Do these look fertile?

[Deadeye]

Found my female convict going psycho, which I figured can only mean one thing:

If I’m correct tan means that they have been fertilized... and I don’t have a male convict.
She has been chasing the jack and fighting the bp like two male doviis.
She even lunged at the leporinus, which is usually reserved for the suicidal fish.
So here are the contenders for a father:
Male jack Dempsey - if I’m correct it is the only cichlid in there that can successfully breed with a convict
Blood parrot - Anything’s possible with these things
Female krib - impossible but I might as well throw it into the mix

The parrot does hang out near the nest, so I am leaning towards him, but the female seems to want no part in him:

Are they even fertile?

 

[Deadeye]

It’s the parrot, it’s tube is dropped:

 

[tlindsey]

It’s the parrot, it’s tube is dropped:View attachment 1441707

Yes the tube is dropped.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

If they've only been laid, I don't think you can tell if they've been fertilized. If they're still tan in a few days, or if they all start fungusing then you'll know.

 

[Deadeye]

Any idea how long until they would hatch? I’m estimating 3-4 days from what I’ve seen with other fish.
I always thought they start white and turn tan after fertilization?

 

[Jexnell]

Yes if tan then they should be fertilized, by who we don't know. Normally the male stands guard with the female so a dead give away. In your case will have to wait for the fry to develop to see possibly who the father is. If it's the BP it will be obvious. If it's the JD we won't see any parrot like fry or the orange coloring.

Here is a pic of fertilized eggs
And a few days later
See the pile of wigglers behind mom on guard duty.

 

[Deadeye]

Parrot does seem to be doing some sort of patrolling. He is the only fish allowed on the convict’s side of the tank. Convict is the only one chasing fish away though.
Are convicts usually this brutal to their mate though? I know they are nightmares when breeding, but I always thought that was directed more towards other fish. I’m more afraid for the parrot than anyone else in there.

Also, if the parrot is the father, are these technically polar blue parrots (I was always under the impression those were just shortbody cons)?

 

[Jexnell]

Yes Cons are brutal to all when eggs/fry are present. I had a pair that kept a obviously bigger Oscar in a 1/4 of the tank till I got a divider.


The damage to the male is from the female telling him to run off other fish she thinks are too close. My Nanolutae are doing the same thing.
My pair
And zoomed in on the male

Look at that ragged tail and he has a couple nips in his dorsal, all will heal in time. Just shows how rough they are on each other. This pair was keeping 4 other Nanolutae and 9 Bleeding Hearts tetras in a 1/4 of a 6ft tank.

The polar blues you mentioned are BPxHRP (Honduran Red Points)
The blue comes from the HRPs

A male I had

 

[Deadeye]

Thanks! Good to know she is no worse than any other convict. I guess she is just pushed that my parrot actually likes his tankmates.
Once the eggs start to hatch I’ll start a thread to document the progress!

 

[Magnus_Bane]

Parrot does seem to be doing some sort of patrolling. He is the only fish allowed on the convict’s side of the tank. Convict is the only one chasing fish away though.
Are convicts usually this brutal to their mate though? I know they are nightmares when breeding, but I always thought that was directed more towards other fish. I’m more afraid for the parrot than anyone else in there.

Also, if the parrot is the father, are these technically polar blue parrots (I was always under the impression those were just shortbody cons)?

Convicts are some of the most brutal cichlids in the hobby imo. Not only will they try to breed with everything but they will also try to kill most everything once they have laid eggs. The eggs don't even need to be fertilized for the cons to act the way they do, all that needs to happen is for them is to pair up with someone and lay eggs and then almost instantly they will start to act like pcycopaths.

As for if the fry, they wouldn't be called polar parrots they would just be BP x Con. A polar parrot is usually made by either having a convict or HRP passing on the short body gene to it's children. Polar parrots my have parrot in the name but it's only to reference the BP like body style that these shortbodies have.

As for the most likely suspect imo for the father, I would say that goes to the JD. I've seen plenty of pics of JD and cons producing viable fry/fish and honestly it's kind of a lack luster hybrid. They generally get the shape, color and pattern of a con but gain just a small fraction of the JD blue/green spotting. Here's a pic on one from Google.