Whoa. My Convicts Just Schooled And Attacked...

[Hobbit]

I've got 10 convict fry and they're probabl 1/5 of an inch long, and at the mo, they all live in a 10 gal w/ a sponge filter and 2 pots. They dont ever fight, but they dont really seem to like eachother much, because they are always scattered about. I just went the the lfs to buy a centerpiece of a fish for my guppy tank (a beautiful neeon gourami) and i picked up 5 ghost shrimp because my con fry tank is bare bottomed and they tear up the food i give 'em. so i dump in all the shrimp, and immediatly the fry school up and go investigate. the shrimp totally ignored them excpet for one, and he chased off the convicts. they were totally schooled. i didnt know they did that. So they followed the shrimp for about 5 minutes, and they all started taking turns nipping at one of them, they were kind alike pirnahs. lol. I didnt know cons would do tha. Is it cause they're all siblings? or because they felt threatened? I dunno why, do any of you?


ps. The shrimp are fine now, cause one of them pinched a con and scared the crap out of the rest so they areback to acting like normal.

 

[DarkEntity]

Just wait till the Convicts get a little larger, there wont be anything left in that tank bar them

Then once they get older again, they will all fight between themselves.

 

[ox5477]

10 is a large group of convicts... these are not schooling fish. Weed them down to 6 and then when you see two pair off (most likely a male/female pair) then return the rest. And then move them into atleast a 30G and your good to go!! anything else in the tank will be beaten up and probably killed if the two spawn so keep them on their own. Have fun!! If they breed then they will keep doing it more than you think they would be able to....

 

[Hobbit]

yes, i got them from my cuz. Heis had about 250-300 babies! So i swept the net through the fry tank once and ended up with 10. I'm getting a 50 gal for christmas either that or a 75 gal. Im gonna weed it down tto 6 anyways though. once they are sexable and pair off, i'll keep 3 pairs and maybe a jd or 2. with plenty of hiding spots. The fry will end up as food in the big tank, and thats the reason im putting them in there. 6 of the 10 i have now will create protein-rich fishfood for my bigger ones. What else could i put in there? I'm also going to get a rapheal catfish.

 

[SamUK]

you wont have 6 for long tho thats the thing.


even in a 55 or 75.


there territorys will overlap and theyll fight all the time.


read some of the other posts around, one guys took over half his 8x3 tank.

 

[Hobbit]

jeez. thats a really big territory for cons.... Maybe ill keep 4 and the jd's. I Here's my stocking plan, tell me if it's ok..

-4-6 cons while they're small
-2 jack dempseys
1 raphael catfish
and either 3 silver dollars or 5 or so giant danios.

Im looking at the danios and sd more as a distraction for the cons and jacks. Maybe i could use glowfish or neons also.. ? care to share input?

 

[ox5477]

jeez. thats a really big territory for cons.... Maybe ill keep 4 and the jd's. I Here's my stocking plan, tell me if it's ok..

-4-6 cons while they're small
-2 jack dempseys
1 raphael catfish
and either 3 silver dollars or 5 or so giant danios.

Im looking at the danios and sd more as a distraction for the cons and jacks. Maybe i could use glowfish or neons also.. ? care to share input?

One pair will dominate a tank....... don't push more then that..... even with the one pair and even if the JD is twice their size, they might kill it so i'd keep the con's by themselves if you have a breeding pair......

 

[russogden1982]

i agree my two convicts have just layed and they are in a 5 foot tank with a big jewel and he goes no where near them and he used to scare off a 12" pacu and 14" clown ghost knife so shows you just what a pair of convicts can be like but then my mate warned me and i took no notice but thats fish keeping you learn more from your own mistakes as well as others

 

[SamUK]

anyone ever seen the tag team?


they really are good at protecting lol.

when i had pairs they used to take it in turns diving bombing my oscar one right after the other.

 

[willtang3000]

same sam its amazing what those little guys can do to larger fish that are even 6" bigger than them what great parenting skills

anyone ever seen the tag team?


they really are good at protecting lol.

when i had pairs they used to take it in turns diving bombing my oscar one right after the other.

 

[chris_harper]

i agree my two convicts have just layed and they are in a 5 foot tank with a big jewel and he goes no where near them and he used to scare off a 12" pacu and 14" clown ghost knife so shows you just what a pair of convicts can be like but then my mate warned me and i took no notice but thats fish keeping you learn more from your own mistakes as well as others

what is a "clown ghost knife"? i have a clown knife, and i also have an african brown knife. i used to have a black ghost knife. but i have never seen nor heard of a clown ghost knife.

 

[Ferris]

Just be careful with your plan for 2 JD's - These guys can be vicious to their own kind. If you get a mated pair then fine but 2 males or 2 females and you could have problems. IMO you'd need a bare minimum of a 55 gal just for 2 JD's, preferrably bigger - They can get up to 10".

 

[ox5477]

Just be careful with your plan for 2 JD's - These guys can be vicious to their own kind. If you get a mated pair then fine but 2 males or 2 females and you could have problems. IMO you'd need a bare minimum of a 55 gal just for 2 JD's, preferrably bigger - They can get up to 10".

Note** This is a bare minimum too depending on the personality of your fish. My JD is a spoiled little bastard ...... He could prob have a 100G tank and still harrass anyone else in the tank.... you have to feel out how your individual fish acts towards others... Even in a 100G two JD's might be too much

 

[Hobbit]

I found out its gonna be a 75 gallon tank.. Any changes?

 

[KathyM]

I would say a pair of convicts OR a pair of JDs, but you'd be pushing it for tank space with a pair of JDs. I wouldn't have both at all, and certainly not more than 2 convicts.