Convict Color Question

[Nevergone815]

how come everyone has nice zebra striped convicts lol. all i can ever find is darker ones, like they have black stripes on dark blue/grey backing. i guess that's a black convict or something, but still, i want the pretty zebras lol. i guess i would get them (zebras) if i breed them (the dark ones) together right. like some of the fry

like this one...

will some of his offspring have white stripes with the black? or will they all be dark like him? he would breed to a pink convict if that makes a difference (idk).

even if the fry are darker at youth, would they lighten up or only get darker?

http/images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...cial_s%26sa%3DN

that's what i'm looking for but can't find any around me, and when i do, they belong in a fishtank in a coffee house. I'm about to go and ask them if i can have their female lol.

edit: that's as light as he goes, he only gets darker. jsut thought i would add that before someone said i already hadone lol. like i want the white instead of the blueish/grey color. am i making any sense???

 

[pica_nuttalli]

actually, what you get from breeding a striped to a pink convict is called a "marbled convict". and for that purpose, i imagine that a darker male would actually be better because the offspring would show more contrast between the background color and the spots.

 

[LisaLQ]

I'd think, but correct me if I'm wrong, that the black/white stripes that are so striking are probably their breeding display. So not a permanent colour.

 

[ox5477]

I'd think, but correct me if I'm wrong, that the black/white stripes that are so striking are probably their breeding display. So not a permanent colour.

I agree, and if he is dark, it might be because he feels threatened in the tank. Depending on your stocking, he might feel he needs to be a bad-ass and this might be causing him to stay dark most of the time..... Cichlids show their emotion through their skin color

 

[Nevergone815]

I'd think, but correct me if I'm wrong, that the black/white stripes that are so striking are probably their breeding display. So not a permanent colour.

I agree, and if he is dark, it might be because he feels threatened in the tank. Depending on your stocking, he might feel he needs to be a bad-ass and this might be causing him to stay dark most of the time..... Cichlids show their emotion through their skin color

He is in the tank with the female he came in with (established pair) and a trio of small apple snails (to control the algae a bit) the snails stay on the opposite side fo the tank most of the time. But when I bought him he was that color. They did though just get them in that day, so I'm assuming he was stressed from that. But he and the female swam perfectly fine together, no problems what-so-ever. They looked happy. The color didn't lighten up at all yet, so maybe he is still adjusting to my tank a bit. I'm thinking that since they already hollowed outthe clay pot and made it a "dip" for their nest, i'm assuming they are spawning. I even believe that they succeeded, but it's hard to tell since the way the tank is angled, along with the fact that they almost made a wall out of the sand that was in the pot. I don't want to tinker with their little project and ruin things. But the female does constantly harass him to go check the tank out. I think they were in a tank full of loads of other cichlids and they needed to constantly defend the nest. The female tells him to o patrol by flaring at him, then he will give her a look that says "I've done this a billion times, there's nothing in here but us..." And the female says "go do it anyways" sop he does a very mopey circle around the tank and comes back and says "nothing...like usual..." It's actually quite entertaining. So maybe he is a bt stressed, I will see what I can do to try to unstress him or something. Maybe he doesn't like her anymore? Maybe he doesn't like the snails? I havn't checked on them yet, but I will, be doing so after breakfast. So maybe he lightened up for me .

Thanks for the replies guys!!!

 

[ox5477]

I'd think, but correct me if I'm wrong, that the black/white stripes that are so striking are probably their breeding display. So not a permanent colour.

I agree, and if he is dark, it might be because he feels threatened in the tank. Depending on your stocking, he might feel he needs to be a bad-ass and this might be causing him to stay dark most of the time..... Cichlids show their emotion through their skin color

He is in the tank with the female he came in with (established pair) and a trio of small apple snails (to control the algae a bit) the snails stay on the opposite side fo the tank most of the time. But when I bought him he was that color. They did though just get them in that day, so I'm assuming he was stressed from that. But he and the female swam perfectly fine together, no problems what-so-ever. They looked happy. The color didn't lighten up at all yet, so maybe he is still adjusting to my tank a bit. I'm thinking that since they already hollowed outthe clay pot and made it a "dip" for their nest, i'm assuming they are spawning. I even believe that they succeeded, but it's hard to tell since the way the tank is angled, along with the fact that they almost made a wall out of the sand that was in the pot. I don't want to tinker with their little project and ruin things. But the female does constantly harass him to go check the tank out. I think they were in a tank full of loads of other cichlids and they needed to constantly defend the nest. The female tells him to o patrol by flaring at him, then he will give her a look that says "I've done this a billion times, there's nothing in here but us..." And the female says "go do it anyways" sop he does a very mopey circle around the tank and comes back and says "nothing...like usual..." It's actually quite entertaining. So maybe he is a bt stressed, I will see what I can do to try to unstress him or something. Maybe he doesn't like her anymore? Maybe he doesn't like the snails? I havn't checked on them yet, but I will, be doing so after breakfast. So maybe he lightened up for me .

Thanks for the replies guys!!!

Thats funny.... always amusing when we give animals huministic traits and lifestyles. anyways...

How big is the tank they are in? Because I would say they need atleast 30G of space to feel comfortable together. The tank in the pic for some reason looks like a 10G to me... I don't know why but anyways, make sure they have plenty of room cause even if the tank has just them in it, they still may feel a bit squished in a 10G

 

[Nevergone815]

well i know the tank is a bit small for them, but it is jsut temporary until the 55 gallon is finished cycleing (just for them). i bought it a while ago and was setting it up just to spawn convicts. the tank has a couple of weeks (providing all goes well) until it is done and i figured they would be fine until then.

but when i checked on them, he looked a it lighter, and comparing him to these pics (a few days-a week ago) he lightened up a whole lot. i think he will always be a bit darker than that bright white, but he is getting lighter and getting a nice blueish sheen to him. maybe he is what people consider a blue or black convict?

i was asking though in my original post where i could find a lighter one, or if they go from darker color to light for various reasons. for instance, is he darker b/c he is just darker or what? because i've seen breeding pairs that where bright white and i've seen a breeding pair that was with a bright white female and then one with a male that was the same color as the one in the pic, maybe even darker. i was wondering if any were available commonly or if the bright whites were are the common or uncommon coloration, or if the darker is the same.

 

[ox5477]

i was asking though in my original post where i could find a lighter one, or if they go from darker color to light for various reasons. for instance, is he darker b/c he is just darker or what? because i've seen breeding pairs that where bright white and i've seen a breeding pair that was with a bright white female and then one with a male that was the same color as the one in the pic, maybe even darker. i was wondering if any were available commonly or if the bright whites were are the common or uncommon coloration, or if the darker is the same.

Well yes some fish will have variations of color, and like I said cichlids show their emotion through their skin.... so if he is moody or angry he will be darker then normal. He may just be naturally darker then other convicts so don't worry if he never lightens up even after he gets his new home and is settled in, just prob his genetics at work

 

[Nevergone815]

ok good, i am relieved now lol. i thought that he was just naturally darker.

now its a hunt for the all ellusive (for me at least) white striped/lighter zebra con .

maybe i will get another pair... what would i do with 2 pairs of convicts and upwards of 1000 fry. hmm... i guess put them in a huge piscovore's tank. maybe i will need ot get another big tank and get either an oscar, bgk/clown knife, or arrowana to limit the numbers, or somewhere else.

nah, i htink i would look for a female and leave it seperate in a cichlid community tank .

now my other question is, he is being bred to a pink convict. would i get the lighter (white) color in his offspring? or am i destined ot forever get darker fry from him? i know i should get some marbled cons from the pair...

 

[Nevergone815]

update, ok so after like a day of the last post, he lightened up all the way. he is just the slightest bit gray now. like the lightest possible shade you can get of gray w/o it being white. so i wqas a bit concerned over nothing and he turned out to be what i was looking for YAY!!!

 

[ox5477]

 

[SamUK]

you get blue convicts and white convicts.

hes not depressed or anything, jus a different colur variation.


dont think ive even seen the original white and black ones myself in an LFS or anything.


heres a shot of a few of mine.

 

[Nevergone815]

Samthat's exactly what min male looks like, that just confrmsits just a color thing even further. thanks guys. yea, i've never seen the original white ones myself also, thats why this thread stated. i know someone on another forum has some and this cafe near me has a blu male with a white female and i was just thinking, where is everyone getting these as i have never seen them. thanks for the info guys!