Why Is It That Convicts Are Hard To Sell On?

[shelaghfishface]

i have read in a number of threads that convict/zebra cichlids are very hard to move on ( sell)
can someone please explain why as i have just got some to start breeding when they get a bit bigger, but i obviously dont have the tank space to keep all the fry that i could end up with, but obviously it would be irresponsible to breed them if no one wants the fry, so before they get big enough to breed i WILL check at the lfs if they are willing to take them, and how would i stop them from breeding if the lfs dont???

no i didnt check earlier i should have, but i thought everyone loved convicts!

 

[emmsy]

Hi. This is because they breed so regular, and so many fry are in existance. Coomon as muck springs to mind. Their temperament is generally agressive. The axe wielding species of the fish world I would say

Emma

 

[sykogngsta]

Maybe because they breed so easily, which casues a high supply of them. Becuase there are so many of them, stores dont really need torestock with them.

 

[shelaghfishface]

so can i stop them?

 

[sykogngsta]

you probably can't really stop them from breeding if they are in the same tank.

Maybe you can have only females, instead of a male and a female. You can also remove the eggs when they are laid by the convicts...but that wouldnt be too nice.

You can try separating them into separate tanks maybe?

 

[emmsy]

randy sods the lot of them

emma

 

[shelaghfishface]

you probably can't really stop them from breeding if they are in the same tank.

Maybe you can have only females, instead of a male and a female. You can also remove the eggs when they are laid by the convicts...but that wouldnt be too nice.

You can try separating them into separate tanks maybe?

yes maybe ill seperate them when they big enuff to tell aprt, thanx for that

 

[DiscusAngel]

or buy a hardy fish like a plec (Bristlenose) which will probbly eat the eggs at night. the cons might try to attack the bn but they have armoured skin so it shouldnt do much damage.

 

[kribensis12]

Becasue there super aggresive and breed like rabbits. They breed soo fast that they have been given the breeding desricption as "just add water".

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Becasue there super aggresive and breed like rabbits. They breed soo fast that they have been given the breeding desricption as "just add water".

So the cichlid counterparts of guppies

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

Over here it's rare to hear of someone who would get a free pair of convicts, plus an unlimited number of fry. That's how common they are

 

[shelaghfishface]

WHEN I WAS RESEARCHING THEM I HEARD A LOT OF " JUST ADD WATER" YET WHEN I WENT TO MY LFS TO GET SOME HE COULDNT GET ANY FOR AT LEAST 2 WEEKS,(oops soz for caps), so i may be ok for one go, i will find out for sure though, thanx for the advice everyone

shelagh xxxx

 

[shroob]

If you're very lucky the LFS will take them off your hands, though at the rate cons breed the shop may be saturated with them until theres no longer a market for them.

 

[juanveldez]

like everybody else has said they are so common that there is no market for them. usually the only way you can get rid of them is to give them away as feeders and even then not many people will take them

the only sure way to not have them breed is either to divide them, or to keep only the females.

 

[Colin_T]

randy sods the lot of them
emma

LOL

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regarding convicts, they really aren't good sellers and most shops only carry 10 at a time. Even then the 10 fish will probably sit in the tank for months wasting space and eating more food than they're worth. To reduce the number of fry you have you can syphon most of the young out and kill them leaving the adults to look after the remaining few. Then you won't have as many to get rid of. Also when the adults are looking after young they won't be laying any eggs. So the longer the parents guard the fry, the less they breed.
The other option is to add some other cichlids or big barbs or tetras that will eat any fry they can catch.