Omg Omg Help Pls Desperate

[gemzie78]

what can i do to save them the mum and ada are trying their best but they are in a tank fukll of iother fish ahhhhhhhh theres loadsa babies. My first time lol. ahhhhh

 

[Truck]

have you got a fry net? or you could put them in a spare CYCLED tank if you have one? or just take some tank water put it in a large plastic bowl and float it in the tank over night with the fry and run to the LFS tommorow buy a tank and breeding NET, and cycle the tank and then once cycled put the fry in there, but for the mean time put them in the net

 

[Tolak]

Breeding cons are very aggressive fish, I would worry about any fish other than the fry & parents.

 

[gemzie78]

they are low now i dont have anything i may have a plastic bowl
ill look for one will the water be warm enough though


i have to work too tomorro will they be ok in a plastiic container floating on the water until 6 pm tommoro it nearly 9 pm now

 

[Truck]

if you float the bowl in the tank and then fill it with water but not all the way so their is about 2 inches of the bowl not filled it will float in the tank. but just remeber to change some of the water in the bowl each day and im not sure , but you may benefit from an airstone in their. just remeber make sure its quite big

 

[gemzie78]

they are under the filter at the mo do u think i should push it down so there is only a small gap
then other fish cant get to em

 

[Truck]

they are under the filter at the mo do u think i should push it down so there is only a small gap
then other fish cant get to em

the chances are the majority wont survive, just make sure you have lots of small leaved plants

 

[gemzie78]

sh i dont have anhyy left because they ate them all what about the filter idea

 

[Truck]

no they would still venture out, i garauntee you will get more

 

[Jallen]

have you got a fry net? or you could put them in a spare CYCLED tank if you have one?

Are you kidding me man? How much bioload are a bunch of fry going to have, lol.....
Any heated tank with good water should be alright I would think.

 

[Truck]

yes but fry are VERY sensitive to bad water, that hasnt been cycled

 

[gemzie78]

there atill plenty left at the mo
im just worried that the parents will get tired.
i will leave them for now then n leave the light on

 

[Syphoniera]

have you got a fry net? or you could put them in a spare CYCLED tank if you have one?

Are you kidding me man? How much bioload are a bunch of fry going to have, lol.....
Any heated tank with good water should be alright I would think.

Hi, Jallen,
You're absolutely right, the problem with fry isn't their virtually non-existent personal bioload, but the need for frequent feeding and the risk of uneaten and very tiny foods polluting the water.
The concern with the cycled tank relates to the ammonia/nitrites produced by this, especially as high filtration is, for obvious reasons, a no-go.

 

[Tolak]

Has anyone replying ever bred cons? 25% water changes twice weekly, vac the gravel. Provide extra hiding places for fish other than the pair & fry. Don't be surprised if other tankmates get torn up or chased out of the tank.

You are breeding convicts, not discus, and certainly not livebearers. The parents will care for the fry just fine, convicts are about as hardy a cichlid as you will find. Put them in any sort of net in the parent's tank and I imagine the parents will disassemble the net trying to get the fry out.

 

[Athena]

My pink convicts breed every 2-3 weeks but, unfortunately, they always end up eating the fry by the end of the week. As soon as the batch of fry have gone, the female begins spawning again and her tummy goes orangey-red.

I was just like you, very excited, when I saw their very first batch of fry (which was the largest they've produced and survived the longest at 2 weeks). But as the weeks have gone on it's such a common occurrence now that I've just got used to it. I don't particularly want to rear the fry so have not attempted to remove them into a fry net - but I have read that you should leave the fry with the parents for the first few days anyway. It's usually only after the 3rd/4th day that they begin eating them (the male is a worse culprit for this).

They are excellent at fending off other fish, though - they protect those fry very well to begin with. So much so that any other fish in your tank might suffer stress from being bullied and chased constantly by the convicts.

Before you decide to rear the whole batch of fry, ask yourself what you will do with them once they grow. They are not that easy to rehome due to the fact that they are such easy breeders and supply exceeds demand. Not many LFS will take them off your hands so you would need to check with your own LFS if they would be prepared to take some from you.

If not, you might want to rescue just a few and leave the rest with the parents to let nature take its course. Remember that you will have this same scenario every few weeks - you could easily become over-run with convict fry if you intend rearing them all!

Regards - Athena