convict breeding info

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

rook45

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jan 9, 2006
2,106
4
68
46
new jersey
i want to start breeding convicts as feeders. what do i need? any info would be appreciated
thanks
 
well you need a tank that holds water, some fitration and a heater. convicts will pretty much cover the rest, a 10 gallon will do good and a 20 long would be great
 
ok i got all that and a 55....do i need to have anything to simulate an enviroment to set the mood??
 
also what size do they have to be to breed
 
convicts will breed as small as 1.5" if not even slightly smaller. females have orange bellies and males don't. all you should need is one of each and within a few weeks they should be breeding. there are always the occasionally stubborn convicts but this is very rare. I once bought a male and female at random and had eggs within 2 days. the 55 will be great for a pair. while they're smaller you could probably keep 2 pairs but as they reach adult size you'll most likely have to cut back to 1 pair. :)
 
what about rock,hiding spots.gravel,ect..?
 
any kind of gravel will work. the easiest type of cave to provide is a small to medium sized (6" should work great) clay/terracota pot. any flat surface will do though. if you don't put anything like that in the tank they'll spawn on the side of the glass. :)
 
yeah, 1-2 clay pots will work well. I like to remove the fry a couple of weeks after hatching and they're still rather small. Since the fry are usually chased into the pot to hide, I just pull the pot out of the tank and harvest about 90% of the feeders just like that. As Jason_S mentioned, cons are basically hardwired to breed anywhere & anytime, and if multiple cons are in the lfs tank you should be able to spot a pair or two already together.
 
thanks. and what about filtration
 
on my 55 I usually run 2 AC 300's (I think they're called AC 70 now) though for now I had to mix things up a bit and it now has an AC 500 (AC 110) on it. if all you're going to keep in there though is a single pair of cons then one AC 300 would probably be fine. :)
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com