Topic: New to the world of convicts....

[Grasshopper]

Hello All !!!

I am new to this board, I have been reading your posts and this seems like a very friendly and helpful place.  A little about me, I am a 30 yo sound engineer in Tampa fl, I have never had any kind of fish before, but I have always had cats and dogs, my wife even got a bird "grandfathered"  in when we got together. One day she came home with a little 2.5 gallon tank with 2 of the ugliest goldfish I have ever seen! They promptly died. So I have a friend that breeds Convicts, and one day I was telling him about the how the gold fish died.  He gave me 4 convict fry (2 albinos 2 striped) to put in there.  So we put them in there and they got to be about .5" long. Then one day we had 2 dead little ones, and what do you know a week later we had fry all over the tank. So, we know nothing of breeding and we were surprised to say the least.  We fed them bloodworms and they grew up, then one day we came home and Dad had killed Mom!!  We then moved, and aquired a 10 gallon tank, with 4 more convicts, a Zebra Danio and 2 Piano fish. So we took dad out of the 2.5 gal and put him in the 10 gallon, he was doing good in there, he had a nice cave to live in, but he harrassed the "community". So I went out and got another 10 gal and he is in there, with his "kids".  He seems to be doing good in there but it is a temporary situation. I am in a position to spend $500-$600 on a new setup. I really have grown fond of "hurricane" and want him to have an awsome home. What would you recommend? What kind of fish live with them in the wild? I also would like to get dad to breed again as he is a beautiful albino, there are currently 3 albinos and 5 striped fry out of the last batch, will he mate with them? Would it make a difference if the parents are both albino? Would I get an all albino batch? Can I "force" hime to choose from the albinos?

Thank you so much for the help..

[tracey]

If you are looking for the ideal home for a breeding pair of convicts, then I'd suggest either a 30 or 40 gallon tank to start with.  Decorate with a few plants, some driftwood and a "cave" of some kind for them to spawn in.  Small unlgazed terracotta pots work well for that.  Your male will quite happily breed with his own fry, and while its not usually very good to cross parents with offspring, convicts are hardy enough to manage without showing any major deformations due to inbreeding.  If you are trying to breed pink convicts (they're technically not albino), then it would be better to start with both parents being pink.  It is still possible to get pink fry from one striped and one pink parent, but your chances would be increased with both parents being pink.  If you'd like him to pick a girl from the pink fry that you have then the best way would be to remove the striped fry to another tank, leave the pinks with him and eventually he will pair up with one of them.  You'll need to keep a close eye on the tank while this is happening, once convicts pair up they'll do their best to evict other tankmates by any means available to them.  Once he has paired up with his girl, then just remove the other fish and let nature take its course.  Hope this helps, and welcome to the forum 

[Grasshopper]

Thank You, What about tankmates? I would like to simulate there natrual surroundings to the best of my ability. Do they cohabitate well with there natrual "rivermates"?

[tracey]

A breeding pair of convicts doesn't co-habitate well with anything    It is much better if you are going to breed them, to let them have the run of the tank.  If you had a larger tank, 55 gallons or above, then you might be able to think about tankmates, but trying to add other fish to a tank under that size is just asking for disaster.

[Grasshopper]

Will a pair do well in a "community" 55 gal?  I have the room and finances, plus my wife is not a 'noob' at this, only me, she has worked in a few pet stores, and has taken care of some really large setups. I am also willing to expirment as long as it does no harm to the convicts.  They seem so much more active with others in the tank.

[tracey]

By "community" I'm guessing that you mean a pair of convicts with maybe some tetra's, corydoras catfish, pleco's and such?  If so, then as long as the convicts are the only cichlids in the tank and they have a cave that they can "claim", then it should work just fine.  They shouldn't see fish such as tetra's or danio's as much of a threat and if someone does get chased there will be plently of space to get away, and in a 55 gallon tank there would be plenty of room for the catfish to stay well out of harms way as well.  It's great to hear from someone who is so keen on doing what is good for their fish, not trying to figure out what's the smallest tanksize they can stuff these guys into   

[fnesr]

i think you'd be best trying to stretch your budget to the 55gal and a seperate 20/30gal for the cons if possible. unfortunately it is hard to mix tankmates with a spawning pair of convicts, the convicts aggression level is much higher while spawning and the tankmates are usually (depending on what they are) pretty keen to eat the convict fry also which all adds up to alot of dispute. a 30gal tank is usually recommended for a breeding pair of cons but you can get away with housing them in a 20gal provided your diligent with your tank maintainence.

if on the other hand your keeping cons solo or in pairs of the same sex then they can usually be mixed fairly well with alot of other american cichlids, it's really only at times of breeding that they become intolerant of tankmates.

when you say you'd like a community setup, do you mean a community of cichlids or a general community tank (non-cichlid tropical fish)?

[Bsaint]

I have two breeding pairs of cons in a 55gal with a pleco 5 tiger barbs and 5 giant danios and everything has gone well so far.  At times there are minor aggression problems but no losses yet.  If your going to put anything in there i would suggest giant danios cus there quick and fun to watch and a common pleco

[hlslady]

I am also new to breeding convicts. It has been a great experience for me and my husband. They are 5 days old now and so far so good. We have them in a 30 gallon tank along with 3 other cichlids that are called turquois something ( they were given to us by a neighbor ) they are all doing fine. The parents chase them every now and then but they really protect their fry. The will be movin in their new 55 gallon home with-in a week. Good luck

[Dan]

Do you mean Turquoise Severums?

[JC]

Just so that you realize how aggressive they get in spawning mode, I've seen a pair of 3 and 4 inch cons take over half a 130g. Holding back two oscars, a nicaraguense, Jack Dempsey, and another convict as well as a catfish and foot long pleco. They will do whatever they need to do to keep thier fry safe.

Also.. cons tend to snack on more peaceful "community" type fish the second they realize it fits in thier mouths (I lost a couple before I realized one of my cons had jumped tank and landed in the community tank underneath it. Noticed it's presence by the lack of neon tetras and danios )   

All in all, it' s just not the greatest idea to have anything around them when they're breeding, unless it can hold it's own ground as well, and then you're dealing with constant injuries. Also, when the female goes into her "catchy" mode, she seems to spread her pharamones to not only her mate, but to pretty much every other fish in the tank, which makes them want to get in on the action, increasing the tension even more because Every single fish tries to get to her which the male con does NOT appreciate lol.

[Grasshopper]

Could I just put males/females in a community tank? Wiil they still be overly agressive if they are not allowed to breed? I have been thinking about using a 55gal for a community tank and using a 30 gal to breed. I just love how active they get when they have a "busy" enviorment. Can I put 1 male or female in the 30 and leave her in the tank with the fry?  My male is currently with his fry (3 months old), being that mom is dead he has not messed with the "kids" at all. Last night he was "protecting" them from a nasty pair of  giant danios!   

On another note, does any one use bogwood or peat to stain the water? Do they do well in this type of enviorment?

[hlslady]

Yes they are terquoise severums but I dont know nothing about them.Help!

[JC]

 

Could I just put males/females in a community tank?

You could get away with putting two females in a community tank. It all depends on what kind of community you had in mind.  My convict thinks nothing of snacking on neon tetras and zebra danios so for me community tank is out of the question. And since you only fit certain cichlids in a 55 gallon and call it a communty tank, it would all come down to  the other fish in the stocking list.

Can I put 1 male or female in the 30 and leave her in the tank with the fry? My male is currently with his fry (3 months old), being that mom is dead he has not messed with the "kids" at all.
On another note, does any one use bogwood or peat to stain the water? Do they do well in this type of enviorment?

Your male will probably keep on with with the good parenting till he can single out a female to breed with. Then you might want to find another home for the rest of the fry, but till then, it would work out well in the 30g.

[JC]

The will be movin in their new 55 gallon home with-in a week. Good luck

You probably want to keep the breeding pair of cons in the 30g. It's not a good idea to mix them with other fish, particularly if they are going to breed. Very fiery situation.

3 other cichlids that are called turquois something ( they were given to us by a neighbor ) they are all doing fine.  The will be movin in their new 55 gallon home with-in a week. Good luck

That's a pretty good size for severums but you'll probably find down the road that you might need to find a new home for one of the severums if two of them decide to become a pair.

Btw... you're saying they'll be moved within  a week.. does that mean that you're currently cycling your tank or that you'll be getting your tank within the week?