thinking of breeding convicts...

[chris_harper]

i have a 37-us gallon aquarium that i want to make into a breeder tank, for feeders for my 4 catfish, a green terror, a bichir, and an african brown knife. i have read convicts breed like rabbits. i don't like any of the livebearers, so i was thinking convicts. any pointers? it is an established tank, with a "about to go" black shark in it. (it leaves tomorrow). this weekend i want to get my new fish for it. what kind of plants should i use? general decorations? should it have any caves? i have 50lbs of pool filter media gravel in it for a substrate. i have a small cave in it, if it is ok i will leave it. it also has a couple of small plastic plants in it. i can add more if needed. i am running an hob filter (aquaclear 50- [up to fifty gallons]). it has a 150-watt heater also. subdued lighting, or bright? i am really interested in convicts, as i like the way they look, and i want to make sure they will be happy in 37 gallons.

 

[Dwarfs]

Well if you want them to breed...you'll need a rock, water, and a heater Caves and pool filter sand/gravel sounds good for them Get a lot of rocks too, just in case they plan to breed on one

 

[mwm]

Those clay flower pots work good to. Mine liked to spawn in them. These are the easiest fish to get to spawn 100% IMO. Mine spawned 2 days after i brought them home

 

[digital_run]

Any decorations should be well seated in the tank..Cons dig quite a bit and can become trapped under decor if they decide to dig under something...I used a clay pot for mine to spawn in and they ended up digging a cave underneath it... I've got a fairly big Java fern in the tank which they dont bother at all...Any decoration goes fine with them...they might re-arrange it a bit but nothing major..I'd suggest getting a divider for the tank...I only say that because my male Con likes to freak out once theres free swimming fry and has attacked my female to the point of death protecting them...Not sayin This is going to happen...as so much of a cichlids behavior is character related...but its nice to have it on hand just in case IMO.

If you are looking to breed them...the best method is to buy one male and 3-4 females...watch them closely until you can spot a breeding pair...They will display this by cleaning a specific spot, and flarin while doing a sort of head dance...You'll know it when you see it ...Remove the other females and let them go at it. They will most likely fail in their first few attempts to spawn but they will eventually get it...and once they do...they are baby factorys...I've been breeding mine as feeders for a year and they can produce between 40-60 fry every two to three weeks...sometimes more/less but they havent slowed down in ayear of breeding...But its all good...my other fish appreciate it.

Hope i Helped a bit

DR

 

[chris_harper]

thanks digital run. helped a lot. more rocks, eh. will be done, long with a small pot.
plants too, why not?

 

[Ben]

convicts dont like plants and will un root them and eat them

HTH

DD

 

[Jezah]

Its actually easy to tell amle convicts from females. The females have a reddish gold splotch on their belly. You can easily get just 2 and have a mating pair. Most cichlids it is true you need to get a bunch to create a pair...but cause you can tell the sex of Con's by their bellies...that isnt required. Besides, Convicts are so aggressive...adding a bunch to get one pair is dangerous. Cause if that one pair bonds and you dont remove the others in time....you will have some very dead fish.