Topic: convicts

[Patrick333]

How shoud i make it so my convicts breed? TEmp? Feed them what? What to have in the tank for them? Water changes?

[fnesr]

first off welcome. you shouldnt need to do too much at all to get your cons breeding. just put a male and female together and provide a decent nesting spot. i've found they like a smooth cave to spawn in. id just stick to their normal water perameters. i dont think you'll need to raise the temp or anything. as long as its in their normal range they should be ok. how often do you currently do water changes? you can pretty much stick to the same routine if it is correct and working for you. just avoid vacuming whilst there are eggs/fry in the tank. I haven't found diet has had alot to do with encouraging them to breed, so id probaly leave their diet as is. what are you currently feeding them?

[Patrick333]

ive had them for 3 weeks and nothing. i do a 20 percent water change a day. I feed them frozen bloodworms for breakfest and live blackworms for dinner. The females orange is like glowing(dont know if that means anything) I was thinking maybe puting the femal in a one gallon ovenight or dividing them with a divider overnight

[fnesr]

if you've only had them three weeks i'd give them awhile to completely settle in and become comfortable and it should happen. they may not yet feel confident enough with their environment. 20 percent water change once a day is probaly abit too much maintainence in my opinion. Most female convicts have the orange colouration on them (even blue and green tints in some instances). I think it would only cause unnessacary stress removing the female so wouldn't do that. i also dont think a divider will help to encourage them. a divider may actually slow down the process by breaking their current "bond".

theres a fair few older posts in this section on breeding cons so you might want to have a read through those for some additional info aswell.

[Patrick333]

thanks
i stuck a new cave in there that has mor room in it and is darker. I did another water change and the male started chasing the female
So maybe

[rattlerngr]

just give it time, mine took about 6 weeks to breed

[allamerican333]

Add water,gravel, and male and female at about
80-82 degrees and a clay pot and your ready to
go.

[syphon]

there is no doubt that they will eventually breed but if you are looking to spur them on,  I have been successful in raising the temp a couple deg. 82-83...Brian

[Patrick333]

I put two caves in there now and two plants and a thing they can swim in and out of.
My female looks almost blue on her whole body is that a sign? She is kinda shy too is she maybe still gettig comfortable?When the male is in a flowerpot he sits against the inside on the top with his sid up against its weird i think

[fnesr]

you'll be able to tell when the fems got eggs. she'll sit by the nesting spot fanning them with her fins and the male will patrol in front of the area defending the site.

[cage623]

to get your convict to bread as they say "just add water!"  give them a couple of weeks and they will get at it.  

convicts but rabbits to shame once they get going.

[Patrick333]

My female kind of keeps her distance from the male. Should i seperate her and let her calm down? I heard that males claim the tank and will kill everything that is put in it.

[fnesr]

you can try separating them and try reintroducing them. not sure if that will help but you never know. just keep in mind cons are tough but moving a fish from tank to tank will still cause them some stress. its mainly when cons are paired and spawning that they are highly aggressive. i find when they are not breeding the males are a tough fish but not excessively aggressive. is it actually attacking your female? (biting)

[Patrick333]

a few tears in her tail fin. Doesnt look as bad as it was when i first got them

[fnesr]

what size are they aproxiamately? is the fem heaps smaller than the male? (or possibly younger).