Male Convict...

[Gun]

Hey guys, look at this fella. I just bought him and he's around 4 1/2 - 5" long..he's a beauty



I'm looking to find a female to pair up with him. What size female should I be looking at?...(minimum 2"?)

Guys, can you tell if any of these other convicts are female?

 

[Loony Fish]

i don't think they are female.
females have a pink under side.
get a 2"-5" female

 

[Gun]

Hmm yeah...I don't see much red going on.

Jim (prev owner) had the big male sharing a tank with the fish in second pic..still in same tank now. Fish in second pic is around 1 1/2" and seems to get on ok with the large male.

 

[Davo86]

Hmm yeah...I don't see much red going on.

Jim (prev owner) had the big male sharing a tank with the fish in second pic..still in same tank now. Fish in second pic is around 1 1/2" and seems to get on ok with the large male.

only a breeding female with have pink (orange) markings on the finage, have a look at the dorsal fins of the fish, as you can see your males dorsal fin is quite extended, if the other two have the same length then they are male, if they are quite short and stumpy then they are probably female, i can't tell due to the flash blurring the pics

 

[Gun]

Ok thanks, will check the fins.

Will take some more pics tomorrow without flash. Any ideas where I can buy a female to go with the big guy?

 

[kribensis12]

Your lfs. But i would tkae the others back, as the pair wil literally kill, or attack and hurt your other convicts.

 

[Davo86]

just a question? are you looking to breed these?
if so do you have a plan on what to do with all the fry?
Also will it be a simple species tank with just the one pair of convicts?

 

[peter22UK]

gun,

i have a female convict about 2" and a male marbled convict about 4"...

you want?

I live in durham North East Uk also

 

[peter22UK]

or maybe not?

 

[Gun]

Sorry mate, I think I started to many threads...getting lost with them, lol!

It's very generous of you to offer your breeding pair of convicts If they're still available in a few weeks I'd be happy to give you something for them, mate.

Yesterday, I just bought a pair of convicts and a trio of guppies and my tanks are at the limit at the moment. Two pregnant guppies and cichlid fry sure to be on the way...means I'm going to have to get some other tanks set up sharpish. Trying to figure out if I have a female amongst my other cichlids (4 of them) to pair up with my big male.

Bought a pair yesterday from my lfs...which I was told were male/female....I need to be certain though? They came from a tank of around 8 convicts.

I'm not sure if I've done the correct thing here..

I split them up...putting what I thought looked the most female into the same tank as the large male. They seem to be getting on ok, swim near each other sometimes and there's some digging going on (although they do this anyway don't they?). Question is...If it were another male I put in with the large male..would he behave like the above?

Here's another pic:

Large Male & Medium (what I think may be female? )...

There's definitely some orange/green/red going on, around the underneath of body and on the fins..what do you think guys...female or not?

 

[Gun]

just a question? are you looking to breed these?
if so do you have a plan on what to do with all the fry?
Also will it be a simple species tank with just the one pair of convicts?

Yep, I'm breeding them, they're currently in a 18x18x18 cube...soon to be moved to either a 2 1/2 or 3 footer...they're the only fish in tank.

From the first lot of fry, two select breeding future pairs will be chosen. The remainder will be sold/gave away or kept. If stock gets high, the main breeding pairs will be seperated. I'm (my dad also) building a fish house and my aim is to raise my own breeding pairs from young fry. This way I'll know a lot about the fish and it's behavior, etc...would also be cool raising all your own breeders

My plan is to start off attempting the breeding of 4 species of fish:

Guppies (have a trio)
Convicts (should have a pair)
Betas
Neons

 

[peter22UK]

the smaller of the two in that new photo is a female

 

[Gun]

Thanks Peter, mate

Yeah, I decided yesterday (for sure) this was male/female.

They both dug around the shell and now the female is in there often. Is it possible for the eggs to have been layed/stuck on the underneath (upside down) of the shell? The gravel has been cleared away down to the bare glass, but I can't make out anything in the reflection.

 

[shelaghfishface]

yes it is, i didnt even see the eggs, i just saw the babies swimming around one day.. good luck

 

[Gun]

yes it is, i didnt even see the eggs, i just saw the babies swimming around one day.. good luck

Cool! I thought I had seen a pic somewhere..whereas the eggs had been layed/were stuck to the underside of a drainpipe..thanks for comfirming this, shelaghfishface

I'm sure the female is fanning the eggs..whilst swimming upside down. I'd love to get some pics of this behavior, but can't quite get in with my camera..damn!

Oh well, hopefully have some nice pics of the fry in a week or so time

Edit: Got a feeling I'll get a couple of nice breeding pairs from the fry. Both male and female look very strong and healthy and in perfect shape and colour.
Kev