convicts doing the naughty

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
thanks to everyone for there input*S*:headbang2rock on.
 
If you have a pair that was formed naturally from a group, you could keep them even in a 5g (standard rectangular 5g) and as long as the water quality was in check, they will breed. However, I compare such conditions to a dairy cow that's enclosed in a steel cage for life.

That said, a 20g-long is plenty enough to keep a 4" pair (naturally formed pair) of convicts. It has the same foot print as a 29g (30" wide). A month or so after they spawn, you will need another tank to keep all the fry as the pair will spawn again.

However, if the pair was "forced" you could have problems in any size tank.
 
A 20g long will work for a pair but it won't provide enough room for the fry to growout so make sure you have a place where they can do that. Anything with a smaller footprint and you're likely to encounter aggresion problems between the pair. Even in a 20L I still have to remove my female after spawnings because of the aggresion issues between the male and her.
 
Yeah, if the pair wasn't formed from a group and instead, forced to spawn by just placing 2 random convicts together, you will have issues. When I try to breed by being selective (color, size, etc) with my breeders, they always squabble after spawning. Luckily, I have a couple breeders that are "in love" which have great color, size and form!

Angelofdeath, try to remove the male (divider, another tank, etc) for a few days. During the separation, condition the female for breeding by feeding her generously. Then introduce the male and see if they hit it off. If not, remove and try again in a few more days. Or if you have another male, drop both of them in at the same time with the female and 1 will surely win her over. hth
 
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