Inducing Convict to Breed

[RebeccaB]

Be sure to maintain at least 78F.....

Um, no. I have siquia convicts and we just roll with the local temps moderated by 130 gallons of water in the tank. Temps in Nicaragua range from the 50s to the 105s F -- but the water will never be that cold or that hot in the lakes and rivers. The big thing with the females I've had is that they want the boys to be bigger than they are. He's the defense muscle. He courts her by fanning his body so the water he moves hit her lateral line. He might mate with the smallest female in the tank; she won't mate with the smaller of two males.

In the spawns that I raised, the girls start larger but when their bellies start showing red, the males will have a growth spurt.

Don't know about the nigrofasciatus convicts -- but they're from further north than the species here.

 

[Wailua Boy]

I've spawned large females with small males...
R RebeccaB

 

[RebeccaB]

By the way, one thing - how unlikely are americans to breed without flat surfaces to lay eggs on? I ask because I have lava rock, and the surfaces of those rocks are very rugged. Americans generally prefer smooth surfaces, don't they?

I have roof tiles in my 130 gallon tank. The other spawning site that worked with siquia convicts were upright coffee cups or coffee cups on their sides. They breed in enclosed spaces but the entrance can vertical or horizontal. Convicts don't breed on flat surfaces. They will dig under rocks or driftwood to breed there.

Some Centrals will lay eggs on a flat rock, but I think many are cave breeders and some dig tunnels but will accept pots in aquarium conditions.

 

[RebeccaB]

I've spawned large females with small males...
R RebeccaB

My guess is that if nothing else is around, that would work. I had nine wild caught convicts and pared that down to two breeding couples. All the females were smaller than all but one of the males. Four different pairs bred for me. This is my current male.

 

[Wailua Boy]

My hatchery doesn't focus on convicts as there is no market value for these fish but I do have a few breeding set ups I occasionally use as feeders or giveaways.
R RebeccaB

 

[RebeccaB]

I got mine as a rescue from one of the collectors who'd put them in with Tanganyikans. Can't sell them here in Nicaragua due to environmental protection laws, but can trade them. Siquia appears to be a mellower fish, or I have very fast mollies. What I'd like next would be A. longimannus or Nics. If I wanted to breed something commercially, it would have to be an allowed import, not a national fish. However, I like having the national fish.

I think I've read that Convicts in Hawaii are an invasive species in natural waters.

 

[Wailua Boy]

There are a few populations occupying low elevation areas, which are already occupied by introduced tilapiine cichlids. Our remaining native species occupy high elevation streams where tropical species(like convicts) are unlikely to become established. The state of Hawaii encourages FW aquaculture for these reason. The conditionally non approved species are temperate species for this reason
R RebeccaB

 

[MN_Rebel]

I've spawned large females with small males...
R RebeccaB

That's an exception. Rebecca's statement holds true for most convicts that females prefer large males over small males.

 

[Wailua Boy]

What is your experience/credentials in regard to cichlid reproduction???
MN_Rebel

 

[Wailua Boy]

Aren't you still in high school?
MN_Rebel