Cheesetian;4573912; said:
1. Is my 2x1x1 tank big enough to house a breeding pair?
It's on the small side, and once they spawn will overcrowd very quickly.
2. I have an Eheim 1000, is that an adequate enough filter?
Best info I could find was ~80-100gph flow. If you can rig a sponge filter out of it, it might handle it.
3. What kind of subtrate should i be using? And what about plants and rocks?
Barebottom, or very little gravel (At one point I only covered half the bottom with about half an inch of gravel to anchor plants. My convicts weren't worried by bare glass at all. Consider taping black construction paper/poster to the back and/or sides of the tank to cut down on movement outside the tank scaring them. The female will need a place or two she can hide from the bigger male. Consider getting some small clay pots (or other items to create shelters) and a mix of plastic plants / floating live plants you can tie down if you don't have gravel. Anacharis went over well for me. They don't seem to bother it when floating, and it grows well for me in a low light setup.
4. How do i identify convicts? I went to the store and all the cichlids look the same to me apart from their colors.
Many cichlids look similar when they're growing out. Any reputable shop can set you straight, or hit up google images.
5. How many should i buy at one time to get a good mating pair?
If you start with a single male/female pair, you may lose one to aggression. Starting with 4-5 and returning/trading/giving away the spares once they pair may help spread the chasing.
6. What kind of food do convicts eat?
Mine were picky until they spawned and the fry started eating. They'll currently eat anything that hits the water. Flake, pellet, stick, veggies, insects, etc. Before that, they tore up the Tetra tropical crisps and granules.
7. At what size and age do they reach sexual maturity and what is the maximum size a convict can grow to?
I have had females spawn successfully and others show mature color at ~1". You're more likely to see success at 2+ Remember to look for the tank's dominant male. You may be able to buy a pair at the store - they're that anxious to get started. The dominant fish will be darker colored with less damage to their fins, usually holding a corner/area to theirselves.
As to max size, you'll likely see them top out in the ~6" range for males. Smaller for females.
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8. How can i tell if the female is going to spawn? Are there any mating rituals?
Intially when pairing (as well as when they're becoming sexually mature) she'll darken up considerably and her belly will show a good bit of orange-red metallic.
Females will flare (Like the pictures below) their fins, puff out their gill plates, jitter and swim all around the male running against him. When she starts getting reclusive and digs a pit or you see her gaurding a cave / swimming upside down in it / etc, you're getting there.
In my second picture, you can see the females breeding tube. She's only waiting on the male at this point. If your female drops tube, eggs and aggression are inbound.
9. Are there any ways to tell the male and female apart?
Coloring and size. Females will show orange-red metallic flake on their stomach.
Here's a few quick shots - 8mp camera phone, but they're not fond of sitting still. Best I can do short notice without leeching google images.
- One of my lightest colored females. She's a bit pissed, I took her fry this morning. ~2.75" or so.
- Pair over Tahitian Moon sand. She's yet to lay, eating very well, and still nowhere near as dark as last time.
- Same female. Just to give you an idea of the different irridescent colors they'll show in their fins when happy. You'll see golds, reds, blues, and greens. Approximately ~2.25"
- A handful of the female's fry loving their new algea farm. (They're growing out a bit there with black neons, corys, and ottos) The green is horribly washed out by an abundance of lighting.
Easy fish to raise, ton of aggressive personality. My fry started attacking my arm at about .5" to demand food.
I actually go "convict fishing" instead of netting. I can hold an earthworm in one hand, lower it in, and lift a 1-4" convict clean out of the water to try and grab before it shakes and tears it's prize free.
You may have trouble triggering a pair to form / start spawning. Dither fish / a few smaller convicts to beat up on tend to do the trick.
Hope it helps. ^_^
I can't move him to my other tank, I have two ready-to-breed females in that tank, its overstocked as it is & I can't afford to risk getting 1 or even 2 hostile pairs of convicts out of it:\ Hopefully he makes it through.
