liz

okay so i have a pair of convicts that i got about a month ago when i started my tank. i have them then a bumblebee cichlid, a peacock cichlid, and 2 jack dempseys(sry if not spelling that right) so i was wondering how come im not seeing any eggs in the tank. they have dug a pretty bit hole in the rocks all the way down to the glass and they are guarding it like carzy but i see no eggs. this isnt the first time this has happened. about 2 weeks ago they done the same thing except in a different part of the tank but i still have yet to seen any eggs. do u think its because they dont have enough room cause i have to small of a tank (currently have a forty gallon tank..working on getting another one for the convicts. amazingly enough everyone gets along contrary to what i have read) or do u think something is wrong with either the male of the female?? im new to this so im not sure how it works. any help would be much appreciated thanks

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!! they will spawn and move the eggs around allot...even after they are free swimming, they will move them....but after a month, if you have a m/f combo, you would see free swimmers if they were doing things correctly...do you have a pic of your pair? and how big are they?

liz

nope i dont have a pic of them yet but im working on that and the female is pretty small about 2 inches and the male about 3 inches. its just like they act like they're about to lay eggs and then they don't. i get all excited and then nothing happens lol

Shawnie

give it time and the more we watch, the less it seems to go right lol..cons need water and food and nothing else as they breed like rabbits

liz

do u think maybe the reason why nothing is happening is because other fish are in the tank with them. will that stop them?

Shawnie

if anything, the cons will kill the others....when cons breed, they have the temperment of a shark ....but not it wont stop them ....

liz

okay well thanks for the info i dont really know what im doing but i guess no one ever does when they first start out lol. hopefully i'll have some baby convicts soon

Shawnie

we all begin somewhere but getting another tank of 20gals or more might be your best bet for the cons..that way no other fish get hurt when they DO breed..are you sure they are a male and a female?

liz

yep im pretty sure. the female has an orange spot on her belly while the one i think is male does not but he does have really long dorsal fins and is a bit bigger then her. he's really agressive towards the other fish while she just sorta sits in the little hole they dug unless something gets past the male then she makes sure the intruder goes away

Shawnie

the orange belly gives it away...check out www.craigslist.org in your area...theres a ton of great deals on used fish tanks..I would definitely get them their own tank

liz

oh guess what i found the eggs. i had to go behind the tank to see them. they are on the back of this little log i have in there. yay im excited. i guess i didnt look good enough so i should probably get a tank soon and get the other fish out so they can be alone. thanks for that link