Convict breeding

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
D

DR. AQUA

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 30, 2009
13
0
0
Iowa
Okay, please do no get frusturated with my set up if you dont agree with it but i do want to know so i can fix it. Anyways, i have a pair of black convicts that are fairly small but are breeding. I also have african electric blues. It is a 30 gallon tank. My convicts had eggs and they have now been hatched for about a week and a half. The larger electric blue which is about 2 inches is obviously getting into with the convicts, i had a devider so i devided the tank, so the convicts and babies can be by themselves. Do i seperate the female, put the babies by themselves, seperate the male? This is my first time breeding convicts so i was wondering what you guys think. thanks.
(P.S.) the other little electric blue has not caused any problems cause he is so small and is smart.
 
Separate the fry before they get eaten, in a grow out tank (but that what con fry is good for). Im almost pos. the parents will eat them when they breed again. The (aeb) might be good dither fish but i dont have any ex. with them.
 
In a bigger tank they might be okay, but in a divided 30, essentially a 15 gallon, I doubt the parents would let them live when the next batch (or possibly even sooner) comes around.

If you want them to stay alive for sure, separate them. Either way, you may want to get the Africans out of there, if its a M/F pair, I doubt the convicts will stand much of a chance when the Africans pair off.

Is this just a breeder tank or is this their permanent residence?
 
Babies can be seperated from parents after they are free swimming I'd say. Otherwise the parents may eat them (more than likely). Almost all of the male convict cichlids i've kept over the years have ended up beating the stuffing out of thier females. My guess is either A. they want to take care of the offspring and see the female as an intruder, or B. They want to mate again, and the female is having none of it. It seems easy to get them to breed, but hard to find a bonded pair that agree on how and when to raise thier broods.

ps. i'd trust the female alone with the fry more than the male. I've always suspected that the males eat the fry so they can get the female to breed again - at least in my humble experience. :)
 
I have bred albino convicts, and I kept the parents relatively small...*(only a couple inches) in with oscars. I made the aquarium have LOTS of hiding spots that were not accesible to the larger fish, and this promoted the "survival of the fittest" or "culling" that breeders do when they get their fry. Some get eaten. Some dont. Good luck.
 
All my fry survived with the parents. Although the mum is the one who takes care of them more. I'd separate the africans with the convicts. They ALL stand a better chance this way.
 
My advice is to get the blues out of the tank, take the divider out and leave the fry with the parents. I have never run in to convicts that were bad parents unless they are in a tank that is to small for them.

And I raise convicts all the time for feeders for my jaguars. I'm currently doing Texan/Convicts at the moment as feeders.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom