Convict Breeding ?'s

[PimpedWrx00]

Well i currently have a 36g tank. In it i have 1 texas cichlid which has grown to about 4 inches maybe more.ive had it for almost a year now and i just bought 3 convicts 2 males1 female, each alittle less then 2 inches. My questions are......How long till they may take to breed...wut kind of problems might the texas cause(as of right now being all togher for a day the convicts swim by it and it doesnt moveor attack but this monring hed chase them around but no intentions of making them his next meal)..it has eaten mollies ive had in there months ago but probcause i was gone and didnt feed him forsometime. and i also have sand bottom and a rocky cave area that the texas hides in but right next to the convicts spot..i can getpictures soon but just with my scenario do you think i should be somewhat fine? ......

also the picture u see on the side isnt the tank im speaking of but that was the texas awhile back

 

[FishFreaks]

IMO the texas cichlid should be in a much larger tank, atleast a 55. Especially with the convicts that will breed like crazy. They can begin breeding at about an inch, you will see the female doing a "dance" before the male of her choice. Soon after that you should remove the other male and sometime after that you should see them breeding. Just make sure that you have a flat surface for the convicts alone such as a rock or flower spot

 

[freddyk]

There's no room for the Texas that's for sure. You're worried about the Texas, but the convicts if the convicts pair up and breed they might get the texas before it grows big enough to be a real problem anyway. A pair of convicts will take the whole tank as their territory.

 

[PimpedWrx00]

Thanks for the input.

As of right now the texas stays to itself and the convicts dont mind when the texas roams around in their area, but they are not breeding, so i'm not really sure of whats to come, but i do want to try to keep the texas, he basically stays in his own cave. Would it be a good idea to make more rocky cave areas so when the baby convicts are born they have a place to hide and cant be eaten?

 

[freddyk]

The larger Texas will find no reprieve from the convicts since there's no where he can get to that they can't. Convicts are notorious for defending their territory, which usually takes up a whole tank this size, as aggressively as any cichlid of any size, and more so then most. Plus the tank would be too small for a texas even if you didn't have the convicts, so why would you want to keep it in a lousy home?

so i'm not really sure of whats to come

No, given that you haven't kept them to this point yet, you don't know for yourself - but you do know now, in theory, that it's not going to work. this thread might help convince you as well. Convict pairs and other fish just don't work except in large tanks, and this won't be an exception - it's just a matter of time.

 

[PimpedWrx00]

ok and also...when i do get fry do i leave them in the tank to survive or do i place them in a breeding net, new tank, or wut...and once they r fry in the tank when can i expect the next batch?

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

If they're under 2'' I'd be worried about the texas killing them.. and when the convicts grow up, the males wont enjoy having each other in the tank... male cichlids don't often like other male cichlids... my convict males hate each other. You probably won't have any luck with trying to keep the fry alive if you leave them in the tank.