Why wont they pair up?

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Slim2634

Slim2634

Plecostomus
MFK Member
May 8, 2006
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Central Ohio
I have three convicts in my 55 (to make sure i have a pair) one for sure is a female that i just bought. The other is iffy and the other is a small male i just bought also. I keep the water about 80-81 in my tank and all my fish are very active. When i first put the female in the biggest convict (iffy on gender) fought her lip locked and everything. now all the convicts chase each other but dont really fight. why wont they pair up? I have no experience with breeding convicts except for a good friend of mine where he ended up with two accidental pairs in a 30 gallon cube.
 
First of all to sex them look for the orange markings near the belly. If tehy are present it is a female and if not its a male. Next how long have you had them in together. I have 2 males and 2 females and it took them about 2 month before they finally paired up.
 
ive heard that the female will be less inclined in species to mate with males of lower stature then them, i would give it time. you'll probably have to wait until he reaches a size 1 1/2X larger then your female! :)
 
Also make sure you have some caves or pots in there for them, might kick up the hormone level to breed a little..LOL Mine didn't pair up either until i put a pot in and after i added that it didn't take long.
 
Maybe they just arent compatable.Sometimes with cichlids they wont go for the mate you picked for it.Getting breeders works best with a group,6 or more.
 
There are plenty of caves and pots. There is definitely a female and definitely a male. They have everything they need just wont pair up.
 
If u have two males and a female or some other mis match they will fight. The female have orange bellies. Although some females wont display this from the start. I have a female right now who was orange bellied and no its completely gone and its off and on. Place pots or other spawning sites around the tank. They should breed easy if u have a pair, the third one will just be chased away from the breeding sight. If u have a pair it can take them a while to spawn. If u dont see results soon try doing a water change and add things to their diets. Also males have very long flowing pointy fins, some females can also have pointy fins but usually not as much.
 
It takes some time surprisingly. I heard that they breed easy and they are, but it takes a bit of time for them to pair up. I bought a male and a female and they didn't breed right off the bat, so I kept buying more. It's easier for them to pair off if there are Dithers in the tank too.
 
I have a pair ive had for 3 years now, male is 4-5" and female is ALOT smaler like 2" and they have always bred. Then recently for whatever reason they refused to breed for around 6 months....and just recently spawned again. I guess everything has to be just to their liking.
 
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