Convicts get along?

[Bloopie]

I'd like to get a pair of convict cichlids for my tank (alone by themselves).
Will the male be aggressive towards the female or do they make a good couple?
I had a male and female Lombardoi up until recently (I know they don't fit a 25 gallon which is why they're gone), the male was so aggressive towards the female it was just horrible to see. I read later on that for every male Lombardoi you need 3 or 4 females... I want to know that the convicts can behave themselves?
Thanks.

 

[freddyk]

When keeping cichids it's very important to learn what kind of breeders they are, easy enough to research with all information on the web these days. When you do research you'll learn that convicts, unlike Lombardoi, are monogomous and will get along as a couple (and only get along as a couple).

 

[Bloopie]

Great, I'm getting a pair.
By the way, I see that there are may types:

Albino Convicts, Pink Convicts, Black Convicts and I guess just plain Convicts.

Can I get one Albino and one Pink for example and they will get along and breed?

 

[freddyk]

Yes, they will unfortunately breed. Nobody else around here seems to care much about the quality of fish in the hobby so I guess you may as well not too

 

[digital_run]

First things first....When Freddy says couple...he means breeding couple (Male/Female). The best way to do this is to buy 1 male and 4-5 females...All at a young age and watch for a pair to form naturally. The male will pick his female and the couple will become aggressive towards the other females which were not picked. This is your cue to remove the remaining females and return them to the store. Most IFS have return dates..say 5 days or so, but this process can take weeks so you'll have to have solid plans for them.

Convicts are notorious breeders and unless you have a viable way to deal with the fry you'll soon be pulling your hair out because theres soo many fry. Convicts can have a clutch of 40-100 fry every 3-5 weeks. If kept healthy and on a good diet than every 3 weeks isn't uncommon. I breed Cons as feeders and can easily deal with the mass breeding. Also keep i mind that once you have an established pair your not going to have anything else in the tank for long...They are super aggressive while protecting a clutch and will make short work of anything you add.

25gal isn't a big tank...IMO 30+ are better for breeding cons. The smaller the tank the more amplified the aggression with these guys.

Theres lots of dwarfs cichlids that come to mind that would work in a 25gal and you'd be able to have a small community...Look through the NewWorld section.


HIH
Ðigital

 

[Bloopie]

I'm already aware of everything you said.

I have a spare 5 gallon tank, I'm thinking of getting a Siamese Fighting Fish in there and feed it the convict fry. Would that work?

 

[Ava_Banana]

I have a couple of breeding pairs of convicts..........and/or some juves (both males and females) if you want some.

I have them all in my big, thin tank, but am not happy with the tank at the moment.

Are you in the UK?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

I have a spare 5 gallon tank, I'm thinking of getting a Siamese Fighting Fish in there and feed it the convict fry. Would that work?

[snapback]884633[/snapback]​

unless you caught every single fry in the first week, there is no way they'd fit in that betta's mouth. think of it this way, betta's often have trouble eating those tiny pellets, right? well by the time the convict fry are swimming freely about the tank, they're going to be just the size of one pellet and growing fast.

convict fry are generally used to substitute for feeder guppies/goldfish for larger, more agressive fish. things like piscavorus puffers, birchirs, spiny eels or other cichlids would eat convict fry--nothing small enough to be happy in a 5 gallon would be suitable.