This Is Fish For The New Breeders
- Thread starter WolfFisho1
- Start date
I just purchased 2 Zebra Cons and i have them in my 30g tank. The only problem when I bought them the guy spent like 30 minutes trying to catch two for me. So, I was pretty much stuck with what I got. They are both about 3"- 4". I really wanted a male and a female to breed so I can feed the fry to my 2 oscars. My only problem is I dont know how to sex them. Is there a way to vent them or are there distinct colors to tell the differance? Any info on these guys would be awesome. This is my first time with cons and I want a bunch of little cons 
From what I've heard....The males develope points on the end of their upper and lower fins, and females do not. The males will also sometimes show shimmering colors on their fins to attract females, but only for small periods of time. I have a pair of pink convicts that just spawned for the second time, so I am awaiting to see if I get little fry to feed my oscar and pbass.
What will happen if I have 2 male convicts? Do you have any pics of a male and female convict? Thanks!
Males tend to fight over females.....I've never had 2 males by themselves so....??
Males are larger (~4 inches) than the females(~ 2 1/2 to 3 inches), and while they do have a bluish sheen in the dorsal and tail fin , they lack the orange metallic colour that females develop on their bellies. I've noticed males develop more pronounced points to their dorsal and anal fins as well.
If you have a pair, put the temps in the upper 70's to mid eightees, alkaline (pH 7.5 to 8.0), medium hard water (at least 8 dGH), and of course the lower the nitrates the better. A flower pot turned on its side or some caves will do the trick.
Babies (and parents) graze on algae in the wild, so the fry will seek it out in the aquarium, and can be started on baby brine shrimp, or even just crushed flake.
My daughter has 8 right now that are just getting big enough to show colours and pair off. She's going to keep the pair and give away the remainder.
Or they can come swim with my Oscars heheheheh
Males are larger (~4 inches) than the females(~ 2 1/2 to 3 inches), and while they do have a bluish sheen in the dorsal and tail fin , they lack the orange metallic colour that females develop on their bellies. I've noticed males develop more pronounced points to their dorsal and anal fins as well.
If you have a pair, put the temps in the upper 70's to mid eightees, alkaline (pH 7.5 to 8.0), medium hard water (at least 8 dGH), and of course the lower the nitrates the better. A flower pot turned on its side or some caves will do the trick.
Babies (and parents) graze on algae in the wild, so the fry will seek it out in the aquarium, and can be started on baby brine shrimp, or even just crushed flake.
My daughter has 8 right now that are just getting big enough to show colours and pair off. She's going to keep the pair and give away the remainder.
Or they can come swim with my Oscars heheheheh
go for it man i have had mine for like 2 weeks and they're allready starting to show cool colours and display some mating behaviour. i have too many right now, so some are going to have to go, but i have high hopes.benzjamin13 said:
convicts are great fish. everyone should own a pair at least once. 
rallysman, very nice male convict you posted but I agree with the suspicions you mentioned in another thread that there is some parrot in him. 
rallysman, very nice male convict you posted but I agree with the suspicions you mentioned in another thread that there is some parrot in him. 