Cichlid going mental...

[Dissy]

So.. Yesterday Dee (female convict) laid another batch of eggs.. I just scraped them off and rinsed them down the sink - she didn't really seem to care.

Today. Taco (pink female convict) laid eggs. Went to scoop out the flower pot, and she tried to bite me, and she's terrorizing everything in the tank. I got the pot out, and rinsed her eggs down the drain.

(I have no males - they're not going to be fertilized, but see no point behind the additional stress of them getting vicious in my tank).

This is the 5th or 6th time they've laid eggs - usually, I leave them, and let them dispose of them - HOWEVER, they're getting older, and experimenting with their "mean" trait. (Kids grow up so fast).

They're in a 60 gallon tank (3 female convicts, 1 male JD, and 3 spotted pictus)...

Any chance she's going to stop going mental any time soon, or should I rehome her for a little bit?

 

[toddnbecka]

Female convicts are notorious for crossbreeding with any male available if there aren't any convicts. The Dempsey may have actually fertilized the eggs.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

This is what Convicts do. This is what your tank combination brings IMHO. Fertilized or not they will attack you. Once they learn that you are a predator (you take their eggs) they will be waiting for you and they will get you. Just the same way they learn what feeds them, they'll be waiting... Be careful...

 

[Dissy]

This is what Convicts do. This is what your tank combination brings IMHO. Fertilized or not they will attack you. Once they learn that you are a predator (you take their eggs) they will be waiting for you and they will get you. Just the same way they learn what feeds them, they'll be waiting... Be careful...

LOL! Luckily I feed them, and they well know it. She seems to have gotten over it. She's sulking still, but not going mental.

(I don't think the Dempsey fertilized them, as he's much younger than they are, and all HE cares about at the moment is food, and I also think he is a she.)

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Just don't say I didn't warn you. LOL

My convicts protect eggs with or without fertilization.

 

[Josh]

This is what Convicts do. This is what your tank combination brings IMHO. Fertilized or not they will attack you. Once they learn that you are a predator (you take their eggs) they will be waiting for you and they will get you. Just the same way they learn what feeds them, they'll be waiting... Be careful...

LoL. I just had the best mental image of cichlid hiding under a rock with a sinister look on its face, plotting its next act of vengeance.

 

[Dissy]

LoL. I just had the best mental image of cichlid hiding under a rock with a sinister look on its face, plotting its next act of vengeance.

What're you talking about? Convicts are front & center with a sinister look on their faces..

Hiding, indeed.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

What're you talking about? Convicts are front & center with a sinister look on their faces..

Hiding, indeed.

That's what's so dangerous about them. You're busy telling them how cute they are as they swim away with a chunk of your flesh.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Female convicts are notorious for crossbreeding with any male available if there aren't any convicts. The Dempsey may have actually fertilized the eggs.

Yep. I had a convict female and jd male pair once. I didn't get to raise the fry as a loach ate them before I knew what was happening.