questions on convict ciclids

[Fishkeepr2016]

please note i have never owned cons did research on them before buying but i have specific questions i cant find online or in videos

so i recently purchased two convicts as i wanted to breed something a bit bigger then guppy's
now i asked my LFS owner for 1 M & 1 F which he always has accommodated that for fish he can tell genders on

so the male is slightly longer with more of an oval shape
and the female is like a circle and is smaller

now the so called female is she full of eggs ?

her stomach is very gravid now i don't think it is bloat as i brought her from the fish store like that she was in a tank with like 30 other big cons and i been feeding them very sparingly just in case it was bloat but it has been about 1 week now and still about the same size or am i just over thinking things and its just a fat con that possible? or is it bloat still i figure 1 week it should go away if it was or does it take longer
also the male is not bloated at all they were brought at the same time together

i know females have orange belly's but mine does not or if it is their i cant tell
do they lose orange their belly's when full of eggs or something or can their be a female with no visible orange at times? can they lose it?

now the male does chase her around like he wants to breed but she does not want it looks like he tries to nip her stomach area do i need to separate them? he does give up after a minute or so then they chill together and eventually he will try to do it again also sometimes she and he would both go up and down on the side of the tank glass & rub their belly's & mouths on it whats that all about?


their both currently in a 55 G tank by them selves theirs a tall bushy fake plant and Terracotta pots around the plant like caves all i had that i wasnt using so they can hide if needed and i researd they like to lay eggs inside the Terracotta pots so i figured win / win

now i have no gravel or anything else in the tank as this is going to be a sand bottom in the future but pool filter sand is not in season around here so i have to wait till summer time to get some
and the cons will be moved to a 30 G once it is cycled anyway

if you need pics to be able to help better i can do that just my cell is on the charger right now so ill post it this morning when its charged

 

[Munroco]

Have you worked out what to do with any fry that you raise?

 

[Fishkeepr2016]

so is she is going to have some like i thought then?

i plan to keep them in the 55 G until i can sex them
i have family and Friends who will want some for their first fish tanks
ill also be keeping some my self but only one gender
after i get the amount i can have i will stop the breeding
one clutch should be good no don't you usually get like around 90 Fry ?

any left overs ill either let nature takes its course or
throw them in to be eaten by my bigger fish
or post them free on craigslist most likely will post them first other two options
for an ultimatum if no one takes them

so i do have options i should not be over run

Sound Good? or is their options i did not consider?

also what gender can be kept together like males or females does it matter
i was thinking of keeping just the females as they don't get as big as males do ?

 

[hobby5]

Without a picture we cannot tell you anything concerning sex. It is very rare that females have not at least some orange spots on their belly. Normally, males have a higher body and females are more elongated, which doesn't fit your description very well.

If you can use surplus as feeder, you are well set up

 

[Fishkeepr2016]

the fishes
top male bottom female

http://imgur.com/a/HF4KW


maybe i am wrong i do not know the guy at fish store said it was male and female
he could have made a mistake though happens

are these pics okay or you need better i can try for better if needed

 

[hobby5]

Quality of the pics is not good enough. We need side view. Sorry.

 

[Fishkeepr2016]

these should be a lot better its was the camera settings that made it blurry

http://imgur.com/a/kpOy6


top 3 female
bottom 3 male

 

[hobby5]

The last 3 pics should be a male. I don't know about the other fish. This is not a typical convict shape and I would not use it for breeding. Maybe there are some "balloon" genes in there.

 

[Fishkeepr2016]

alright then ill be going to fish store tomorrow anyway so ill get different one so just one that is not fat and has a orange belly

and just searched that gene came up with jellybean parrot convict and that they should not be put with regular convicts due to they will be killed by them thanks LFS stuff happens i guess i am just put it in the 10 gallon by it self what ever happens happens but least now i know thanks for the help