I plan on breeding convicts in my 55 gallon turtle tank fishes inside include minnows and neons. I went out and got the biggest male at my local petsmart. Unfortunately its only 1 inches, It has been half a day since i got him for my 2.5 inches female con. THe female con chases the male con most of the time until when i woke up this morning his tail fin looks crumple (but no torn fin) and he is very timid. I am going to another petsmart n if they have a bigger male con i might get it and return this one but do you think he will be killed if i left him there??
Convict breeding w small male
- Thread starter zenyoungkoh
- Start date
I'd probably try to find a bigger one if possible. She might be reluctant to breed with a male much smaller than her because she'll think he isn't capable of defending the nest.
If you can't find a bigger one, you might try taking the female out and putting her in another tank or maybe a gallon pitcher with an air stone for a few hours. Essentially she is just defending her territory from him. Let the male get used to things without the female around. When you put her back in he'll have claimed a territory and likely feel more comfortable defending it. Rearranging all of the decorations might help too to break up her established territory.
If you can't find a bigger one, you might try taking the female out and putting her in another tank or maybe a gallon pitcher with an air stone for a few hours. Essentially she is just defending her territory from him. Let the male get used to things without the female around. When you put her back in he'll have claimed a territory and likely feel more comfortable defending it. Rearranging all of the decorations might help too to break up her established territory.
When I got a pair of convicts so I could breed something my male killed the smaller female after their first spawn. Then I found a female twice his size and she beat the crap out of him, even took a chunk of his lip off. Eventually he got big enough to defend himself, I think I'm on the 3rd generation from them, non intentionally.
In a 55 I don't think you have to worry too much, just keep an eye on them and you'll have more than you know what to do with in no time.
In a 55 I don't think you have to worry too much, just keep an eye on them and you'll have more than you know what to do with in no time.
I had the same issue. Small male bigger female. I bought three females and three males all about the same size and now I have to litters! Yikes! Wasn't ready for that lol! Good luck!
I got another bigger male but its only like 1.5 inches. The female is 2.5 inches. Now there is 2 males in the tank, but they hardly fight they cooperate most of the time to run away from the female lol. Im going to return the smallest male tmr and try the rearrangement technique at the same time placing the female in a 3 gallon bucket. I hope she doesnt kill her mate. I saw a 3 inch sized convict male at petsmart but one of his eyes were gone so i didnt get him
convicts will only breed with eachother apparently if they can beat each other up. It does make sense that they would want to defend the nest. I wouldn't try breeding them with less than three, with more being ideal. with one male and two females its 80%+ that you'll get a pair, regarldless of their size, the only problem is that then there's one odd one out. My advice would be to get one large male and two more females at least.
zenyoungkoh;4418256; said:
Nah, basically they fight a bit with each testing the other's strength. If they are able to put up with spousal abuse and dish out some pain as well then they are deemed to be capable of defending the nest from predators.
I think taking the female out for a bit will be the easiest option. Move a couple decorations while she's out and let the males claim some space. If she loses her territory she's likely to immediately team up with a male as soon as she gets back in the tank.
Adding another type of fish might be an option too. For my cons, the female wasn't ready to breed and the male was chasing her all over the 55g, tearing her up pretty bad. I went and got a couple firemouths and dempseys, and as soon as they were in the tank the cons became best buddies and never left each other's side. I now have 200 convict fry a few weeks later.
Dark Jester;4419351; said:Nah, basically they fight a bit with each testing the other's strength. If they are able to put up with spousal abuse and dish out some pain as well then they are deemed to be capable of defending the nest from predators.
I think taking the female out for a bit will be the easiest option. Move a couple decorations while she's out and let the males claim some space. If she loses her territory she's likely to immediately team up with a male as soon as she gets back in the tank.
Adding another type of fish might be an option too. For my cons, the female wasn't ready to breed and the male was chasing her all over the 55g, tearing her up pretty bad. I went and got a couple firemouths and dempseys, and as soon as they were in the tank the cons became best buddies and never left each other's side. I now have 200 convict fry a few weeks later.
thanks i jus took her out of about an hour, and i will leave her in the 3 gallon bucket for another 4 hours. I dont have a spare airpump so i will be doing 10% water change from the main tank every 45 minute. (i waterfall the water to oxygenate the water) iN the tank already have 2 minnow and 2 blk neon tetra. The males have some torn fins and im returning the smallest male today. btw is it reliable to sex the males at 1-1.5 inches? they have no red on their belly
When I got mine they were 1.5" each and the female had the red belly. Not sure if it shows up yet at 1". If the 2nd is 1.5 and no red, it should be a male.
You probably don't need to keep her out for a full 5 hours. I'd probably stick her back in after 2 or 2.5 and see what happens.
You probably don't need to keep her out for a full 5 hours. I'd probably stick her back in after 2 or 2.5 and see what happens.