..So my cons paired off (surprise, surprise!) leaving 1 female on her own, and one pair. The female lays eggs, the male instantly attacks his partner, forcing her to retreat behind my heater (insted of one of 12 caves in the tank.. go figure). The male guards the eggs for a day, and then eats them. Later the same night, he's actually paired up with the OTHER female. Swimming together, attacking the other female (which will be removed soon, she's taking a beating), and cleaning spawn sites. I always knew Cons got it on alot, but how audcious does a male con have to be? Is this normal, or what?
Convict Player
- Thread starter Dread
- Start date
When I started I bought 4 really small convicts before you can tell the sex. It turned out i had 2 males and and 2 females, all four paired off,spawned, then after fry were swimming on there own they switched partners, and spawned again!!!! The babies are looking real colorful too.
Well that's good to know. I'm used to livebearers, and I'm not too sure how it is egg-layers (especially Cichlids!) are when it comes to parenting. Everyone says Cons are great parents, but maybe mine belong on the fish equivalent of Jerry Springer! It is very interesting to watch their behaviour, nonetheless. I just hope when the new pair spawns, it will be more successful. I'm still hoping for 2 or 3 fry that the male missed eating. I doubt it, but maybe I'll be surprised. This is all a new experiment for me! 
I'll keep this thread updated just incase anyone is as interested as I am.
I'll keep this thread updated just incase anyone is as interested as I am.
Cons are definently interesting fish. My pair spawned for the first time a couple of months ago and raised their babies fine. The next batch was hatched and then the female went nuts and attacted the male and had him hiding on the one side of the tank for 3 days. Then they paired back up and ate all the babies. Now they just hatched their 3rd batch of eggs last week and are acting completly normal like the first time. Never a dull moment with these tiny terrors.
yes, convicts i've had seem to have had some issues remaining monogamous
they are the playas of the new world cichlids... kinda
they are the playas of the new world cichlids... kinda
Yup. I had a male and two females in the 75. The male spawned with one. When those fry became free swimming he moved over and spawned with the other female. I would have had hundreds of lil cons but the tank broke soon after and I lost em all.