Introducing Female Cons To Male

[fishnovice]

Currently have large 4-5in male con and 2x 2in young jewels turning pink plus a smaller 1.5in sibling in 3ft tank. He chases the jewels a little for fun but no aggression, not even at feeding time. Largest jewel is bullying and constantly chasing the other 2 who prefer to be near the con for protection from nasty big brother.
Plan to introduce 2 female cons and let him choose a mate. What's the best way to do this?
Just float females in bag and release them or remove male, add females then replace him?
[Yes I know spare con female and probably jewels will have to move out when they breed and have spare tanks if necessary]

 

[Bluetooth]

I would just introduce them and see what happens, the male will choose pretty quickly but you will have to pay close attention to which he picks as the other will get picked on pretty hard by the both of them and maybe even killed.

 

[fishnovice]

I would just introduce them and see what happens, the male will choose pretty quickly but you will have to pay close attention to which he picks as the other will get picked on pretty hard by the both of them and maybe even killed.

So you reckon it's Love At First Sight with cons then. Will they pair up and mate after a few hours or couple of days? Need to have spare tank ready for extra female. Will the jewels be OK to leave till fry appear or do they have to move out immediately too? Tank too big just for 2 cons!

 

[fishnovice]

I would just introduce them and see what happens, the male will choose pretty quickly but you will have to pay close attention to which he picks as the other will get picked on pretty hard by the both of them and maybe even killed.

So you reckon it's Love At First Sight with cons then. Will they pair up and mate after a few hours or couple of days? Need to have spare tank ready for extra female. Will the jewels be OK to leave till fry appear or do they have to move out immediately too? Tank too big just for 2 cons!

Any more suggestions anyone? Don't want to end up with a mega cichlid fight/massacre

 

[Mr Bliss]

They may pair within hours, within weeks, or not pair at all. Until then, they will just chase each other around a bit to establish a pecking order, and just kind of settle in. Once a pair forms up, every other convict in the tank is in dire straits, and they can become aggressive towards all other fish as well (and flat out homicidal when they actually breed). So you'll just have to keep an eye on things.

I've read some conflicting reports about their behavior outside actual breeding. My convicts (two pairs from an initial group of juveniles) paired for life, and never tolerated another convict in the tank after pairing up. Some people report violent divorces, or the pair just going their own ways semi-peacefully after breeding, at which point establishing a new "harem" was necessary to reduce aggression and find a new pair.

 

[fishnovice]

They may pair within hours, within weeks, or not pair at all. Until then, they will just chase each other around a bit to establish a pecking order, and just kind of settle in. Once a pair forms up, every other convict in the tank is in dire straits, and they can become aggressive towards all other fish as well (and flat out homicidal when they actually breed). So you'll just have to keep an eye on things.

I've read some conflicting reports about their behavior outside actual breeding. My convicts (two pairs from an initial group of juveniles) paired for life, and never tolerated another convict in the tank after pairing up. Some people report violent divorces, or the pair just going their own ways semi-peacefully after breeding, at which point establishing a new "harem" was necessary to reduce aggression and find a new pair.

Thanks for that. Getting the lady cons tomorrow hopefully. Looks like i'll have to hang on to spare females even after pairing. just in case. My male is a widower who went into depression (sulked in tank corner, hardly moving or eating)when his mate died. They were a faithfull loving pair who raised lots of fry with their previous owner so he's a good father. Hope he likes the new girls I'm getting for him!

 

[Cichlid_Crazy]

I think there is a pretty high chance of them pairing... i had a male in my old Mbuna tank for months.....wasn't sure what sex it was... when i changed back to New World i kept the 1.5" Male and bought a nice colourful con from my LFS to go with him...again no clue on sex...she was just under 1"....they chased a bit then inside 3 days they were guarding eggs and now i have about 30-50 baby cons.

 

[fishnovice]

UPDATE
Got 3 girls cons -striped, albino pink and small marbled. Striped attached herself to the male immediately and claimed him as hers, swimming close and nudging him. Albino and largest jewel were bullying the marbled con so I moved her and smalllest jewel to a new "wimps" tank where they can live safely till they are big enough to fight back. Albino and jewels have declared a truce in the presence of the Loving Couple.Male con chases the albino a little but the striped one is rarely chased and seems to be his new fiancee.Not sure if they have definitely paired yetbut they swim close together -do con females have to have red patches on belly before they breed? None of mine do but they were kept in an all-girl fry tank.They are quite big for young females -striped at least 3 in and albino 2.5in
Just heard the sound of shifting gravel!First time ever cons have attempted "landscapig"- and the male has been in tank for 4 weeks.Could this be an early sign of the pair setting up home?

 

[Cichlid_Crazy]

My female con never got a red belly...she just got really really bright...the yellow on her fins really came out...then faded when she was with the fry.....but then she is bareley 1" herself.