Convicts

[garfy]

Ok so I added 3 convicts and 14 buenes aires tetra to my Festae tank.Two of the convicts seem to have paired up.They are about 1 1/2" long.They have claimed one of the Cichlid stones (a small one).Does this mean they are breeding already?They chase away all comers.

 

[Wyomingite]

Some of the cons I threw in my 225 for feeders escaped gettin' nommed and formed pairs. They're reproducin' left and right now. It seems that once they paired up, everything stopped tryin' to eat 'em. A coupla the females are less than 2" and the males aren't a whole lot bigger, so ya very well could have a pair.

WYite

 

[bcurlacher54]

Why would you use convicts for feeders?

 

[Wyomingite]

Why would you use convicts for feeders?

Why not? They reproduce faster than livebearers with much larger spawns, grow faster, and the parents don't eat the young, so ya can grow 'em out in fewer tanks. They have virtually no market value, so there's no reason to continually try to trade 'em in to a store that doesn't want 'em anyway.

They make ideal feeders.

WYite

 

[chaser98989]

That's really interesting I've never thought about that and its better than getting stuck with 50 convicts in your tank like my sister did

 

[Wyomingite]

That's really interesting I've never thought about that and its better than getting stuck with 50 convicts in your tank like my sister did

Eventually the smaller breeders will get picked off by the larger cichlids in the 225 gallon, and others will likely take their place, to be picked off in their turn. There's always a constant supply of snacks for the big guys with the cons breeding. It seems to be workin' fairly well, actually, but at first I was a bit annoyed.

Sorry, garfy. Didn't mean to hijack yer thread.

WYite

 

[cichlidcasey]

They will pair up and they will lay eggs every week almost

 

[chaser98989]

Some of the cons I threw in my 225 for feeders escaped gettin' nommed and formed pairs. They're reproducin' left and right now. It seems that once they paired up, everything stopped tryin' to eat 'em. A coupla the females are less than 2" and the males aren't a whole lot bigger, so ya very well could have a pair.

WYite

What other fish do you have in your 225

 

[garfy]

They will pair up and they will lay eggs every week almost

So when my Festae get bigger I will be relying on them to eat the fry.

 

[Tigerosx]

Some of the cons I threw in my 225 for feeders escaped gettin' nommed and formed pairs. They're reproducin' left and right now. It seems that once they paired up, everything stopped tryin' to eat 'em. A coupla the females are less than 2" and the males aren't a whole lot bigger, so ya very well could have a pair.

WYite

You know that's a great idea. And my cons just paired last week but failed... Feeder fish are horrible rosey reds and comits because they are cold water and fatty no good at all for cichlids but convicts brilliant...

 

[Aski247]

I also have used cons in the past for feeders, and I'm planning on it again here in the next couple months. I'm about to start up a red belly tank, and have some small cons and FM's. That are going to be in a 55 to spawn me feeders. They really are about one of the best fish you can breed for the use of feeding.

Outside of that, they are also one of the coolest smaller cichlids out there. They are the small scale version of all the attitude and aggression of the big boy SA/CA cichlids have to offer. Pound for pound I still say they are one of the baddest fish out there. (while spawning).

 

[chaser98989]

I just cleared out my 40 looks like I might have another use for it now and my sister has a ton of convicts looks like I might have to go snatch a few to breed

 

[garfy]

Well I was right I see fry in the Cichlid stone.Mother is playing sentry with some help from dad.breed like rabbits is an understatement!!

 

[Pam is here]

I've got 3 regular convicts over a month ago. They are now breeding. Fisty little buggers. I just picked up a 6" pink male with the very large hump on his head and a 4" female for $3.00 the big male looks so cool. I call him nemo. They are fun fish. The regular con tries to take on the pink 6" male. The bites don't even phase him.