Convict Cichlid Stats
Minimum Tank Size: 20 Gallons (29 Gallons recommended)
Care Level: Easy
Water Conditions: PH 6-8 and Soft to Neutral
Temperature: 68-80 F (20-27 C)
Maximum Size: 6 inches (15.2 cm) for males, and 4 for females (10.2 cm)
The convict cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) is found throughout Central America, inhabiting a wide array of habitats. It is commonly found in streams and rivers, but it is also known to live in ponds and lakes with thick plant cover. With that being said, it tends to prefers moving water, and is often found sheltering in submerged branches and rock formations.
The male convict cichlid grows up to 6 inches (15.2 cm) in length, while the female grows to an average length of 4 inches (10.2cm). When the females reach breeding maturity, the belly of the fish will take on red hue, making sexing quite easy in mature convict cichlid fish.
Housing
Convict cichlids can be a messy fish, and should generally be housed in a spacious, species only tank. The minimum tank size for a non-breeding pair should be a 20 gallon (75 litre) tank , though the ideal size is closer to 29 gallons (100 litres).
If a person is planning to breed convict cichlids, or hopes (and I stress the word hopes) to keep them in a community tank, then they should be kept in at least a 55 gallon (208 litre) fish tank. A pair of breeding convicts will terrorize any tank that they are housed in, and will viciously attack anything that comes near their nest. It’s not unusual to see a breeding pair of cichlids take on a much larger fish, and some have been known to attack fish nearly twice their size.
Since convict cichlids constantly dig and rearrange their tank, their aquarium should be over-filtered with a strong HOB (hang-on-back) filter, or in ideal circumstances, a canister filter. For extra biological filtration, a second filter or a sponge filter can be added to the tank, which helps keep the water sparkling clean. This is especially useful if a person is planning to breed convict cichlids, as the fry need pristine water quality.
If choosing an HOB filter, I would strongly recommend choosing an Aquaclear Power Filter
Feeding
In the wild, convict cichlids primarily feed on small insects, worms, plant matter and algae. In the home aquarium, they will greedily eat nearly anything offered to them. But a healthy diet should be made up of a high quality fish food, with occasional frozen foods added for treats. I prefer to feed my convicts Hikari Cichlid Gold Floating Pellets and have had great success with this high quality food.
When it comes to frozen foods, their favorites are blood worms, daphnia and brine shrimp. They will especially appreciate any live food that can cultured or caught – with mosquito larvae and live black worms being particular favorites.
Breeding
Convict cichlids are among the easiest tropical aquarium fish to breed. Unlike many other cichlids, they don’t selectively pair off, and any male and female in placed in an aquarium will usually breed within a matter of weeks.
Since convict cichlids prefer to lay eggs on rocky overhangs in the wild, the easiest way to simulate their natural habitat in the home aquarium is to provide them with overturned clay pots. Stacks of rocks will also work, and they have also been known to lay eggs in PVC pipe “caves”, but nothing seems to beat the simple clay pots.
Once an egg laying surface has been provided, the male and female will begin clearing the area around their breeding site. Any plants will be removed and the substrate will likely be excavated and moved around to their liking.
During this time, the convict cichlid breed pair will viciously attack any other fish in their tank, and few fish – even the armored pleco, can take this abuse for long. Needless to say, any breeding convicts should be kept in a tank without any other fish present.
Once their territory has been staked out, the female will deposit her eggs on a clay pot, and the male will fertilize them. The parents will diligently guard the eggs, with the male chasing away anything that comes close to the nest, while the female stays close to the eggs.
The fry will begin to hatch in a few days, and after about a week, the convict cichlid parents will begin to herd the tiny fry around the tank. At this point infusoria, and baby brine shrimp should be fed to the fry three times a day. If someone doesn’t want to go to the trouble of hatching brine shrimp or culturing infusoria, then there are a few commercial products available for feeding fry.
One of the most interesting aspects of owning convict cichlids is watching the level of parental care that they give to their offspring. While guppies and many other fish will make a quick snack of their offspring, convict cichlids are extremely caring parents. They will dig paths through plants for their fry, stir up the substrate to uncover food, and quickly get the fry to safety anytime they feel threatened. Even in a tank with equal sized predator fish, it’s exceedingly rare to even lose even one convict cichlid fry.
hi all I am new to this so please excuse me.
I just bought 2 males and 2 females convicts
I have a 40l tank with all 4 of them in there
there is a lot of caves/breeding nests
the one male is in one of the caves constantly and chases the other 3 around like mad
any reason for that?
That’s totally normal. Convict cichlids become incredibly protective during mating. Have any of the females bellies colored up yet? As soon as one of the females becomes fertile, she should pair off with the male and start protecting the cave together.
The bellies turn after they lay the eggs. They are mature sometimes very early and will start very early. Its easiest to pick one that’s already turned but with time breeding you will be able to eyeball it. I’ve had scores of convict fish for years. If that dominant fish is the largest he will claim the territory first and you may have a tank of boys. The girls are compact so it’s hard to tell. Go get a girl, 2 or 3 actually with that many boys; as they will stress one to death. The alpha fish will have more fish to chase; they chase the other males the most. You can have other breeds in the same tank, the breeding pair just keeps them away and possibly in corners. I’ve seen convoys breed and fight with fish 3 times bigger. Its as much about size as it is attitude. I’ve never fed any generation of fry. I understood the red stripes on mom comes from feeding fry of her body. After a few weeks she starts to break up food and throws it on top of them in their herd. This is my experience. Good luck!
My cichlids first had babies and killed every other fish in the tank except the pleco
I will puma single male convict cichlid with 3 flier sunfish, 4 firemouth cichlids and rulers of the tank the Suwanee family a pair of Suwannee bass.😆😆😆😆 HAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA
I meant I will put a single male pink convict cichlid with a pair of [BARTRAMS BASS FISH].
Or a pair of [Suwanee bass fish] also I call myself wolfman or xmegatron
I have convict cichlid and mine are very loving to each other but in the last week or so I started to loss them I lost 2 with in a week of each other any idea why my water is as followed PH 7.6 High range pH ,7.8 ammonia 0ppm nightrates 0pmm any ideas
Is that nitrates or nitrites at 0ppm?
Also, is there any sign of illness? Any bloating? Bulging eyes?
Did you do a large water change recently?
I have a question why, is my female convict always beating up my male..they have had babies but she wouldn’t even let him near them after he fertilized them?
Is it their first attempt at breeding? Often, it takes a few attempts before they really fall into the rhythm. I’ve seen all sorts of things like that the first go round, but they should be proper parents by the second or third attempt.
Oh really wait till I get a pair of Suwannee bass and put a single male big pink convict cichlid. He will respect the Suwanee family.
Hey there nothing wrong with being new.
I cant see no baby convicts in the aquarium, is there any way I can tell for sure. The parents seem to be guarding something. I am really new at this.
If you can’t see anything yet and they seem to be guarding somethings, it’s mostly likely they’ve laid eggs. The eggs should hatch pretty soon and then you’ll see the babies.
1 male with a few females. Two will pair off and have babies. Get rid of the dominant male. Trust me. We’ve got one living in a 5 gallon for the same problem your having. Do you really want to pass those genes on to the next generation? I’ve had at least 50,000 fry and they do not need pristine water or anything special. Every article I’ve read about every fish says “they need pristine water”. They also add that the babies all need special food. BS. Convicts are so easy to breed I use them for feeders for my other fish. As for aggression…best bet is to make sure there are breaks in their line of sight. Tall plants are perfect. Air bubble bars work too. I feed all my fish once a day and my fish look better than the ones in this article. Regular tropical flakes with cichlid pellets. An occasional treat of frozen blood worms and freeze dried shrimp.
Hi Ive had convicts for about ten months and every time when the fry hatch the parents will eat and I was wondering how can u stop the parents from eating the fry
In my experience, convicts don’t always get it right the first time. Sometimes they will eat the babies for the first few times, but they eventually get it right. It helps it you make sure that they are properly fed, and don’t stress them out unduly. Is the tank in a high traffic area of your place? If so, you might want to consider leaving them alone at first. Also, do they have any aggressive tankmates? Stress from that can also often cause problems for new convict parents.
With that being said, if you just leave them to their business, they are convicts and they will eventually get it right.
When is a good time to separate the fry to put them into a grow tank? How old should they be before moving them?
It really depends on why you’re separating them. IF you want to trigger breeding again as soon as possible, I would remove then at around the two week mark. Fish that young tend to become injured or stressed by nets, so I would either suction them out, or use a cup to capture them.
Otherwise, if there is no hurry, I usually leave them in the same tank until they’re about the size of a dime. The parents generally start to get hostile towards them when they become a little bit larger than this, so I always try to remove them at this size.
And I’m sure you’re aware of this, but always make sure that the tank you’re moving them to is fully cycled, and slowly acclimatize them to the water before adding them. Juvenile fish can be extremely sensitive to water changes.
As a first time convict parent I prepared a new tank for the fry. I only caught a few using a suction tube to see how they would go. I did not want the fry to be eaten. They were 2 weeks old. They are surviving well. I had about 50 fry the first hatch. I will probably leave the rest with the adult fish until they are bigger.
The convict cichlid is not the king of the tank the kings of the tanks when it comes to convict cichlids are 1. Bartrams bass 2. Coosae bass 3. micropterus henshalli bass.]. also if you are wondering who the the king of the texas cichlid its number 1 the male SMALLMOUTH BASS.] and if you want to know who boss of the blackbelt cichlid its the one and only LARGEMOUTH BASS.) there’s nothing wrong with post in about your fish but your fish will have to pay homage to its KINGS. AAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA
I’ve always wanted to keep native fish. I’d love to get a tank of bass and some of the native catfish. What sort of setup do you have?
Hey Robert I will be making another native tank soon. I used to have one with a male green sunfish and 5 female green sunfish and 1 single male pink convict cichlid in a long 29 gallon his name was I think Jeremy he was the boss and another male I had was big shamoo he would stay in the tall plants on the left side of the tank tat was his territory and Jeremy would stay in the middle of the tank and make his nest the male pink convict would be on the right side and he would start fight and Jeremy would put him in his place it went on for awhile then the pink convict cichlid gave up and feared Jeremy to the point after almost a year with no female I finally got him a female they had babies but he couldn’t defend them or the female every time Jeremy would come close he would run.😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆 HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAA
I would also get a long 29 gallon tank and add a pair of coosae bass, 4 nice size dither fish,2 medium size algae eater catfish and 1 simple male pink convict cichlid. That will be another GREAT community tank.
I had no clue about convicts. I woke up one day and saw a cloud of haze in my tank and realized there were babies! At first I thought the parents were eating the fry, but upon closer observation they were just moving them. They would suck them up and move them back to the nest and spit them out.
I thought the same thing the first time I kept convicts. I was certain the parents were eating the fry, but there never seemed to be any fewer of them. But when I looked closely, I could see they were just moving them back to safety – especially, when I came close to the tank.
Thanks for this article, I am a beginner ornamental fish breeder in kenya ( Africa) and this article helped me a lot. I have my 5 convicts in an outdoor pond of 3ft x 6ft x 2.5ft with lots of rocks.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. With that setup you should have tons of convict fry very soon.
thanks, you are an inspiration. keep it u.
My convicts laid eggs the other day and i was wondering if i do a water change will it mess up the eggs?
No it won’t hurt the eggs. There is the off chance you could spook the convicts and they may abandon them, but its important to have the best water possible after they hatch. So just keep the gravel vac away from the eggs and you should be fine.
A friend gave me three Convict Cichlids. I have been my homework on them, so i can give them the best care, and to learn all i can about them. I had them in a tank for about two months in a tank at least 100gl. I cleaned it very good and put a shell flower pot in the tank to give the fish somewhere to hide. I did this before I did the homework on them, and about a week or two goes by and they had fry’s. It was great. When I did the homework on them, I have learned more but, i need to know if one of the males need to come out because I have found that there is two males and one female. Two of the Convict’s have paired up, but the other male gets chased off. The males seem to be attacking each other. With all this said what can I do to make the tank less stressful on the fish? I would love to know more about these wonderful fish.
Just design your tank in such a way that there are a lot of breaks in the line of sight. This can be done with plants (which convicts maul) or decorations. This is especially important with convicts who get aggressive during breeding, though with a tank that large it should never get that serious. The loser will always have places to retreat.
Thats why I will put a big male pink convict cichlid in the that with a pair of Suwannee family known as Suwannee bass😆😆😆😆😆 HAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA
Yes also did you hear about the werewolf thats roaming around.We must hide in our houses.
HI I have two pairs of convicts that Have babies and they are old enough to swim around… I was wondering if I should leave them with the parents or separate them.. each pair is on opposite sides of the tank. If I separate them can they live on their own at this point?
Hi i was wondering what does the temperature have to be for the convict fry
It’s best to aim for 76 F (25 C), though a range of 74-78F will still work well. I have found 76 to be the optimal temp in my experience though.
Hi I was wondering how long does it take for the fry to free swim
It generally takes the eggs about 48-72 hours to hatch, and then the fry will take about another 48-72 hours before they become free-swimming. Keep in mind that it can sometimes take longer, but it usually falls somewhere in that time frame.
I have a problem!! I have a 5 foot tank and many different species of fish, I had no idea the female convict was pregnant! Anyway the eggs are hatched and there are several babies, I have had to section a part of the tank so the other fish don’t eat them, is there any way I can remove the convicts and their babies from the large tank into a tank of their own? without harming them as I feel sorry for the other fish , they don’t have enough room now to swim, the babies are still quite small and have many more weeks, perhaps months of growing!!
The convict fry might actually be safe in your tank even without the partition. Convicts are some of the best parents around , and they will rabidly defend their fry. Unless you have very aggressive and large fish with them, most of their fry should survive. However, your other fish might get beat up a little if they go near the convicts, so a partition might be best to keep the other fish safe.
But if you decide to remove the fry, then you need a fully cycled tank to place them in. Fry are extremely sensitive to the water quality, and most will quickly die if you place them in anything but a fully cycled tank. Also, they can be injured if you use a net, so it’s best to use something like a turkey baster or a cup to capture them with. And it’s extremely important to acclimatize them to the new tank conditions, since even slight differences in water pH can be deadly for them. Take your time getting them used to the new tank, and the drip method is probably one of the best ways to acclimatize them to the new water.
I will say this NO male convict cichlid can mess with a male Bartrams bass or a male coosae bass HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA.
When I’m ready to remove the fry, should I use the water from this tank to fill the smaller tank?
It’s best to have a tank already cycled and setup. It’s generally a bad idea to move water between aquariums unless you absolutely have to, as it can carry disease and parasites with it. Just give the fish a chance to acclimatize to their new tank using the drip method, and they should be fine. If the aquarium isn’t setup, then you should reconsider rehoming the fry, as they are very sensitive to water changes, and wouldn’t survive a tank that is cycling.
Hi am Dottiesalim from Kenya. As I had said earlier, I put my convicts in an outdoor pond with rocks and all. I noticed some fry swimming near two adults. How many babies do convicts have per breeding session? I intend to leave them alone. However I added some water in the pond since I had noticed the pond water had evaporated Afew inches. Is that ok to have added the water through drip. Thank you and all your answers will be appreciated.
My understanding is that convicts will lay up to 200 eggs, and usually about 25% of those survive to adulthood in the home aquarium. The numbers can vary though, depending on predators, water quality, feeding, and the experience of the parents. They will breed every few months if the conditions are right, so expect your pond to soon be overrun by convicts if there are no predators around.
As for the pond, it is fine to add more water to top it up. Just make sure that the water is close to the same temperature, and that you treat it to remove any chlorine in it.
I hope this helps.
I have got a breeding pair of Convicts, the female is cloured as well and I can see the egg laying tube. I got them in this state and they are well settled in the PVC pool I prepared with substrate on one side and thin layer of it and gave almost identical setup where they were kept already and they are hidinga nd feeding well. When can I expect to see the eggs and frys? and also how will i know if they have delivered or not, I am not touching the tank at all in this fear.
They usually hatch after 3-4 days, and will stay in the spawning cave for a few days after that. Usually at around the 7 day mark after spawning, you will see the parents starting to herd the fry around the tank.
Was just curious since I did not see their type on here but do you deal with Jack Dempsey Cichlids at all?
I’ve kept them in the past, though I don’t have any currently. I’m going to do an article on them when I get the time. I have a huge list of articles that I’m planning to do in the near future.
I just bought a 36 gallon bow front tank that is 21″ high. I am planning on having 3-4 cichlids in there as well as a school of tiger barbs. On what level do the convicts like to swim? (Bottom, Middle, Top) Do I need to try to build up the base in some areas to create more areas of protection at the top of the tank?
I’m assuming that you want to keep convicts with tigers barbs, but the second that they start mating you will have dead tiger barbs. Tiger barbs can often hold their own against non-mating convicts, but they will die when they get really aggressive during mating. I would choose either a tiger or convict only tank.
Also, convict cichlids normally dwell near the bottom or the mid. You should provide them with plenty of sturdy plants, and numerous flat surfaces or caves for them. They will also often create little nests in the substrate.
Thats why I’m putting a single pink convict cichlid with a already spawned male [BARTRAMS BASS], 4 blue spotted sunfish, 2 male clown loach catfish. The male pink convict will be single and jealous everyone will spwn except him the tank will be called SUNFISH CITY.😆😆😆😆😆😆👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you! That was so helpful. I was told that having both male and female cichlids can be overwhelming because the propagate so well. :0) I’m not wanting to have to set up numerous tanks to keep from multiplying like crazy. I was planning on only having female convicts.
I need some urgent help… My convicts have laid eggs and i now have non swimmer fries. When is the best time to safely seperate the fries in different tank for feeding them well or what ever is the best way please suggest
I would just keep them with the parents. In most cases the parents will look after them and care for them. In rare cases, new parents may eat their fry, but this will normally only happen with the first or second spawn.
I have a breeding pair of striped convicts, I have moved them to a tank all of their own, they have laid eggs and they have hatched but then they just disappear, there are no fry in the tank, this is the third tine they have laid eggs and still no little fry swimming aroun.
Often convict parents will have trouble with their first few breeding attempts. Though they usually start to get the hang of it by the third attempt. Are you feeding them regularly and keeping the water in good condition? Poor water conditions will kill fry fast.
Yes, I constantly check the water and they are eating well, I don’t understand it, when they were in the 5 foot tank with other fish the fry were evident and growing, now they have a tank to themselves so I don’t know???
Hello, I have a breeding pair of Convict cichlids… I have great luck with them… Over 400 babies have grown to 1″ or larger in a seperate tank… The pair have produced 5 litters in 6 months… I have enjoyed them so much and my children love them and watch the different stages of development. The catch is no one wants the juveniles… easy to breed not so easy to find homes for them. Pets stores laugh when I ask them to buy convicts..
I’ve experienced that same thing in the past. Back when I used to let my convicts breed indiscriminately, I ended up with nearly one hundred full grown convicts. I had several tanks bursting at the seams. I couldn’t sell any of them, and I eventually ended up giving all but a handful to Big Al’s. It won’t make you any money, but several fish stores will usually take them off of your hands for free.
Hello I am after a bit of advice I am up grading tank tomorrow to a bigger tank as my convicts are outgrowing my other tank but I have 3 pair of convicts that have fry and are swimming and about another 5 other convicts that are not matting but getting bullied by the ones that have fry I was just wondering how will I remove the fry and there mums and dads to the larger tank without hurting them thanks
Small fry can be very difficult to capture without hurting them. I would recommend using something like a cup to scoop them out, or suction them out. It can be difficult, since the parents will try to hide them, or at least herd them away from danger. It’s usually easier to remove the other fish to start, and then remove the fry when they’re larger. Good luck catching the fry though.
Hello my name is Karina, im only 16 but im a big fish fanatic. I have a 30 gallon tank with 6 convict cichlids and a sucker fish. I recently found out that a pair of my fish have had their eggs hatch and there are now non swimming fry, they are living currently in the cave of the castle I have in the middle of the tank. I feel horrible that my other 4 cichlids are getting terrorized by the male father but I cannot afford a seperate tank. Any suggestions on what to do? Also I have the temperature set on 78 degrees, is that good for the fry? I would really appreciate a reply back!
Hello Karina,
The temperature should be fine for the fry. And if you can’t afford a separate tank, the only thing that you can do is try to rearrange the tank to lessen aggression. The way that you do this is by creating breaks in line of sight for the fish. I normally do this with tall plants, or ornaments. If you create open areas, with objects dividing them, the aggressive fish will only tend to focus on the area that they’re in. And once has fish has run away to the other area, most times the fish won’t follow.
This can be difficult in a 30 gallon tank, but it’s worth a try. I would also recommend fake plants, since convicts are so hard on regular plants. I only have success with very select plants in a convict tank, and they wouldn’t really suit your purpose here. Good luck.
I have a female and male convict who just laid eggs about two days ago…. I transfered the eggs and the pair into a separate tank. The pair were gaurding the eggs together in the initial tank and now the female will not allow the male near them… Is this OK? …. && how will I know the eggs are safe and will hatch?
I’m new to this so any info about what to look for as far as warning signs or negative/positive things… ANY info lol will help greatly…. Thanks
Kwiseman19@hotmail.com
Is my email
Are you sure you transferred the same pair? Or was it just the one pair in the aquarium? Assuming you have the same pair, in my experience it’s more normal for the female to remain close to the eggs, while the male takes up a position slightly further out. Once the eggs are hatched, both parents will move in to protect the fry and keep them safe from danger.
And one of the great things about convicts, is that you really don’t have to do much to care for the fry. Just make sure that you maintain excellent water conditions and feed them regularly. It’s best to provide them with baby brine shrimp when they first hatch, or microworms if you have access to them. But they also tend to do well with very finely ground up flake food, delivered to a close location in the aquarium.
Also, was the tank cycled? Because if it wasn’t, you’re likely going to run into some problems. The best thing in that situation is to add lots of fast growing plants to the tank like hornwort. But you may still lose a good chunk of the fry due to poor water conditions.
Yes it was the same pair… I cycled the tank n its only them in there… Someone told me to take the male out n just leave the female w the eggs…. Is that OK?
I have another community tank of cichlids but I know for a fact its the right pair
If it gets to the point where it’s a real problem, you can remove the male. It is helpful having the parents with them, but it won’t hurt them at all if you remove one of the parents. Especially if you’re having aggression problems.
She ended up eating the eggs… Idk if they were bad or what… But little by little the eggs would be gone 🙁
I’m not gonna move them If they mate again… When I put them back in my main tank they went right back to liking each other. The new tank I got has a silence filter, does that matter?
My female Johanni is carrying tho and has been for about a week… I know they carry the eggs for about three weeks but is it the eggs she carries the whole time or do the eggs hatch in a certain time period and she carries the fry for a certain time period?
Thank u for your help BTW … I’m new to this as u can tell
A lot of cichlids need a few tries before they get the mating right and sometimes they eat the eggs like yours did. Usually they’ll catch on by the second time.
As for the Johanni, I believe that they keep their eggs for about 2-3 weeks. But I’ve never actually breed this fish, so I’m just going with the information that I have on hand.
Hi my convicts just had fry I’m just wondering if I should be worried about the fry being sucked up the filter if so how can I prevent it as I want to leave them in the tank with there parents ??
Help please !!!
This is actually a really common problem with fry, though in my experience most convict fry are bottom to mid dwelling, so it’s not as big of a problem with them. But there are a few ways to ensure that none are sucked up.
The first way to tie a non toxic nylon or mesh around the intake to your filter. Water will still be able to pass through it. but no fry will. You will have to keep an eye on it though, since it is prone to clogging after a short time. So you may need to rinse all the detritus off it every few days.
The second option is to use a sponge to filter over the filter intake. You can actually find these in many fish stores and online, but in my experience they don’t work as well. They often impede the flow too much, and aren’t worth it in the long run.
I hope this helps.
My parents eat the fry- anything I can do?
This sometimes happens with new parents. But after a batch or two, they get used to it and should fiercely protect the fry. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
I’m knew I just got a convict but I don’t know if it’s a female or male how can I tell???
The males are larger and have extensions on their dorsal and anal fins. But the easiest way to tell is that they female will have a pinkish patch on her belly. This only occurs in mature fish though, so if yours are very young then it may not have the patch yet.
I’m keeping my convict in 10 gallon tank is that bad????
A convict can grow quite large, so as it grows I would definitely upgrade the tank size. A ten gallon is too small for an adult convict though. It will be difficult to keep on top of the water quality, and it may become stunted.
I have a calico and regular convict that had offspring they are swimming around now almost to that stage where they go off without the parents. I can’t wait to see what they look like
Those should be really interesting convicts. One of my favorite and oldest convicts is the spawn of a pink and normal convict. She looks really unique and different.
Hi my name I Jacob and my pink convicts just had fry a week and a half ago and there are more eggs in the tank I can’t figure out why there mating so fast I need help please reply
It’s very rare for them to breed with the fry that young. Usually they will eat the fry if they plan on breeding again. Is it a separate pair breeding perhaps? Or is it just the one pair.
Their the same pair and they haven’t eaten the fry either but there definitely eggs
Help! I have a 55 gallon tank. I had two oscars in it and four convict tiger barbs. I came home two nights ago to find one dead Oscar and one dead tiger barb. There are two placos and two othercsmall fish. I’m thinking about taking the TBs out and replacing them with oscars. Comments.
First of all, I have to ask if the fish had any issues you noticed before they passed away. I would then carefully inspect all of the remaining fish to see if there’s any bloating, spots, or anything that looks abnormal. I would also test your water, and see if it’s all in the normal range. When you lose two fish in rapid succession like that, it usually means there is something seriously wrong with the tank.
I’m not sure adding more oscars would be a good idea either. How large is your oscar currently? While adding young oscars to a tank is generally easy, adding a new oscar to a tank where one has already established a territory can be problematic. They will often fight, and even if you get the opposite sex, there’s no guarantee they’ll get along. At the most though. I would only add one more oscar, and I would try to make it so you have one male and one female (even though it’s quite difficult to sex oscars).
Oscars can be a hit or miss thing depending on where you get them. Petco is not a great place to get Oscars. Tiger barbs and Oscars? Little fin nippers will shred the Oscars fins until the Oscars get big enough to eat them. Usually if the Oscars get over 6 nches or so they can take a little more abuse than younger ones. I’ve seen a lot of young Oscars die suddenly for no reason. Stress from tank mates is what I suspect in most cases as long as everything is in order. My oscars are the only fish I have that get fed more than once a day. Appropriate sized pellets twice a day only…..no matter how much they beg. Lol
Thank you for your response. It was obvious after careful examination that they had fought because there were pieces of the sides ripped out. Back to my original question. Should I take the TBs out of the tank? The Oscars get along great?
I’ve honestly had a great deal of trouble keeping tiger barbs with almost any other fish. Their tank mates are either too docile, or too aggressive, and one fish always gets killed. I would definitely recommend removing them, and they are a beautiful fish when kept on their own. If you keep them in a group of at least six, the aggression is dispersed among all of the individuals, and no one fish will get picked on too much.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. It sounds like sound advice. I think I’ll take it?
Just bought 2 convict cichlid fish today an one is already dead idk why
I’d bring it back to the store then. Most of them have return policies. It usually means it was very sick to begin with, assuming your acclimatized them to your water before adding it, and your water doesn’t naturally have any toxins in it.
I place my convict in my cement tank and they multiply fast their are even albino strains that come out.
I have about 9 convicts and two sets have paired off and laid eggs…do I need to be worried about moving the fry once they hatch… Will the others convicts eat them? Because I do feed them live feeder guppies and I’m afraid they will think the fry are guppies…I just noticed the eggs and the males are gaurding them but what happens when they can swim?
I would worry about the other fish in the tank, and not the fry. It’s incredibly rare for the fry to be eaten, unless the fish are in very cramped quarters. The parents will beat any fish senseless that comes near their offspring. It often becomes a problem, as you end up with the parents and fry controlling most of the tank, with the other fish huddled in the corner somewhere.
Please someone help give me some answers!
I have a 55 gall freshwater tank, with lots of places to hide and lots of plants. I have 2 female convict cichlids. One is larger than the other. At first it seemed as though the larger female would bully the smaller one for the first few months. Recently, they started doing circles around each other, bumping each other and now it appears they follow each other every minute. initially the larger one would not let the smaller one, or anyone else near or in her under water caved area, now both are in and around the cave together most all the time, and are extremely territorial about the space around them. they are bullies to any fish coming on their side of the tank, they usually leave my puffers alone, but have started bumping them. I am sure they are both females. I have even removed their cave and thoroughly checked it to make sure there were no “eggs”. I am not sure why they are so mean, but I have about had it with their bullying my other fish. any suggestions?
Are you positive they are both females? That sounds very similar to mating behavior. But the problem with fish like convicts is that there is very little you can do when they start bullying other fish. The only thing you can try is adding more decorations and plants, so there are more breaks in line of sight. That way, they won’t be able to see the other fish as much, and there will be places for them retreat to when they are bullied.
I am so glad to see you are still responding to this thread. I just need some advice, I have an established 90 gallon tank that has an Oscar 3+ yrs, about 12″ and an armored pleco with a cave like dwelling and a sub merged hollow branch. I recently adopted two convicts and I’m almost positive they’re a breeding pair. I have a spare 30 gallon tank with a strong HOB filter, do you think my oscar would be safe from breeding convicts or would it just be best to set up the other tank? I have had mollies and guppies breed in the past but never anything as neat as a convict, but my Oscar is my baby and at the end of the day his health is what’s most important to me, but if there’s enough room I’d like to spare myself the work of another tank
I’d say the oscar would most likely be safe in a tank that size from a breeding pair of convict. They usually only take over a space near the bottom, and they will usually chase the oscar off a few times until it learns to stay away. Of course you should always keep an eye on the tank though. Some convicts go a bit crazy when breeding, and if you notice any aggression beyond what is normal (some chasing and maybe a little bit of nipping at first), you should consider rehoming the convicts, or at least removing the eggs. Of course if remove the eggs, they’ll probably go right back to breeding. So it’s a bit difficult to figure it out sometimes.
I would be more worried about the pleco though to be honest. I’ve seen convicts do some horrible things to plecos, although never to one that large. But you really need to keep an eye on that pleco since it will be inhabiting the same space as the convicts. I’ve seen smaller plecos lose their eyes to angry convicts, which wasn’t pleasant to say the least.
Ok, I have a pair of breeding convicts. They are on their second litter, the first became ” nutrients”. A friend of mine just gave a 3″ tiger Oscar, 2″ convict and a 2″ Malawi cichlid. I have a 40 gal convex tank with a ton of plants and driftwood hiding spots. What should I do, get rid of, or just wing it and build a large pond in my backyard. Also, the original breeding convicts are my daughters and she loves them. Thanks, anything will help.
Things are going to get crowded in there fast, and you’re probably going to have some crazy aggression problems with those African cichlids in the mix. You’ll definitely need to separate those fish in the near future, and the tiger alone will eventually outgrow the tank. I’d focus on getting a new home for them as soon as possible, though a pond does sound like a good idea if you’re in a warm part of the world.
I have a 29 gallon tank and I have a Tiger Oscar that is 10 inches(I know that’s a bit big for the tank size) and 7 zebra danios and 2 convicts. Today I noticed about 150 fry. Not sure what I should do! The convicts eat a few of them every now and then. Will they eat them all? Should I move the rest of the fry? I’ve never bread fish before and I honestly have no idea what to do. Thanks!!!
Plus, even though my Tiger Oscar is about 10 times the size of the convicts, the convicts still torture him, although not to the point that Tiger is getting injured, just annoyed. Will it be okay or should I expect to have to move him?
The convicts aren’t likely to be eating the fry, although some first time parents do make mistakes. Often, the female transports fry back to the nest in her mouth, so it only looks like she’s eating them.
And convicts will drive an Oscar mad in a tank that size – there’s no where for the fish to escape to. As it is, it’s far too large for the tank, and the water quality if probably suffering. I would relocate it as soon as possible for you, though I do know it can be taxing on your budget.
I wish I could tell you what to do with all of the fry though. The massive, never ending amount of fry was one of the reason I stopped keeping male and female convicts together. Unless you have a carnivorous fish to feed them to, they just pile up and no one wants them. Some fish stores will take them off of your hands, but otherwise it’s almost impossible to get rid of them. It is amazingly fun to breed them though, and just watching their parenting behavior in one of the most rewarding things you can do in fish keeping.
Yeah you were right!!! I didn’t realize until the next day that she was just moving the fry. She ate a few the first day, but now she hasn’t eaten any. Yeah they are driving him pretty mad. Would a fish store buy my Oscar back? Otherwise I’d probably need a tank at least 75 gallons right?
I have 2 empty 10 gallon tanks that I was thinking of putting the fry in to eventually. How long should I wait before I do that? I read that the water temperature has to be like totally the same and everything as the other tank.
Some stores will buy an oscar back, but the majority these days won’t offer any money for taking your fish.
You could probably house one oscar in a 55 gallon tank pretty comfortably, though a 75 would be better. As long as you don’t have two, then 55 gallons is still a pretty decent size for them.
Really??? I’m surprised. Maybe I’d be better off trying to sell it on Craigslist then. Thank you for your help! I’ll start looking for a bigger tank in the mean time!
The problem is that oscars, like convicts are easily bred, so there are hordes of them out there. Stores will pay money for rarer species, but usually won’t buy any of the more common live bearers of cichlids.
I have 3 pairs of breeding convicts in my 90 gallon aquarium and some other cichlids as well. All 3 pairs have successfully had fry but they have all been eaten, I’m assuming by the other cichlids in the tank. Would it be okay to put the 3 breeding in a separate tank? Would convicts eat other convicts fry? And what size tank would u recommend?
That’s pretty strange for convict ciclids. What are they in a tank with? In my experience, I’ve seen them defend their fry from fish twice as large as they are. Also, was it their time breeding? Sometimes it takes them a few tries to get it right.
But it would be fine to place them in another tank – though unless you plans for what to do with the fry – I would recommend just starting with one breeding pair at first. And I’m sure you know this, but make sure the new tank is fully cycled, as fry are especially sensitive to poor water conditions. And get ready to be overrun with fry. 🙂
My pair of convicts had about 100 fry in march and they all survived. I did move some fry to another tank to give them more room.
I have two males and one female convicts in a 20 gallon long tank. We’ve never had any fry. The two males both chase the female a bit and the two males seem to face off against each other. The only other fish in the tank is a pleco. Why would we not see mating? Thanks
How old are they right now? Is the female’s belly nice and pink? Also, have you tried conditioning them through high quality foods? What are the water parameters like?
Assuming they are breeding ready, and everything in the tank is optimal, sometimes they just don’t pair up. While it tends to be very rare, sometimes the addition of another female will get things going – though you’d be getting dangerously crowded if you did that with you tank. Especially, if you’re hoping to breed them.
They’re about 6 months old. The female’s belly isn’t so dark, but definitely has a pinkish hue. She tends to lose and regain her stripes from time to time. As far as I know the water quality should be fine. I’m not especially looking to breed them, I was just curious why they haven’t…given everything I’ve read about convicts. Thanks for your help.
Like I said, it’s really rare, but sometimes convicts just don’t form pairs. That’s why it’s usually best to get 6 juveniles and let them pair up (assuming the tank is large enough). Beyond that, I can’t see any glaring reason why they wouldn’t be breeding. It may yet happen though, if you keep the water quality up, and start supplementing their diet with live or frozen foods.
Thanks!
Hi i have 75L tank with 3 pair of convicts + 1 male one carleus and 3 malawi blue dolphins , one anci and one botia morleti , a few moths ago one of the pairs laid eggs and few hours after there were no eggs the next time they laid eggs was 10 days ago and i collected the eggs and set them in egg tumbler but they have not progresed yet , today i saw another pair laid eggs and i collected them and placed them in a plastic tumbler do you think i should leave the eggs next time where they are laid and see if they dont eat them or i should keep getting them on secure
If you want to breed them, then you should generally leave the eggs with the parents. They are excellent care givers, and will only normally consume the eggs if they are very new, inexperienced parents, or they aren’t viable. I’m a bit leery of telling you to leave them in though, because they are incredibly protective of their young. In a tank your size, they would turn it into a war zone, fighting any fish who came near them.
And I don’t know if you’re aware, but some of your fish will vastly outgrow your aquarium. It’s tough to keep African cichlids in anything less than a 55 gallon, and while the blue dolphins are among the more peaceful of the Africans, watch out they decide to spawn or if you have two males. If you can, you should try to upgrade your tank size in the future.
The biggest pair laid eggs today again so i decided to let them with the parents and see if i`m lucky to get small convicts or next time i`ll find a smaller aquarium just to breed them . Thanks for your advice.
Always glad to help. And good luck with the eggs.
I just recently moved my 2 breeding pair’s of black convicts to a larger tank that was fully cycled, along with 6 1/2inch fry from one pair and around 50 1/4 inch from the other. While moving their caves, I noticed a bunch of eggs from the pair with the larger babies, so I quickly placed it in the new tank hoping they would hatch. Problem is now, the dad will not let them mom anywhere near the house with the eggs in it! I’m not sure I’d they will hatch or not but shouldn’t he recognize her as his mate? They have always worked as a team before, but he is chasing her like when they start mating? Will the eggs be ok without mom? And they were only out of water for around 10 seconds. Thanks!
I’ve noticed that moving fish can sometimes make them act a little strange. I haven’t been able to find any hard research on this, but my own personal opinion is that the change of scenery confused them. It’s almost as if they have staked out a territory in the tank, and when you change their tank, it takes them a while to readjust.
In my experience, things will usually calm down in a few days, although I don’t know if the eggs will be alright or not. Usually the mother takes care of the eggs, while the father takes a move active role in out defense. Hopefully, he will step up and keep the eggs, and the odds are good the mother will be accepted by him again soon.
Worst case scenario, they consume the eggs and quickly lay more. I hope you have a plan for getting rid of the fry, because that’s one of the biggest problem I’ve had with convicts. So many babies, and no one wants them. 😛
Do convict cichlids ever breed with other types or classes, say a blood red parrot?
I’ve never heard of them crossbreeding with blood red parrots, but it might be possible. I believe the original blood red parrot cichlids are a cross of midas cichlids and a red head cichlid – both of which are central American cichlids. As the convict can crossbreed with several other central American cichlids, it may be possible. But in general, it’s usually a bad idea to create hybrids, especially if you are going to let the offspring reproduce.
Hi I have two chitlids grown all of a sudden they both are on bottom of tank one goes on his side they both lime gasping what’s wrong no ick or fungus
It sounds like a water problem. Check the temp first, and then test the water if you can. Most local pet stores will test your water for free if you bring it in.
But barring any problems there, I would start with a water change, and then go from there. Let me know if a water change helps at all. If not, then it’s probably something internal, and you should probably send some pics to me. admin@aquariumtidings.com
hi I have a blood parrot female who has paired up with my male blood parrot, they have had two batches of eggs and they haven’t hatched, which they have eaten. I have learned that blood parrot males are not always fertile, if I take my male {who is about 4 1/2 inches long} out and put a male convict in with my 3 inch female would they pair up.
They sometimes pair up, but it’s not always a sure thing when cross breeding cichlids. However, cross breeding is very frowned upon in the hobby, and I would only do if you have no plans of ever giving away your fish. The last thing you would want to do is too dilute the strains of fish out there, and many people won’t keep blood parrots for that very reason.
But if there’s no threat of that, then you could at least try out keeping these fish together.
Ok i have a 50 gallon tank and i have 1 female and 3 males, 1male she hangs around alot, 1 male she fights vicisiously, 1 male leaves all of them alone. But the one she hangs around and the one she fights with act like they are friends. But none has produced fry yet and they have been together for 3 months. What do i do? Why wont they mate?
Is the female’s belly a reddish colour? That’s the easiest way to see whether she’s ready to breed. Also, do you have anywhere for them to breed? Any caves? Any overhangs for them to lay the eggs on?
Otherwise, just focus on giving them high quality food, and providing the best water quality possible. It’s almost unheard of for convicts not to breed when they reach sexual maturity, so I imagine they will be breeding soon.
At what age do convicts start to breed. My young are now 6months old.
They may breed when they’re as small as 1.5 inches, but they usually don’t breed until they’re around 2 inches. It’s hard to say an exact age, because size can be dependent on so many things. It’s much easier to go by size. Once the female’s belly starts to take on a red colour, they should start breeding shortly afterwards.
Yes there are plenty of rock caves. What do the eggs look like and how are they attached? The pair are excavating the pond continuously and chasing other convicts away from certain areas . Maybe it will be soon.
That is definitely pre-mating behavior. I expect you’ll see some eggs soon. The eggs are somewhat pinkish, and they will appear in clusters on a surface.
The male and female convicts have become very secluded from the others and very quiet. They may be protecting some eggs but both have been like this for a week. Each day I expect to see fry but no. I don’t want to disturb the eggs by moving rocks but am anxious to know what is happening. I suppose I have to be more patient.
Hello fish folks I have a 100gal aquarium with 2 oscars (5in, 3in) and 2 convicts (both 2in) and 2 bumblebee chiclids (2.5in) and 2 acei chichlids (2in) and 1 common pleco (6in) they all get along well enough the convicts are definitely male and female she has the bright pink belly going on my question is whether or not I will have problems
A lot depends on the temperament of your fish. One of my friends recently tried to keep oscars with convicts, and the convicts actually killed his oscar – so there is a real chance of things going really wrong with that mix. Also, at the best of times it’s hard to get an African cichlid tank going, but when you mix in a relatively passive fish like an oscar into the mix, it will probably result in a severely bullied fish.
Finally, what are your water parameters? You have some species of fish that have vastly different needs in both hardness and pH. You may be able to make the tank work with lots of hiding places, but it won’t be optimal for your fish. Is there any way you could focus on just African cichlids, or stick with the other fish?
Two convict females have pinkish bellies and have been like this for 2weeks. I have many rocky areas for them to lay eggs. Do they lose the pink colour once they lay eggs? I can’t see any pink clusters of eggs. What is happening?
If they have pink bellies, then they should spawn in the near future. One thing you can do to help them along, is to condition them with high quality frozen of live foods. Also, do the rocky areas form caves? Because that is where they prefer to spawn, though many aren’t terrible picky about the location they choose to spawn in. Often it’s just a waiting game with these fish, but once they get going, you’ll never get them to stop.
My convicts fry jus htched. I do have a jack dempey in the same tank, hould i get a breder house for my tank. Usually after about a week my jack ends up eating them all. This the the fidth or six time they have had babies. I tried to let nature do its thing but they alays get ate.
Really? I’ve seen convicts kill oscars when they’re breeding. I’m surprised they don’t keep the Jack Dempsey away from their young.
But the best thing to do then is to get a tank divider if you can a large enough one for your tank. It will be better than a breeding box and you’ll want the convicts to keep parents involved if you can.
Thats what I was wondering. Thank you for your comments. Might just see if they get it right this time, was thinking and not sure what to do with the fry if they do leave. Theres gotta 75 or more.
I had a mated pair of convicts that recently had eggs and they disapeared as I Think one of the pair ate them. Then a couple of days later I noticed the female laying on her side at the bottom of the tank. I checked water ph, ammonia, and nitrates and everything was normal. She passed away the same evening. I feel bad because the male is looking for her (I removed her body) and seems sad. Can I get another female to introduce to him or should I get another species of fish so he isn’t lonely?
You should be able to get another female convict without any problem. Convicts are one of the easiest cichlids to pair off, and it’s rare for one to reject a new mate.
As for other fish, I tend to go for convict only tanks lately, since they tend to be very aggressive fish. I’ve even seen them kill oscars in the past – which is impressive for such a small fish.
Every time I have babies they always end up dying when they get to about and 1inch long but I keep there tank clean and feed them 3 times a day and change the box filter after about 2 weeks
Do they all die? Is there any sign of illness? Do the parents kill them when they’re trying to drive them away? That size is usually when the parents try to get rid of them so they can start a new batch of eggs.
I take the parents out usually when the fry get that big and no and I don’t know why they keep dying
How big is the tank? They might be overwhelming the bio filtration with their waste.
I was wondering is to much protein bad for ur convict cichlids
What are you feeding them? I think the key thing is to just feed them a varied diet, with a high quality food. You shouldn’t run into too many problems that way.
I have just been feeding them some crushed up pellets that I grinded up that’s what I feed the fry
The only thing I can think of is the tank is crashing. I would closely monitor your ammonia and nitrates, since it’s the only thing that could kill the fish as fast as you describe.
Ok and what does the ph and nitrate need to be for the fry so ik where to keep it in range
I find the pH doesn’t affect the fry too much as long as your keep it within the fish’s preferred range. But you should really try to keep nitrates down, and below 10 ppm if at all possible. A planted tank helps with this, and you can probably keep it around 5 ppm in a planted tanks.
So I have a pair of convict cichlids and a few days ago i had to separate them because the male was chasing and nipping the female. 3 days ago i was going to clean the tank but noticed babies swimming around. Right now the male is in a 10 gallon by himself and the mom and babies are in a separate 10 gallon tank. I know they are supposed to be in a bigger one so I got a big one yesterday. When can I move them? Should I clean the tank they are in now or wait? This is all new to me. They seem to be doing well.
You’re safe to move them once you’ve cycled the new tank, though it’s always a bit of a risk to add fish fry to a non-mature tank. I would wait until they’re large – maybe around the size of dime – before you want to move them. I would also clean the tank, though just be sure to stay far away from the babies. The mom should keep them a fair distance from the siphon, but you may want to put something like nylon over the end so you don’t suck up the babies.
Question for you. I have a pair of convicts. They recently had their first spawn. For awhile they fiercely guarded the fry for a few weeks. Now (started on Valentines Day) the male chases every other fish in the tank away from the growing babies including the female. In fact he’ll swim across the entire tank just to chase her around. She’s no longer allowed anywhere near them at all. Is this normal behavior? Thanks!
It happens sometimes, and is pretty normal. It’s quite common to see a wide range of fish, where for some reason or another, one fish assumes all of the parental responsibilities. I don’t know what triggers it, but as long as the fry are still protected, and the tank is large enough for the female to escape, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. But if the aggression gets too bad, you might have to rehome the female for a while.
I ended up having to take the male out and put him in his own tank when he started being too aggressive to the mama…. the babies are about a month old and I still haven’t put daddy fish back in but mama fish is taking such good care of them…i don’t have any other fish in the tank either just mama and babies in one tank and daddy fish in the other.
That’s great the mom stepped up at least. I still say one of the best experience a fish keeper can have is to raise convicts. It’s such an amazing experience.
We got a male and female from a friend and did not know she was laying fry but now the first fry are bigger will they eat the new fry
Although some new parents eat their fry, it’s quite rare, and only happens with inexperienced parents. Most of the time, the fry should be fine, and once the babies are large enough, they will just be driven away.
Hi ! I have 1 male and 1 female convict , they are about 3 1/2 inches long , is this a large enough size for breeding ? P.S The female is getting rather large , is she preggy ?
They should be large enough to breed at that point. You’ll know they’re ready, when they females belly tanks on a nice reddish colour. And the female becomes egg-laden, not pregnant,and she does swell up a bit.
What should be the minimum filtration for convict cichlids in a 55 gallon tank with 7 cichlids
I always tend to over-filter my tanks, and when choosing something like a hang-on-back filter, I always choose the one above the tank size I have. Of course, some species don’t like too much current, but you should be fine with convict cichlids. I also like to throw in a sponge filter for backup, but that’s probably overdoing it in your case.
I am going away for 3 days and have 9 convicts in a 55 gallon tank and have they fry in a 30 gallon tank will.the die if they are not feed.
You’ll probably lose some fry, unless the tank is very heavily planted and perhaps you add a fish food block (sorry about the delay in getting back to you). I hope you haven’t gone away yet.
I was given 2 convict cichlids from a friend who could not care for them anymore, one was a grown adult and the other was about the size of the tip of my pinky. I didint know anything about these fish but was told that I could put them in with my goldfish and guppies. I did. They got along with my other fish and didint fight them. The goldfish even took the little one in and looked after him. After 2 years of them all in the tank together the little one grew up and started killing the guppies so I had to put him in his own tank and has became the biggest asshole fish I have ever seen and has been harrasing the bottom feeders in the tank and killed one of my eclipse catfish and has the other hiding all the time. I’ve tried different things for him to eat so he will leave the other fish alone but he won’t. Mind you that he is in a 100 gallon tank with two small bottom feeders and my last eclipse catfish with lots ofor places to hide, but he still searches and harasses the other 3. What else can I do for him?
I’m sorry to hear about the fish you lost, but there’s not much you can do with aggressive convicts. In most cases, these fish turn out to be jerks, and just be glad they’re not breeding in the tank. I personally know people who have had oscars and firemouth cichlids killed by breeding convict cichlids.
The best thing you can do in a situation like this is create different areas in the tank through use of plants and ornaments to break up the line-of-sight. When a fish is escaping and it breaks the line-of-sight, the attacking fish often forgets about it. Also, when they can’t see the other fish, they won’t harass them. It’s not perfect, but aside from rehoming, it’s the only thing I can think of.
Hi,
I’m looking to get into breeding convicts as feeder fish for a few of my larger predatory fish, I was breeding mollies and platties but they aren’t able to keep up with the feeding schedule now that the predators have gotten bigger. I have a 55 gallon that’s about 4 feet long and 12 feet wide, would I be able to get away with 2 breeding pairs with adequate hides and line breaking ordainments?
I hate having to use feeder gold fish as their only live feed aside from meal worms.
It’s hit and miss to be honest with you. In my own experience – even in large tanks – I’ve never had one breeding pair tolerate another breeding pair of convicts. Usually you end up with one pair dominating the entire tank, and the other fish hiding in the top corner. But I have heard of it working, so it might be worth a try. But to be honest with you, convicts breed so fast one pair could probably pretty easily keep up with your predator fish. Especially if you continually move the fry to another tank so they start a new brood.
I had a mating pair of convicts..and they have their own tank all by themselves..I tried googling this but I guess nothing like this happened to anyone else..my female convict laid her eggs..and the male fertilized them..but 3 days after the eggs were feterlized and they starting the faning process..my male convict somehow jumped outta the tank..the tank they were in was 10 gallon with a very small opening in the lid where you put the food in..Now my question is will my famale still take care of the fry without the males help?
It’s not uncommon for the female to chase away the male, so there’s a good chance the female will still care for the fry. Sometimes, they don’t do that well if it’s their first batch of young, but convicts are excellent parents and I think your fry will still do well.
I recently had my pair of Honduran Red Points to breed. Unfortunately, I lost the momma about 4 days after the babies appeared. I am not sure what happened. Only thing I can think of is that after I added brine shrimp the nitrates were high. Ammonia and nitrites were at 0. I had no idea there was a problem with the water till I saw momma hiding and noticed the babies were dying extremely fast. I have just been heart broken over their loss. I have been doing 25% water changes and using water treatment as well. It seemed like dad was stressed over the loss of momma and he wasn’t attending the babies, so I put them in a nursery in the tank. I’ve lost more babies. I think there are only about 10 left at this point. I am just worried sick with trying to take care of them just so that I can have any of them survive. I promised momma fish that I would do everything I can to raise them. I am failing. I didn’t know what else to do, so I released the remaining babies back in with dad. I am hoping he will attend to them. I really not sure if there is anything else I can do at this point. Any suggestions at all will be greatly appreciated. If I can save just one baby… sigh…. tears….
I definitely feel your pain on this one. There’s nothing worse that losing a prized fish and her fry. But I don’t know if nitrates would kill the fish that rapidly, unless at extreme levels. Do you know what level the nitrates were when all this occurred? Nitrates definitely stress fish, but it usually causes illness and not sudden death like that. I wonder if maybe there was a brief ammonia spike that you didn’t catch. Have you added anything new to the aquarium recently? Fish? Ornaments? New foods?
But all you can right now is keep on top of the water changes. If you’re doing it daily, I would definitely ease back a bit and only do about 10% a day. Also, try to reduce what you’re feeding to the adults right now and focus on the fry food.
I would carefully watch the father, as if the fry were away from him for a while, he may have lost the paternal instinct. I wish I could offer more, but you’re mostly doing all you could do right now.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. As for the ammonia, anything is possible. I hadn’t tested the water since the babies made their appearance. But when momma started hiding, I knew I needed to check it. The Nitrates were at 80 ppm. Nothing new added to the tank. Only food added that was new, to the babies, was the brine shrimp. I wish I could add a pic. Momma didnt show any physical signs of something being wrong, i.e. ick. She looked fine. But once she started hiding, she became pale. I haven’t done a water change yet today and since I am checking the water right now and all parameters look fine, I will hold off on doing another water change. Dad is the only other fish in the tank. I am now down to only about 5 babies. In all honesty, I feel I will lose all of them all. I look at these tiny little swimmers and my heart just hurts for them. Again, Thank You for your time.
I have a tank with convicts & a Malawi tank. Coincidently both tanks have fry. The convict fry are 4 days free swimming & malawis are 3 days. Can I put both fry together in a small tank? Thanks
The fry should be fine to be kept together in a fully cycled aquarium. However, I find cichlid fry often do better with their parents. Have you consider relocating the parents and fry to another tank and leaving the aquarium species only so they can raise their fry?
How can I identify the females are ready to hatch. Or ready for breeding
One of the easiest signs that a female is ready to breed is that her stomach takes on a reddish tinge. Once that occurs – as long as there is a male present – eggs should soon follow.
I have 2 cichlid tiger fish for more than 5 years .I don’t know which one is the Male or female . Suddenly 2 weeks ago I have realised one of them have a big belly swollen eyes . Doesn’t eat but moving around hidden sometimes in the bottom of the tank. Please don’t know if is a pregnancy or disease. Please Help.
Unfortuntaely, it’s a disease and is likely contagious. It sounds like it has bloat, which is most likely a bacterial infection. If you have a quarantine tank, you should remove it to treat with antibiotics. Otherwise, treat it in your main tank, but make sure to be very careful with your water, as the the antibiotics will wipe out the good bacteria that also process waste. To be honest with you, chances are pretty slim you fish will recover. I wish I had better news for you.
I’ve gotten rid of my male Convict Cichlids by putting them down and introducing new fish to the tank. I had 3 pairs of Convict Cichlids that just kept breeding and breeding and it was getting out of control. It was also causing the other fish too much stress as they were floating in one spot for weeks. Even with a relatively large tank (60 gal), the convicts barely 3 inches long, were creating a seriously stressful environment that I was tired of dealing with. My fish were getting injured faster than they could heal and none of them were eating. Ever since I got rid of the convicts, my tank housed other cichlids with very little aggression and very minimal chasing/nipping. My pleco started to come out of hiding after they were gone. If you’re a beginner reading this and thinking convict cichlids are easy, it all depends on their personality and in my experience, I’ve gotten a batch of really nasty ones. I don’t recommend mixing genders and having many of them in one tank if you’re not looking to breed. I struggled with cleaning out the fry and was getting so tired of collecting them for feeder fish.
Most fish stores will take your fish if you don’t want them.
I my convict cichlids had babies about two weeks ago! How often do they breed? Could it be possible for her to be getting ready too lay eggs again already? They are acting as if that’s what’s gonna happen.
They generally care for the fry for a few weeks before laying eggs again. But convicts are capable of breeding every few weeks, so if the fry are large enough to survive on their own, they may be getting ready to spawn again.