New to breeding Convicts!

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Cheesetian

Cheesetian

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 14, 2010
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So i've been reading this section a lot and i've noticed that many people breed convicts. From enough reading i now know that they are some sort of cichlids. But there are a few things i would like to know before i go ahead with trying to breed them.

1. Is my 2x1x1 tank big enough to house a breeding pair?

2. I have an Eheim 1000, is that an adequate enough filter?

3. What kind of subtrate should i be using? And what about plants and rocks?

4. How do i identify convicts? I went to the store and all the cichlids look the same to me apart from their colors.

5. How many should i buy at one time to get a good mating pair?

6. What kind of food do convicts eat?

7. At what size and age do they reach sexual maturity and what is the maximum size a convict can grow to?

8. How can i tell if the female is going to spawn? Are there any mating rituals?

9. Are there any ways to tell the male and female apart?

10. Sorry for the question, i'm a noob. Any extra input would be wonderful.

Thanks and much appreciated! ><(((^> :nilly:
 
1. Is my 2x1x1 tank big enough to house a breeding pair?
a 20gal would be fine

2. I have an Eheim 1000, is that an adequate enough filter?

3. What kind of subtrate should i be using? And what about plants and rocks?
they don't need much just put a little gravel and a cave or two

4. How do i identify convicts? I went to the store and all the cichlids look the same to me apart from their colors.

http://www.fantasyreef.com/showthread.php?t=3180

5. How many should i buy at one time to get a good mating pair?
one male and two female

6. What kind of food do convicts eat?
cichlid food

7. At what size and age do they reach sexual maturity and what is the maximum size a convict can grow to?
they can breed at 2" and they get to 6"

8. How can i tell if the female is going to spawn? Are there any mating rituals?

9. Are there any ways to tell the male and female apart?
female have more color in them...

10. Sorry for the question, i'm a noob. Any extra input would be wonderful.
 
8. How can i tell if the female is going to spawn? Are there any mating rituals?
Click to expand...
In my experience the male will chase the female around for hours or sometimes days (make lots of hiding places or the female might be killed). Once this behavior stops, spawning will happen shortly after. Breeding Cons isn't rocket science, just add water. :naughty:

As for your filter. I've never heard of an Ehiem 1000 and my search brought up nothing. :confused:
If your refering to the Eheim Liberty 100 (Power Filter) it should work just fine.
 
to tell a male and female apart is easy. The female has red on the belly and when she is getting ready to breed the red will get more intense. If there isnt any red then look at the dorsal fin it should have some color on it. The males dont have any other colors than blue and black stripes.
 
Convict cichlids will breed in 5g buckets bought from Home Depot........LoL, really.........As far as that 20g tank, a male and female will definately breed within a week........If you are new, here is a few simple, but effecient guidlines that 100% work:

No gravel.............

Lay a small to medium sized flower clay pot on its side, it will act as a cave for the pair to lay eggs in...........

Set temperature at 78-82 degrees..........

Feed the fish twice a day.........Get them used to pellet food, preferably Hikari Color Enahncing pellets(small).....Flakes tend to "explode" all over the tank and get caught in nooks and crannies, causing ammonia spikes(bad water)...........

Do a 35% water change once a week............

Keeping the tank simple like this will gaurantee healthy breeding fish........You keep this regiment up and you will see your pair breed twice, maybe three times a month...........Buy an extra 10g tank for $10-20, brand new(easy to find at this price)............Start raising the fry in the 10g once they start swimming..........No decorations or gravel, but same temperature(78-82), use a sponge filter, do 50% water changes every day for the first week...........Then cut the water change to two 35% water changes every week..............Convict cichlids are big enough to sell/trade when they are one inch in size, or 1-1/2 months olds............
 
Yeah not sure why you wouldn't want gravel except for ease of maintenance. My convicts FREAKED out when I took the gravel out of the tank to make the switch to sand. When it got to the point of having bare spots they would 'cling' to the areas where there was still gravel...

I'm still waiting on my pair to breed but I think they might have laid eggs in my dragon already. The female was VERY bright and now she's pretty dull and they're trading off being in the dragon. They don't attack the glass or so any extreme signs of aggressive/defensive behavior except for constantly having all fins flared. We'll see I guess....hopefully in a few days I'll have fry swimming around. I won't be able to tell until they're free-swimming and make their way out of the dragon though:irked:

I might need to look into to picking up a 10gal & a sponge filter & cheap heater to raise them in eventually...I could just keep it in my stand, wire up a little lamp or an LED or something so they can have some amount of light...
 
Cheesetian;4575433; said:
Don't convicts like to dig?
Click to expand...


If your intention ius to breed for feeders, and be effecient about it, then simplest is the best..........With gravel, you get a lot of waisted food trapped in the gravel, which leads to decaying material, which leads to ammonia spikes.....Ammonia is pretty much piss and crap.........With gravel, too, the chances of some fry being trapped under the tiny stones is a factor.........Without gravel, you get a straight forward scene, eyeballing the whole spawn wiggling along the floor........
 
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