Topic: how do i know if my con is pregnant?

[allisterrenee]

hi im new to the cichlid thing and i have about 20 cichlids. i have 4 convicts and they appear to be 2 females and 2 males. i was wondering if anyone can tell me how i tell if the fem is pregnant. because the males have been digging pits in the gravel and the fem is kinda fat.

[JC]

hehe I think you mean eggbound. Personally I've never noticed a difference in appearance when my female was ready to lay eggs, however just around the time to get busy, she'd tend to disappear in her cave for extended amounts of time closely followed by the male. If you dont' have any caves for yoru cons you may want to think about adding a flower pot or make one out of rocks (slate they usually like quite a bit) . If she is out and about, you can notice her egg tube sticking out quite dramatically, which is usually  a sign of soon to be egg laying.

The signs usually will be increased aggression and activity around the tank, actual confrontations over space and basically generally more movement than usual.

[allisterrenee]

thanks ill keep an eye on her what does the egg tube look like. and she has been hanging out with the male more than usual and does like one particular log that they have been digging around.

[wacked]

i agree wif jc there activity increases a whole lot more than norm
the egg tube looks like a tiny white tube just before the anal fin on small cons its alil hard to c it properly.

[allisterrenee]

thanks guys u have been really helpful

[fnesr]

Be aware that once your cons have babies the african cichlids are going to be in a fair bit of trouble. Your cons will be super aggressive whilst caring for their young, and a large chunk of the tank will be claimed as territory and off limits to all your other fish.

Convicts are also american whereas your other fish are african cichlids, there's a lot of issues when the two are mixed (aggression/water needs/dietry needs) and it's generally highly recommended not to mix new world cichlids with those from the rift lakes of africa.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but just want to give you a heads up in advance as you may find all hell breaks lose in your tank once those female cons lay unfortunately  .

[allisterrenee]

yep i was aware that they would get territorial so i put them in a new tank yeaterday and they seem to like it.  The two pairs have claimed either end of the tank and they have begun their digging again. Thanks for the heads up anyway. Also what do u recommend to feed the convicts and also what to feed the fry when they come out? And Also can u tell me the kbest water temp and ph for them to do well.  Thanks heaps.

[Gerry]

Cons breed quite easily, so a good mixed diet and a clay flowerpot or piece of slate and away you should go.
 
Feed the fry when they become free swimming with baby brine shrimp or liquid fry food.
 
Now be prepared for a lot of babies

[allisterrenee]

hay my females have the egg tube thingies poking out like they r big does this mean they might lay soon? What do the eggs look like? And is there anyting else i should know about bringing up the fry?
Thanks

[fnesr]

I often don't even notice a visable egg tube on convicts so can't really tell you that it is a sure sign they are about to lay. Eggs will look white if unfertile and an amberish colour if they have been fertilised by the male. You'll know when you have them as the female will stay directly near them and fan the eggs with her fins. The eggs will be attached to a surface and are visable with the naked eye. They are round in shape and roughly half the size of a sesame seed each.

All you'll need to do once they have hatched is feed them when they begin to "free swim" (initially they will all be clumped together as a mass and won't require feeding at that stage). Feed with either baby brine shrimp (live or frozen), powdered flake foods, liquid fry foods or egg yolks. Other then feeding (2-3 times a day) the parents should do all the work for you  .

[fnesr]

Oh and cover up any filter intakes that may suck up your babies. Cutting up woman's stockings works well for doing that.

[allisterrenee]

at what age and what size should i move the fry into a seperate tank away from the parents and does that tank have to be heated? what is the best temp for the fry and the parents? is there a certain size tank that i should put the fry in or will any old tank do?

[fnesr]

at what age and what size should i move the fry into a seperate tank away from the parents

Opinion on that varies and there's no real "right" time to remove them. I've allways left them with the parents as long as possible (weeks-months) and that mostly seems to work ok for me (allthough there is some risk the fry may be eaten if the parents wish to spawn again). Others remove the fry as soon as they are free swimming and that can work well too. It's really a personal choice and when dealing with convicts you will find for yourself what works best over a series of spawnings. If you wish to experiment a little to find the best plan for the second batch of fry, you can remove half the first batch early and leave half with the parents to see which grow and survive the best.
To remove the fry, the easiest way is to suck them from the tank via a syphon or gravel vacume as the parents are very defensive and netting them can prove difficult.

Many inexperienced pairs will eat their own fry or eggs during the first attempts at spawning. Don't be alarmed too much by that as they will generally allways get it right after a couple of attempts. Some will also be perfect parents from day one though. You can be fairly confident that there will be many many more where the babies came from whatever happens though, so keep that in mind. Established pairs can breed as often as every 2-3 weeks after a hatch and there is generally at least 100+ fry in every brood.

does that tank have to be heated?

Yeah, they need the same water specs as the adults.

is there a certain size tank that i should put the fry in or will any old tank do?

Needed tank size is going to increase as they grow. The minimum your going to need within a couple of months is around 20-30gal (however that wont be adequate in late adolecence or adulthood). Keep in mind that many of them will likely reach the same size as their parents and will have the same requirments. You will need a plan to unload them somehow as your unlikely to be able to house that many fish as adults. They will also inbreed amounst their own siblings (that should be avoided if possible) and will interbreed with their parents once adults. At 100+ fish per spawning from multiple family pairs, it's within reason that you could end up with constantly thousands of offspring being produced months down the track, which can become a big dilema if you can't house them, feed them and no fish stores will accept them. It's not a bad idea to have both a good plan for the fry and also some way of splitting whatever convicts you are keeping into single sex tanks to avoid offspring should the need become dire.

Hope those points help a bit  .

(p.s ... your fems look mature enough and are showing good colour so I don't think you'll be waiting too long  ). 

[allisterrenee]

  i have eggs but they kinda look clearish does this mean that they r unfertilised?

[Gerry]

You need to wait a day or 2,,they are clear at first and then turn dark if fertilized or white and fungus up if not.