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Fish Herder
Common name - Convict Cichlid.
Scientific name - Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum.
Family - Cichlidae.
Origin - Guatemala, Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama.
Max size - 6".
Care - True to its name this is a very aggressive fish which is not ideal for a community tank, the tank should be at least 30 US gallons, with a temperature of 74-79 F. They enjoy plenty of hiding places. All rockwork and decorations
should be well seated, as the they will dig and displace them.
Feeding - Convicts will eat most forms of prepared food aswell as frozen and live foods. Vegtables should also be added to keep them in prime condition.
Sexing - One of the easiest cichlid to determine sex. During the breeding period females will have gold/red spots on her sides and belly. The males normally dark bars will become a metallic silver.
Breeding - Convicts are notoriously easy to breed. Ideally a species tank dedicated to just them will be the ideal situation. Females will lay between 40-100 eggs and it takes about 2-3 days before free-swimming fry are seen. The pair become very aggressive at this time and will not hesitate to attack any other fish which is "too close". Fry can be fed almost any form of "fry" food, as well as crushed flake food and cucumber.Caution - while breeding pairs of convicts are usually good partners, there can be aggression among the pair. A method to seperate the pair if this happens is very adviseable.
Scientific name - Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum.
Family - Cichlidae.
Origin - Guatemala, Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama.
Max size - 6".
Care - True to its name this is a very aggressive fish which is not ideal for a community tank, the tank should be at least 30 US gallons, with a temperature of 74-79 F. They enjoy plenty of hiding places. All rockwork and decorations
should be well seated, as the they will dig and displace them.
Feeding - Convicts will eat most forms of prepared food aswell as frozen and live foods. Vegtables should also be added to keep them in prime condition.
Sexing - One of the easiest cichlid to determine sex. During the breeding period females will have gold/red spots on her sides and belly. The males normally dark bars will become a metallic silver.
Breeding - Convicts are notoriously easy to breed. Ideally a species tank dedicated to just them will be the ideal situation. Females will lay between 40-100 eggs and it takes about 2-3 days before free-swimming fry are seen. The pair become very aggressive at this time and will not hesitate to attack any other fish which is "too close". Fry can be fed almost any form of "fry" food, as well as crushed flake food and cucumber.Caution - while breeding pairs of convicts are usually good partners, there can be aggression among the pair. A method to seperate the pair if this happens is very adviseable.
