by themselves, now that they killed a small firemouth who was living with them, and the temp is around 79. They have 1 cave in the tank which they have made into home base. Each con is about 1.25 inches in length currently. Is there anything I should take into consideration that would help this process, or maybe some visual cue that would let me know it's happening? How often do cons breed and how many fry should I expect each time? I plan on trying to create a self sustaining population of cons in my 220 even though it seems like a pipe dream. Probably not possible but the idea a complete food chain in my tank is too cool not to at least try. Like I said i'm completely new to the game so I would love to hear anyones ideas or thoughts. Thanks.
 
that would be pretty awesome if yu could get it to work, i think youd need like 2-3 full grown pairs breeding in the tank and that should provide plenty of feeders for your larger fish:) as long as youv got a male/female pair and they already have a cave they call home they will breed lol, once they are mature they will start courting by "dancing" with each other which is pretty much a combination of fighting and having seizures lol, they will swim together and seems like they have already killed together so seems like they will be good to go lol GOOD LUCK
 
Awesome. Thank you for your response. I'm looking forward to it and i'm still holding out hope that they could maintain a population. Good to know some signs to look for too, thanks again.
 
Cool post! Cons really bring it back to the core of why many of us keep cichlids!

Just look for the female's tummy to get a little rounded as a cue that she's ready. When you see her egg tube start to protrude you'll know breeding is imminent.

Regarding you "feeder system" idea, I have something similar going on right now in my dovii tank. Cons and a bunch of other species are constantly pumping out food! I think Reagan has a similar setup (he's a member here too).

Enjoy!
 
well a word of caution about breeding cons as food in the same tank as the fish you hope to feed:

I had the same idea - use cons to do fish porn and make baby feeders. I kept a pair in a 120, with a wild pair of bocourti (10-12") and a few young JDs and CA sand sifters. The cons bred the third day after they got introduced. And THEN, they pushed everybody else into 1/4 of the tank and took over the other 3/4. The baby "feeders" happily grew to half an inch and I don't think any got picked off. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore....gave away the cons.

I've since heard similar accounts from other people....breeding pair of cons can take over a tank....what else is in that 220?
 
I second PEATHENSTER!! I started with a few pairs of convicts to try and provide a natural, clean food source for all my bigger fish. Well... plenty of food was provided... but my 7-8" midas and other fish about the same size were getting pushed around by a little 2-3" convict. Next thing I knew, between 5 tanks, I had easily over 200 or 300 convicts that my big fish wouldn't eat. I gave most of them away, but I still probably have around 20 or so. Good luck with your project though... it's definitely worth it being your first breeding project. Breeding any kind of cichlid is very entertaining to watch. Just be cautious... because once they start, don't expect them to stop.
 
Hilarious. That's the exact opposite thing I expected to hear. Apparently these guys do so good they can't help but thrive. Im even more optimistic now. They are going to have to pack a lunch if they plan on taking on the collection of jerks i'm housing in the 220 though. They will be fighting my 11in. Oscar, 10in. Jd, 8in. Paroon and 6in. Iridescent. Actually, the Id is a punk, but 3 out of 4 ain't bad. I have noticed how rammy these little guys are, that should come in handy when they are squaring off with the big boys. Hopefully a few of them will be smart enough to avoid confrontation long enough to keep breeding though. Some will die, and while they are dying others will be scrumping, hopefully completing the job before the big guys get hungry enough to chase and eat them. I hope there is enough for both jobs. Usually how many are born at once? Thank you all for the advice, this could be awesome.
 
pelleeklund;3809551; said:
Hilarious. That's the exact opposite thing I expected to hear. Apparently these guys do so good they can't help but thrive. Im even more optimistic now. They are going to have to pack a lunch if they plan on taking on the collection of jerks i'm housing in the 220 though. They will be fighting my 11in. Oscar, 10in. Jd, 8in. Paroon and 6in. Iridescent. Actually, the Id is a punk, but 3 out of 4 ain't bad. I have noticed how rammy these little guys are, that should come in handy when they are squaring off with the big boys. Hopefully a few of them will be smart enough to avoid confrontation long enough to keep breeding though. Some will die, and while they are dying others will be scrumping, hopefully completing the job before the big guys get hungry enough to chase and eat them. I hope there is enough for both jobs. Usually how many are born at once? Thank you all for the advice, this could be awesome.
Click to expand...

Fear the cons! I'm sure dovii is no problem but JDs and Os are no match for breeding cons....well ime anyways.

Mine only produced a few dozen to about a hundred each time. Much smaller brood then most CAs, but they are small to begin with so....
 
Really? I believe you but it seems hard to comprehend. Ive watched my Oscar inhale fish up to 3 inches in the blink of an eye. Your saying it will be like a David and Goliath showdown. Jean Con VanDamm? I hope that my big team is ready for the wave of "feeders" they will be hosting. This is starting to sound like a full scale war will be going down. You will be the first person I tell if an army of cons destroys my big tank. You can remind me that you warned me but I was too stupid not to try it. I guess it will be their tank if they rightfully take over, who am I to intervene with nature. That would be a big time backfire.
 
yeah Os are hungry fish but not aggressive fish, if something little comes in the tank and he can readily fit it in his mouth he will eat it but if something challenges him and wont back down they will normally be the loser, though there is the rare killer O but on average they are kind of wimps lol
 
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