Deformed Convicts

[jimk]

I was at the local Petsmart when one of the clerks offered me pink convicts, for free. They looked alright so I took eight, figuring I can breed them for feeders at the very least. They had been in a tank with high ammonia so I put them in a bucket to drip acclimate. When I saw them from above, I noticed that their bodies were deformed, with lumps near the tail area. I picked on up to look closer and it seems to be skeletal, no ulcerations or wounds. Normally, i would assume you would cull these fish. What causes this condition and will the fish still breed true. I don't plan on sharing the fry and would use them for feeders.

 

[mudskipper]

pics?

 

[Jason_S]

I'd say there's more than a decent chance they could have come from a spawn of jellybeans. some jellybeans look like convicts with a short body (often times they're called short-bodied convicts) while others have more of a parrot look.

 

[rallysman]

I have a convict that looks like a parrot. Maybe if you could get some pix up we could compare the 2

 

[jimk]

here's some pics. They do look somewhat short bodied. You can see from the overhead view the bulge on the left side near his tail. i've seen parrots but usually the altered bodies are symmetrical and these seem to have it only on one side.

 

[scottv]

Could be just bad water...your con doesn't look too parrot like....Looks almost like it got stunted or something....It's possibly mixed with jellybean but didn't have the head...

I had a Parrot convict also....the LFS girl almost charged me extra for it cuz she thought it was a parrot. I had to pursuade her with fishgeekyness.

 

[Samps]

Don't cull them dude. They are not that deformed.

Especially if you're just going to use the fry for feeders.

You rescued them from a bad situation and so they at least deserve a chance to live with ya.

Just my thoughts bro.

Samps

 

[jimk]

I not going to cull them. They seem to be swimming and eating fine. I'm just curious as to whether they will breed normally.