Convicted Killer

[keonetfish]

I bought a pair of black striped convicts to breed feeders and I put them in a ten gallon together and the female was always hiding. The male was 3" and the female was 2". I knew they were a proven pair because I saw their spawn at the store. The ten gallon wasn't permanent. I was going to upgrade them to a twenty later. I was told water changes induce spawning and I did weekly water changes. I had them in their for two weeks and no spawn. One day I wake up to go turn the lights on and I see the female dead and you can tell she had been beaten up.

How can I prevent this and how can I be successful at breeding them? I was told it's the easiest thing to do, but my experience says otherwise. I have everything ready if I ever get fry, but I haven't replaced my female yet. I will replace the female when I know what I am doing.

 

[Industrial]

Get a new male. I had an awesome pair where they wouldn't fight at all. Then I had a female who killed every single male I tried to introduce, even when much larger.

Some convicts just don't want tank mates.

 

[keonetfish]

Get a new male. I had an awesome pair where they wouldn't fight at all. Then I had a female who killed every single male I tried to introduce, even when much larger.

Some convicts just don't want tank mates.

I don't know what caused the male to kill the female. Like I said, they are a proven pair.

 

[Industrial]

I don't know what caused the male to kill the female. Like I said, they are a proven pair.

All male and female convicts will naturally try to raise the young good. You can introduce any male into a tank with a female and eggs and he will try to fertilize the eggs.

So pretty much any male and female convict can be a proven pair, the task is finding a good pair that will not kill each other. Chances are he killed her because of territory, or he saw her as a threat to the young/eggs.

 

[keonetfish]

All male and female convicts will naturally try to raise the young good. You can introduce any male into a tank with a female and eggs and he will try to fertilize the eggs.

So pretty much any male and female convict can be a proven pair, the task is finding a good pair that will not kill each other. Chances are he killed her because of territory, or he saw her as a threat to the young/eggs.

He probably killer her because of territory because as far as I know, there were no fry or eggs.

 

[Bearbear]

Ten gallons is on the smaller end for cons. Might look for pink cons, they don't grow as large as the striped ones.
A 20g long or 30g is recommended for a pair, although a 10g would work for some pairs.
It would be hard to make a hiding spot for the female when there is a minimal size difference. Can try to make more hiding spots and objects to break line of sight so it is easier to run away.
Maybe he just got tired waiting for her to "put out."

 

[keonetfish]

Ten gallons is on the smaller end for cons. Might look for pink cons, they don't grow as large as the striped ones.
A 20g long or 30g is recommended for a pair, although a 10g would work for some pairs.
It would be hard to make a hiding spot for the female when there is a minimal size difference. Can try to make more hiding spots and objects to break line of sight so it is easier to run away.
Maybe he just got tired waiting for her to "put out."

Well the tank was densely packed with driftwood. She had plenty of hiding spots. Plus they're small. I was planning on moving them to a 20 long, but since the female is gone, I just put the male in my 55. He probably did get tired of waiting for her though.