Would they still breed in a school tank?

[VulcanBearBull]

Hey fish forum, I have a quick question regarding my Convict Cichlids.

Quick run down. I have a beautiful 55 gallon with Three Convicts and Two BN Plecos. I got the Convicts at a pretty young age at my LPS. I've had them for maybe 4 months. Two beautiful females (One is much more prettier and dominant) and one male stud.

Long story short both the females laid eggs at the same time and the male fertilized both batches. Both batches hatched and now I have two separate groups of babies each on different sides of the tank. The babies stay separated (never mingling with the other group of babies lol)

Obviously 55 Gallons is much to small for the 50 some fry that are in it. I've been wanting another tank fora while. And a much bigger one at that.

My question is... Hypothetically if I were to buy a new 120 gallon tank. Place all the babies and my male into it to create a school tank. (Convicts can school) Would a tank dynamic such as this still have breeding scenarios? or would the school of other fish prevent baby making?

Just a theory of mine. Maybe someone knows. Also if anyone has a better idea on what I should do with the fry, let me know!

 

[itiwhetu]

As long as they are happy they will keep breeding. This is what I did with my Severums

Severums having fun

This is mum dad and the kids. This was a 250 liter tank the Severums spawned multiple times and always managed to raise a few. When I sold the set up there were 30 Severums plus the two Jewel Cichlids you can see in the photo.

www.fishforums.net

 

[Colin_T]

It won't work. Cichlids are territorial and while you might get 1 or 2 prs breeding in the big tank, they will all fight when they reach maturity. Convict cichlids and most other cichlids need room and any fish entering their territory is likely to be attacked.

The only reason you have babies and 3 adult fish is because you have 1 male and 2 females. The male has a harem consisting of 2 females, and they each have their territory inside the males territory.

It's also preferable not to inbreed fish with their siblings.

 

[VulcanBearBull]

It won't work. Cichlids are territorial and while you might get 1 or 2 prs breeding in the big tank, they will all fight when they reach maturity. Convict cichlids and most other cichlids need room and any fish entering their territory is likely to be attacked.

The only reason you have babies and 3 adult fish is because you have 1 male and 2 females. The male has a harem consisting of 2 females, and they each have their territory inside the males territory.

It's also preferable not to inbreed fish with their siblings.

Thank you for your response! This is the answer I was looking for.

Okay so aside from moving all the fry into a bigger tank. What would you do with the fry? I would very much so like to keep them but not if they will continue to breed. My whole idea regarding a bigger tank was to ultimately prevent more breeding.

Would it be inhumane to feed the fry to my Bettas?

Could I get other fish species in the new 120 to prevent breeding? Or is the only real solution to find a new home for my fry (or use them as live food) and just separate the male?

 

[GaryE]

Convict fry are a problem because with their spiked dorsals, they often are uneaten if you use them as feeders. I've had them survive and grow up with predators tougher than a Betta.
The parents may soon kill the fry though, in preparation for the next brood. There are no basement gamers in convict land. Older fry are seen as potential predators if they don't swim off and make their own lives, and since they can't go off on their own in a tank, they usually get killed.
There are a couple of Lake Tanganyika and Congo River Cichlids where each successive brood cares for the one that follows, and huge happy colonies can build up. Convicts are not those.

Other fish won't prevent breeding. If they try, convicts will kill them.

The only way to avoid breeding convicts is not to have any. There is a reason why they are so cheap and available - they breed like bad ideas.

 

[Colin_T]

If the fry are only a few days old, you can syphon some out and offer them to the betta but make sure he eats them otherwise they will live in his tank and potentially attack him when they get older.

If you have 10 or 20 fry that are an inch long, you can call a local pet shop and see if they want them. Some shops buy fish from customers, others don't. Some shops won't pay anything for common fish like convicts but they might take them for free.

A lot of people that breed fish have or know someone who has a large predatory fish and they give the unwanted offspring to them.