Convict Bully

[king72]

i have i male about 3 inches long and 2 slightly smaller females in my 30g tank. the male seems to change colour alot from a striking silver and black stripe to almost completely black. he is very hansom and has dug out two nest sites. All he seems to do is chase off both females if they get in site of him.

i have checked the tank for eggs but none yet. i can't work out if he is bullying them in an aggressive way or if he is just a frisky fella trying to pull. the females rarely approach him, they just seem to hide from him.

any ideas

thanks

 

[SamUK]

could be a number of things

your tanks not really big enough for 3 cons and your only supposed to have a male and a female because the extra fish will get bullied to death when a pair forms.

 

[king72]

I have been told that but the fella at the shop said to remove the other female when a pair forms. thats the thing though, no pair has formed, he just seems to attack them both at random

i was told that 30 g was enough if you only have a breeding pair and nothing else

 

[sub.42]

I have been told that but the fella at the shop said to remove the other female when a pair forms. thats the thing though, no pair has formed, he just seems to attack them both at random

i was told that 30 g was enough if you only have a breeding pair and nothing else

I don't think that you will have a problem with a pair forming with only two cons. Nature is a powerful thing.....and the con reproductive thing is a tour-de-force

sub.

 

[vancouver]

Take one of the females out/back to the store, and do 20% water changes everyday.. use slightly cooler water... that should induce spawning.

 

[sub.42]

8)

I've seen convicts spawn in the smallest, most cramped display tanks at my LFS. I'm talking 35 fish in there, and mom & pop still get it on AND sucessfully spawn. As vancouver says, slightly lower temps may get them going

sub.

PS, I have also seen two of my cons spawning in a bucket, in the back garden, during an extended tank re-arranging. Go figure......

 

[SamUK]

thats a fair point.

i cant say i havent seen them in small tanks with a spawn gathered round in an LFS once.


makes great live food for your fish tho.

 

[Bullrock74]

i have i male about 3 inches long and 2 slightly smaller females in my 30g tank. the male seems to change colour alot from a striking silver and black stripe to almost completely black. he is very hansom and has dug out two nest sites. All he seems to do is chase off both females if they get in site of him.

i have checked the tank for eggs but none yet. i can't work out if he is bullying them in an aggressive way or if he is just a frisky fella trying to pull. the females rarely approach him, they just seem to hide from him.

any ideas

thanks

I believe the male will chase the females around testing their overall health and will select one of them if they live up to his standards. That being said, the standards for convicts are very low, so it is surprising that a pair has not formed, yet. Are you absolutely sure that you have females in the tank? In other words, could all three fish be males? If you are sure, then are females healthy? If you truly have a male and two females and they are all healthy, then two of them should pair off within a couple of days. If they don't there must be some problem with water or the tank or something.

 

[vancouver]

It really isn't that uncommon for convicts not to spawn in community tanks.. I've had a few males and females with other fish for long periods of time, and I think maybe once in a year a pair formed and spawned once.

 

[king72]

this is not a community tank. the male has chosen a female now and i have removed the second female. they are starting to nest now