Weird post spawning behavior among convicts

[ram0040]

A few weeks ago my pair of convicts spawned and produced a number of offspring. I removed the other fish that were in the tank with the pair so I could leave them and the babies alone. All has been going well...with the parents taking care of the young and all of that good stuff. Today, after my weekly PWC I noticed the male chasing the female around aggressively....something that has never happened before. Upon closer observation it seems as though the male may be chasing the female away from the babies anytime she gets anywhere close. She is now hiding out and seems stressed. Does anyone have any idea why this is taking place? Any suggestions?

On a side note I will post pics of the pair and their young soon.

 

[TCTFish]

Seems perhaps he is not recognizing her anymore as his partner. Perhaps the PWC may have disturbed something in relation to them recognizing one from another (scents). Keep an eye on the aggression and maybe it'll all fall back into place. This is just a guess, but obviously he is not recognizing her. It's all I can think of at the moment. How often do you do PWC and how much do you take out each time?

 

[ram0040]

I do PWC once every 7-10 days, except for the week after they hatched, as I didn't want to disturb them to much. I changed about 20-25% of the water when doing a change and I made sure to stay away from the young while doing so. The female still has the bright red markings along her belly as well as a green tint to her fins. Could this mean that are ready to mate again so soon? I have observed them a little more and some of the time it looks like he is just sort of dancing around her but still other times he is surely chasing her as she will go hide behind the heater or filter intake. Thanks for the help TCTFish.

Update:It looks as though it may have been exactly what you said. They seem back to normal now. I was still wondering about the signs that they may be ready to mate again and also when I should remove the young.

 

[TCTFish]

Usually the brighter the orange the more she's ready to spawn again. These fish breed like rabbits so she just may be ready.

I've seen batches upon batches of fry live together, so separation isn't really necessary if you have the tank room for it, but you can take them out at any time you are ready.

 

[ram0040]

I posted pics in my gallery of the family of convicts.

 

[TCTFish]

Cool pics . Nice roomy tank. What plans do you ahve for the kids when they grow up???

 

[JDogg]

A few weeks ago my pair of convicts spawned and produced a number of offspring. I removed the other fish that were in the tank with the pair so I could leave them and the babies alone. All has been going well...with the parents taking care of the young and all of that good stuff. Today, after my weekly PWC I noticed the male chasing the female around aggressively....something that has never happened before. Upon closer observation it seems as though the male may be chasing the female away from the babies anytime she gets anywhere close. She is now hiding out and seems stressed. Does anyone have any idea why this is taking place? Any suggestions?

On a side note I will post pics of the pair and their young soon.

my pair does this to...without the pwc. once the male has "used the female" for what he wants... he will chase her away...i fix it by netting all the fry, and feeding them to my other fish they are a happy couple again in 24 hours...

 

[ram0040]

I don't really know what I am going to do with them yet. I am moving in a little over a month so nothing before then. It may be hard to sell them to an LFS since they usually seem to have plenty. I think there is around 20 fry remaining. I was thinking about making a tank specifically for convict breeding and feeding the fry to my other fish, but I don't know if I have it in me to use them as food after watching them grow up. Any ideas would be great.

I am going to see if I can get some better pictures today. Last night the fry were swimming out in the open but for some reason the pics my camera was taking were all grainy so I shall try again. All of those pics are from like a week ago.

 

[JDogg]

I don't really know what I am going to do with them yet. I am moving in a little over a month so nothing before then. It may be hard to sell them to an LFS since they usually seem to have plenty. I think there is around 20 fry remaining. I was thinking about making a tank specifically for convict breeding and feeding the fry to my other fish, but I don't know if I have it in me to use them as food after watching them grow up. Any ideas would be great.

I am going to see if I can get some better pictures today. Last night the fry were swimming out in the open but for some reason the pics my camera was taking were all grainy so I shall try again. All of those pics are from like a week ago.

the fist batch i did not have the heart to feed to my other fish either, but after 4 batches now... :?

 

[ram0040]

Ya, that is how I am guessing I will feel, JDogg. What fish do you feed the fry too, and how do you do it? Just put them in the tank? Could you feed them to saltwater fish or would you need saltwater fry to do that? If so what is an easy breeding saltwater fish?

 

[TCTFish]

Better to feed saltwater fish saltwater food and freshwater fish freshwater food.

Other meat eating cichlids would love a snack and much more nutritious than goldfish. Just plop them in as you would with any other food.

 

[ram0040]

Cool, that is what I assumed but I thought I would ask anywyas. They are still doing great. Hopefully I will get some updated pics soon. The fry are growing so fast.

 

[JDogg]

Ya, that is how I am guessing I will feel, JDogg. What fish do you feed the fry too, and how do you do it? Just put them in the tank? Could you feed them to saltwater fish or would you need saltwater fry to do that? If so what is an easy breeding saltwater fish?

I feed them to my African clawed frog, Angels and my turtle