Hey Ive got M & F convicts in a 20G. What Im worried about is the male beating on the female. I had him in the tank for about 3 days before I could get her and she is a fair bit smaller than him. She would be about an inch and a teeny bit less in length but the main difference is in the height(if that makes sense) of the fish. He is much more robust than her and is giving her a bit of a hard time. Will this settle down or should I try and take back the male and swap him for a smaller one? Thanks for any replies.
Size difference in convict pairs
- Thread starter Darky
- Start date
Well its ok the females tend to be smaller than the males. Provide a lot of shelter that only the female can hide in. Males tend to have their aggressive moments and become spouse abusers so provide enough cover. Clay pots work great. I tend to lay them ontop of each other. Put some gravel in them to hold them in position. The only real thing to worry sometimes about size differences is when the female is bigger. Sometimes the female will be aggressive to the male to test to see if he is worthy of her eggs.
i have the reverse 
My female is bigger than the male. No fighting though. Just lots of "playing" LOL. How long have they been together?
My female is bigger than the male. No fighting though. Just lots of "playing" LOL. How long have they been together?
Try and have them the same size. If possible have a larger female. I know what you mean by height. As in bulky. My pair are the same length but my male is more chunky.
Add lots of dark caves for the female. And breeding.
Add lots of dark caves for the female. And breeding.
Thanks for the posts, I gave my male to a friend who wanted him and got a smaller male which I thought was the same size as the female but now shes bigger than him lol. He gets the crap beaten out of him, so just hides all the time. Meh ill give it time and see what happens thanks for all your help.
The only time my male beats up on the female is if something happend to the wigglers. I don't know if they get eated by a bushy nose or momma herself, but when the wigglers are gone he beats the hell outa her. 2 days later it's all better.
I had about 380 wigglers, then one day when free swimming they all disappeared, bar 20. She got ripped, and her colours were all grey, still are 2 weeks later! Theres like no white bars, its all grey.
the male should be bigger than the female, yes the male pushes around abit but its should be alot worse than the female being bigger as the female is the main aggressor