untitled1209

hello i have a male and female convict that i am trying to breed they are in a 30 gallon tank with a plank a good sized cave and flowerpot. i was woundering if anyone could give me some tips on breeding these fish?

Nick Goody

Hi Drew. To be honest you shouldn't really have to do anything, Convicts are one of the easier fish to breed. A varied diet and good water quality will help, and just give them time

untitled1209

alright well just to make sure here are my two convicts i am pretty sure they are male and female i just want a second opinion =] but thank you for your time.

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Nick Goody

Yep, definate Boy and Girl How big are they?

untitled1209

the female being about an inch and a quarter the male is about an inch and a half. the male tends to chase the female around the tank 24-7 i have noticed the female's fin a little ripped i was not sure if thats normal breding behaver or not?

Nick Goody

They could still be a little young. Are there any other fish in the tank?

untitled1209

nope they are all alone any of my other fish could eat them so i decided that i would not put any of them in with them =p they may still be taking time to get use to the tank. when ever i come in my room they hide so that may be it.

the were in our 125 gallon for about 3 weeks but i decided to breed them so i took them out of the 125 and put them in the 30 ... i felt so bad haha.

Nick Goody

You could try adding a dither fish temporaraly, which might get them to bond a little faster, but to be honest, I'd just leave them to it if I were you. Convicts are breeding machines, give them time and you'll get a spawn.

untitled1209

sorry what did you mean by dither fish?

Nick Goody

Sorry,I should have explained. A dither fish is a fish added to a Cichlid spawning tank to arouse the protective parenting insticts of the fish you are trying to spawn. For example if you have 2 Convicts alone in a tank, they will spawn, but if they are alone they will sometimes lose their parental instincts as there are no threats to their babies. This can sometimes result in them eating their own eggs or fry. But if you add another fish to the tank, something robust that they would normally get on ok with, say a Blue Acara, then the Convicts will automatically asume that the Acara wants to eat their babies, and will be super protective of them. A dither fish can also help them pair up, as they will tend to stick with their own species.

untitled1209

o okay well i have a green severum that is 3 and a half 4 inches that is pretty mellow that is being beat up in my 55 gallon so i could always add him to the 30 gallon. please tell me if you think that is a bad idea lol.

Nick Goody

I wouldn't keep the Severum in there perminantly, But he'd probably make a great dither fish. It would give him a chance to recover too.

untitled1209

alright ill try hat for a few weeks and let you know how it goes thank you for your time and help.

untitled1209

is it normal for a breeding pair of convicts to lip lock for hours on in?

fishingman001

the lip locking can mean that they are ready to breed. i also saw somewhere that it is a sign of aggression. are they nipping fins or showing any other signs of aggression?