as long as the water is clean you should be fine and they wont even be a inch after a month so you got to remember that. also be sure to take the parents out after the eggs hatch because it is hard to get th unfertilized eggs out of the group to not make all the eggs get a fungus
Convict Breeding
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aramirez8689;4382919; said:
so after they hatch take the eggs out and the parents. and how long does it take for them to hatch about? and what do the fry eat? and aprox how many hatch and how often do you do wc and how much
Convicts are CRAZY breeders. They can have as many as 500 fry at once. After they get over an inch they will pair, this is when you need to see which ones are bonded, get rid of the rest and use these pair to breed to feeder fish. I suggest separate tanks for each because they can kill oscar to up the 3x their own size.
They eat live microworms when they are first born. I have about 20+ in a 29gal but I'm gonna wait till they get a tad bigger to sell them so i can see who has bonded and just sell the fry from there.
A 10gal is NOT a good idea for these fish. I recommend and 29 or bigger!!
They take about a week to hatch, 3 days to eat their yolk sac, do NOT feed them during this time period. Any eggs that dont hatch remove them ASAP or they can make your other fish sick.
Don't fret if you don't see them for a few days, the parents, when threatened will hide them under your gravel or in sand.
When you breed them you want to put in a flower pot, they like laying their eggs in that best.
hope I answered most of the questions.
They eat live microworms when they are first born. I have about 20+ in a 29gal but I'm gonna wait till they get a tad bigger to sell them so i can see who has bonded and just sell the fry from there.
A 10gal is NOT a good idea for these fish. I recommend and 29 or bigger!!
They take about a week to hatch, 3 days to eat their yolk sac, do NOT feed them during this time period. Any eggs that dont hatch remove them ASAP or they can make your other fish sick.
Don't fret if you don't see them for a few days, the parents, when threatened will hide them under your gravel or in sand.
When you breed them you want to put in a flower pot, they like laying their eggs in that best.
hope I answered most of the questions.
warlord651;4382914; said:okay so heres the plan tell me if i got it, put them in the 10, with sand a empty flower pot and put temp at 78F, and that is it, they will breed on there own taht simple? then when the fry hatch take the adults out and put them in another 10g that or seperate them if i dont want any further breeding? i plan to breed alot these parihanas eat alotAlso... the fry eat what when they hatch
Also keep the fry quarentine for a month just so i know they dont have any disese?
It takes no special conditioning to get convicts to breeds, its as simple as putting a male and female of the same size in the same tank. Keep the fry with the parents for at least 2-3 weeks after they hatch. Then move them to like a 20g grow out tank or something. Feed the Hikari First Bites, cost like $3 at Petco. If you feed them a little more often and more protein foods they should grow faster than mine did. In my experience after they laid the eggs, they would hatch almost exactly after 4 days and were free swimming after almost exactly 4 more days. Water temp I think has an effect on this. Heres my 1.5" whose to the day 4 months old.
ime mine were a inch plus in 2 months all i feed mine are crushed flake food after there yolk sacs have gone. but dont take both out just the parents. i have a batch of fry growing now that i took out right after they became free swimmers and they are fine and growing great.
Chrisplosion;4382927; said:
thanks for info, so dont remove parents till after 2-3, some ppl say right away? how often will the adults breed after seperating the first batch
warlord651;4382875; said:
I've got cons to breed in a 20g three times. I really wouldn't attempt it in a 10g but if your set on doing that, go for it! As far as tank conditions and environment goes, the most important thing is providing lots of hiding places.
A very common and inexpensive method for doing this is using clay flower pots. I buy mine from my local dollar store. Position several of them in the tank laying on their sides. The reason for providing hiding places is not only to make an ideal breeding place but because in most (if not all cases) when cons first pair off they get really aggressive toward each other. I've even seen many of them kill one another. In my experience the aggression usually lasts just a few days. This leads back to why I wouldn't attempt it in a 10g tank.
Once they've paired off, getting them to breed isn't all that difficult. A little trick I found that seems to work is once the female starts showing bright coloration adjust the temperature. I raised the temperature from 74f to 78f in the span of a couple of hours. This seems to trigger them to breed.
If you get eggs they take about 3-4 days to hatch. Remember to keep the temp at 78f if you get this far. Once hatched don't feed the fry for about 3 days. They'll slowly consume their yoke sacks during this time. They'll become free swimming once there yoke sacks are gone. Now its time to feed them. This is the part where I cant provide much info. I know they'll eat baby brine shrimp how often you should feed them I really don't know. I was feeding my fry a combo of live baby brine shrimp and powdered cichlid pellets.
Best of luck!
thank you, also how often do you do Wc when breeding and after they hatch? Also how long till u remove the parents after they hatch
warlord651;4382940; said:
I was doing 20% once a week. However once the eggs are there be very careful about how you do it (or better yet dont do it at all). Don't vacuum any gravel just slowly suck the water out from the farthest corner away from the eggs. I've heard stories about fish eating their eggs when they get spooked.
I kept my fry with the parents for almost a month. This might differ though from con to con. I wouldn't remove them to soon as the parents will take pretty good care of them at least for a while. Leave them in for at least 2 weeks would be my advice.
Oh don't forget to put some kind of sock or something over the filter intake. You probably already knew that.
