Convict breeding questions

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

IowaFish

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
50
Location
Humboldt/Storm Lake
Hi Everyone-

I just have a few questions about convict cichlids breeding. I am heading to a LFS tomorrow and thinking about purchasing some convicts for my 29 gal., I have 5 black fin tetras in there now, and would eventually like to get the convicts to breed. What I am wondering is what do you guys look for when you are buying the convicts? I have been to a few other LFS and looked at the convicts but I couldn't tell the males and the females apart. The females didn't really have the orange/yellowish spot, and the males (from what I could see) did not have a bump on their head. Is there anything else I can look for? If I'm not able to tell would it be best just to pick three and hope for the best? Do the males have brighter colors than the females?

Also, how would I go about finding cichlids that are already mates? Or would it be ok, to just hopefully find a male and female and hope they breed?

For my tank, I'm using PFS, I have one live plant, about 3 or 4 fake plants. I'm putting some rocks that I have boiled and scrubbed from my other tanks in there, and also going to buy some of those potting plants (terocotta ?) for some caves too?

Sorry for such a long post, but thanks everyone :)
 
I've heard convicts breed pretty readily, so pretty much any male and female should breed together. The ones you see at the LFS are probably still young so you can't see any of the signs of male and female differences yet.
 
JDogg said:
if you were in minnesota i could give you a pair

I appreciate the thought :)



So there really isn't anything I can look for in the younger females and males then? When is about the appropriate time they start breeding around 1.5in?
 
IowaFish said:
JDogg said:
if you were in minnesota i could give you a pair

I apprecieate the thought :)



So there really isn't anything I can look for in the yournger females and males then? When is about the appropriate time they start breeding around 1.5in?
my female fry develop the orange spots and layed there first clutch or eggs once they reach about 3/4 of an inch.

(they were breeding with there brothers) :? so the sexes had to be separated :twisted:

males have been developing "hump" about 1.5 "
 
Old post, but sexing cons is almost as easy as breeding them. The females almost ALWAYS sport the orange belly scales, more so when breeding, but they are ALWAYS breeding. Second, the shape of the anal/dorsal fins: females are more rounded, males are longer and pointier. When in doubt, spend ten bucks on five or six of them and separate the ones that don't pair off in the first three to five minutes... get ready for convict fry inside of the following week. No joke...
 
Well I have 5 convicts in my tank 2 females, out of the 5 I bought...but I have had them for around 3 months and no fry....there must be something wrong with my water....They do a lot of digging, and I know the 2 couples have paired off, but no eggs what so ever
 
I never saw the eggs when my cons bred. They just kept defending an area and then.....poof, there were the fry.

I would guess that with 5 convicts in a 29G tank, the eggs get eaten. You could try removing some of the others and leave one pair in there with some dither fish, like danios.
 
What are you feeding them? My females didn't always lay eggs when they didn't get their proper nutrition, and got pretty beat up by the males during those times... I saw a pair the other day with fry in a ten gallon tank with about 30 other adults at the LFS. Their pit was right at the front glass too. I never knew them to be shy enough not to breed around other cons. But I always had them in a 55 gal. and I always could see their eggs too... hmmm... Thats strange you never saw eggs, JB.
 
Have you ever heard of pink convicts? The females are much easier to tell apart in my esperience the orange on the belly is very evident. That's hwo i got mine to breed, i bought a female pink cause i couldnt tell with the normals. If it helps i know the back fins are very pointy in the males. you can breed a pink female witha normal striped maleand get normal black striped fry, i have about 50-60 at about 3/4 inch right now.
 
Back
Top Bottom