so my convicts recently spawned and the fry are wriggerls right now. when should i seperate the fry from the parents and when should i start feeding the fry?
Convict Fry Care Questions
- Thread starter Redbellypiranha
- Start date
You can leave them together for a few weeks. I had a breeding pair of convicts and I would keep them together until the fry started spreading out. The mother will keep them together/clean them for a few weeks. Once the fry start spreading around, the parents arent coralling them any more and its time to seperate them. I cant give you a specific amount of time when that will happen, just keep an eye on how the parents are handling the fry.
As far as feeding goes, they sell flake food for fry; I just used cichlid flakes that I ground up. I started putting the food in there as soon as I noticed the fry swimming as litte fish, not just wrigglers. They will eat other food or algae at the bottom of the tank though. Just keep an eye on your water conditions until you get the feeding down. If you put too much in or feed them too soon you'll over feed them and your conditions will drop. Water changes are also harder to do when you are trying not to suck up fry
As far as feeding goes, they sell flake food for fry; I just used cichlid flakes that I ground up. I started putting the food in there as soon as I noticed the fry swimming as litte fish, not just wrigglers. They will eat other food or algae at the bottom of the tank though. Just keep an eye on your water conditions until you get the feeding down. If you put too much in or feed them too soon you'll over feed them and your conditions will drop. Water changes are also harder to do when you are trying not to suck up fry
you don't have to separate them, but if you so choose you should wait at least till they're free swimming this way the parents don't freak out and eat them. you might just want to use a siphon to suck them out... However, Convicts make great parents, and although they MIGHT eat the first couple of batches, they will eventually get the hang of it and take care of the fry. It's up to you.
If you leave them in with the parents, they'll often just eat the scraps from the parents.
If you leave them in with the parents, they'll often just eat the scraps from the parents.
here what i did with my pair... once they were free swimming i took out the dad and let mom take care of them..
Mine breed successfully in community tanks, some even make it along with other sebra couples, bichirs, rope/snakefish, jacks, a pulcher, stinging catfish, oscars and Blue acara. Great parents. If not fed live artemia, the fry still grow well with any quality food fed to the parents. They chew and spit it out for the fry to feed on.
Convicts bread so often and readily that you can let nature take it's course and have only the strongest fry survive. You'll be surprised at how many you have after a few month doing it this way even. Recently there was a guy in my area who was separating the fry from two breeding pair and he was begging people to take his 150+ juvis off of his hands.
There are great feeders! Better than guppies, Or gold fish. White mice with fins.
Mine breed even with the fry in the tank. Put out a batch about ever month!
Demseys, And Oscars, Love them.
But you can separate them in a couple weeks. And start feeding them 3-4 days after hatching.
Spike
Its real easy. Once I got them free swimming I took most of the fry out and put them in other tank. Plus the pair I used to have was in a community so no female harrassment