fishingman001

I am thinking about starting a convict tank. I had one before but after 5 months they were just hiding under a rock and were not very entertaining. I also never did any research before starting. I have read posts since than and am wanting to give it another try. My friend's sister has one and it looks good.

My question was: what gravel should I use? I have pea gravel. Should I get a smaller size gravel?

What size terracotta pot should I use? Can I cut a gallon jug in half and use that or would the edges hurt them?

When sexing the convicts...can the males have orange spots or is that only female? can females have pointed dorsal and anal fins or can only males have them? what are other ways to sex them?

thanks.


PS: any one that has read the post about my sick fish...i have moved them into a cycled 20 gallon and I am going to put the cons in a 33.

Tony G.

I have pea gravel with my Cons and they are fine. They are easier to pick up because of the texture they have.

i have a medium sized pot in there. You could also us ethe kind that are slanted but have the bottom.. they are supposed to look like half pots. Ken (aquarist48) has them in his 29gal i believe, it is perfect for convicts.

Cut glass could hurt them, so i wouldnt go with that.

The females are the only ones who have the orange bellies. Those are their eggs (i think)
the females generally have smaller dorsal fins (as in shorter) and the males have longer dorsal fins that extend to the end of the tail fin. Though there is another way to sex them, that is the one i am comfortable with explaining. The male will also get a "hump" on his forehead as he grows older.

fishingman001

thanks for the info. the bottle is plastic but the edges are still sharp and yeah ur right it could hurt them.