New Convicts

[bball4life]

Hey all! I am new to this forum and I just got 4 new convicts yesterday that I want to breed. I dont think the ones I got are pairs will they form a bond and still spawn (btw there are 2 males and 2 females). 1 of the smaller females is hanging around with one of the males how can I tell if there is a bond between them or not? How can I tell if they are spawning? How soon will I have fry? Any thing will help

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

what size tank are they in?? convicts breed VERY easily, you will deffinatly end up with a pair. they will beat up the other convicts probably, unless the tank is bigger. careful! covicts are extremly aggressive when breeding!!!

 

[bball4life]

The male and female will usually swim together unless the bigger female comes along she will chase them and they will chase her do you think this could be a pair ? I hope so. Sometimes it is hard to tell if they are a pair or not. The tank is 29 us gallons, when they get bigger I will probably have to move them to a bigger tank right? Also earlier it seemed like they were cleaning a spot in a little cave I setup. Are there any other signs to tell me they are a pair or that they are ready to spawn?

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

sounds like you have a pair!
the 29 is ok for the pair. the other convicts left over will be beatin up though. i had a pair in a 30 gal, and they would even bite my hand if i got close to their spawn. in the place they are cleaning out, they probably will lay eggs. when i had a pair, they moved the eggs to several different spots in the tank. do you have another tank for the fry?? they will breed alot! you can tell when there is a pair cuz there will be a male nd female guarding the nest, and the other cons will probably be pinned in a corner and constantly being picked on. i didnt even know my convicts spawned until i turned over a shell and there were a bunch of eggs on the inside of it!! the female was also bitting me and i had no clue why untill i saw i was holding a shell filled with little eggs

 

[bball4life]

Wow that was quick and I just got them yesterday! Yes, I do have a tank for the fry is a ten gallon ok for now? Also my other larger female is being very agressive with any of the fish that go near another cave I have and was sitting there almost the whole time yseterday after I got her and put her in is this because she is just being very terretorial?

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

is the female guarding the cave with another convict, likea male? will the guarding fish let any other fish near the place they are guarding? i think if theres a nest there that shes guarding, then there are probably eggs there. if you see eggs, you can tell if she is breeding. ifthe eggs are brownish/ tanish, that means the are fertilized, and if they are white, that means they arent fertilized. a 10 gal is enough to raise the fry in. you might want to find out what you can do with the fry when they get bigger though, like give them to a lfs. if shes guarding something, shes being territorial because she made a nest, and doesnt want anything to ruin it. i think the only reason for her to be guarding it is because she has eggs in there.
good luck!!

 

[bball4life]

No she is not guarding the cave with a male she chases every fish in there away. I cant really see inside of it at the angle where she is at. Thanks for the info it helped alot. The LFS said they will take them. I will keep everyone updated!

 

[bball4life]

What will they do before and during there spawning? I need to know!

 

[fufanu360]

the breeding/ egg tubes will come out... not sure what that looks like, anyone got a pic?