Seperating Parents Fromeggs.

[ihansterx4i]

If i seperated the parent convicts from the eggs, would the eggs die off or would they hatch on their own?

 

[phoenixfire]

from what i know/heard arent the parents essential to fry survival since they take care of them...and protect them if you have anything else in that tank looking for a quick meal...ive only had my convicts for a while...and they have not bred...so im not sure yet...but however i do believe the fry eggs would hatch...but the fry would not make it alone like livebearers would

 

[ihansterx4i]

I just dont want them eating them again.

 

[Paul_MTS]

convicts are usually pretty good parents. Is there anything else in the tank? IME when convicts attempt to breed they do and will usually succesfully raise 50+ fry without any human help.

If they did eat the eggs before it was probable down to interferance.

 

[VENOM]

Yeah parents fan the eggs and un fungus them sometimes or eat fungesed ones.

If you disturb the pair they may never breed again

 

[ihansterx4i]

Alright then, ill just leave them be and let them do what they do best. Thanks a lot everyone.

 

[ihansterx4i]

Man they ate the eggs again. How many times does it take for them to get it right? I saw the eggs and like only 2 of them were unfertalized, the rest were perfectly fine. And my other pair of conmvicts keep making dens but never lay eggs. Does anyone here know how long after the eggs have been eaten they spawn again?

 

[valleyrich]

It may take them several attempts to get it right. From what I can tell several things will cause them to eat what seem like healthy eggs.
1)They aren't really big enough to handle the physical stress of a batch.
2)They have competition in the tank and would rather have the nutrition for themselves.
3)The eggs fungused
4)They don't "feel" like the area they are in will support more fish
5)They "feel" like there is a threat and the nest is no longer secure.

They should breed again very soon but don't be surprised if they eat the eggs again. Just give them some time and privacy. With patience you should have fry soon.
There may be other reasons but this is all I could think of. GOOD LUCK!

 

[ihansterx4i]

Well I got home yesterday night and saw that the other female that kept making the dens finally laid her eggs. A whole bunch of them too. But the male has been acting very strange. Its like hes sick, he cant swim right and just lays on the floor on his right side all the time like hes dying. Any clue as to what happened to him?

And i got home from work today and saw that there were fry in the other corner. I guess she moved the eggs to the other side when i wasnt looking and i just thought she ate the eggs again. Anyways, i cant get no bbs so is there anything else i can feed the fry? I powdered some flakes but i read that you shouldnt feed them flakes for at least a good 3 weeks. Ohh and when should i start feeding the fry. They just hathced today im guessing cuz i didnt see anything yesterday.

 

[aardvarkfromspace]

Feed them when they don't have their yolk sac anymore... If you cant get baby specific food, just crush flakes up.. parents will usually eat food and spit it out for the fry to eat anyways..

It does usually take a few spawns before parents stop eating their babies... Some people will take out one of the parents and that sometimes solves the fry eating problem.

 

[ihansterx4i]

Well all i see are little black eyes and small tails. They're just wigglers right now. WHen do they need to eat. When they're free swimming?