fishingman001

I had them in a 20 high for some time. my friend got rid of his 33 long and i bought it from him so i transferred my convicts to it. all that room and they still hide in the cave.

Attached Images

007.JPG (574.8 KB, 97 views)

abc123d30

Cool fish, I like your aquascaping!

TedsTank

Give them time...they will start coming out. Good that you got a "long" tank. most Cichlids are are lower to bottom dwellers, and having a long style tank is greatly beneficial to them for the area they gain per gallon.

Time

Really cool! I have never seen a tank so long. nice aquascape and good luck!

fishingman001

>>Cool fish, I like your aquascaping!<<

thanks. i was planning on putting a piece of driftwood in there but that would probably be too much since they like the room.

>>Good that you got a "long" tank. most Cichlids are are lower to bottom dwellers, and having a long style tank is greatly beneficial to them for the area they gain per gallon.<<

like i said before i had them in a 20 high and you could tell they were not happy. im hoping that soon they will get settled in to their new surrounding and mate. they were in the 20 for a couple months and nothing happened.

>>Really cool! I have never seen a tank so long. nice aquascape and good luck!<<

thanks. my friend said they stopped making 33 longs so im glad i got this one when i did.

ATKINSON

Coo.l tank. Now the next importent question... What fish are going into the 20 high You cant just let a empty tank go to waste.

Shawnie

love the tank.....offering more caves will help them feel comfy too..but do yo have a test kit? whats your readings for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? the reason I ask, cons arent picky for tanks and never usually hide all the time.......they can live happily in a tin can I swear LOL (dont attempt it ..that was a figure of speach) ...the only other thing is that they arent compatable with eachother.....if they hide together, its something else thats wrong and in a 20 gal high, they should have been content ....

peacemaker92

Nice tank The cave is nice too!

fishingman001

the other tank is being sold on craigslist....

I get my water tested at my local petshop. i was told that all the numbers are fine...whenever someone gets near the tank they hide but if you leave the room they come out. i think they are just shy.

aquarist48

I really like the 33g long. You've done a great job!
Ken

btate617

Tank looks good.

One thing that will help to bring them out would be a few dither fish. Once they see others out and about they too will come out. Although in time they should do it on their own. And the thing to keep in mind with dithers is when the cichlids grow a bit and breed there is a chance in the dithers being killed off.

With them not breeding yet in the 20gal, are you sure you have a pair meaning male and female? Are they 1.5" or so?
If yes something you can do in "shock" them into spawning. It in no way hurts the fish. With South and Central American cichlids this can be used to induce a spawn, and some cichlids will not spawn with out a little outsaide influence. All you do is when you do a water change add the new water a bit colder than your tank water. If you tank water is 79degrees I would do a 50% water change with the new water being around 70degrees. While this shouldn't be used with tropicals there is nothing wrong with it for SA/CA cichlids. Like I said some fish need the push. Convicts usually don't as they are rabbits, but just something you can try if you wish. I use this method over and over with my fish and it works great, when I had Africans I never tried it on them, but have always done it with these guys.

Good luck, make a plan for the fry. It is cool to watch cichlids do their thing with raising fry but you need a way to get rid of fry, especially with convicts, some places won't take them even for free. So p[lan ahead once they start they won't stop.

Brian

Shawnie

your tank is so new, im worried about the readings the LFS is saying are "fine" having your own test kit is best so you dont have to rely on others....again, cons are usually shy or ones that hide allot.... good luck either way and again, the tank is fabulous for them!

aquarist48

I respectfully disagree with btates suggestion for adding new water at a 9 degrees lower temperature. I really feel like this could cause major problems and possibly ICH regardless of what type of fish it is. Personally it would scare me and I would never do it. If I'm wrong I apologize, but I'd wait for some more responses on this. Too, I do have other cichlids and from my personal experience increasing the temperature by as much as 2 degrees can start the process of spawning.
Ken

btate617

Just think about what helps trigger spawns in the wild. Cool rains in the spring? All you are doing is mimicking a cool spring rain. This is why I said this is what I do and some cichlids will not spawn under any circumstances with out something of this nature to let them know it is time.
Something else to think about if you have 50% of tank water at 79 degrees and add 50% of new water at 70degrees they tank will not go down 9degrees, it should be somewhere around 4-5degrees.
A temp change in mature breeding age cichlids will not cause ich. you are not changing the temp for good. Your heater brings the temp back up within the day. You are telling their system it is time for something.
Don't apologize Ken, if thats what you believe. I have used this method for atleast the past 10 years. Also as I said I wouldn't do it with tropicals and never even tried it with Africans when I had them, But do a little research this method is widely used with Central and South American cichlids. Maybe some people haven't used it, doesn't mean it is bad and is going to make the fish sick. I also agree with Ken get as many responses as possible, I was giving my opinion with what I have tried over and over again and has worked in my fish room.

Brian

btate617

Also as Ken said raising the temp a few degrees will help also. I just prefer the opposite of that with the lower temp.

Brian

fishingman001

thanks for the info. tomorrow i'll go out and buy a tester. how much does it cost and are there different kinds?

SWilkins

I agree with you on this Ken. I would much prefer increasing the temp a couple of degrees to encourage spawning. If there is ever a dramatic temp change around here I am terrified of ICH, oh you know like the power goes out because of a lovely storm, I panic. Going through ICH just once will put a horrible fear in you. I was also told that with cories to do a water change with the water just a couple of degrees cooler to encourage spawning. I have done a water change with a couple of degrees lower temp water but I was really nervous about it plus my cories don't seem to need any help in that area. You have to do what works for you but with cons all they need is some good water and you will have more babies than you ever dreamed of.

aquarist48

Thanks for the responses Brian. I'll continue to search for more information for sure

Fishingman...what is most recommended is the API (liquid) Master Test Kit. It comes with everything that you need. It usually runs around $30 US. Make sure it comes with test tubes. (I've seen kits that the tubes have been removed or stolen).
Ken

btate617

I also think this goes with everything fish tank ralated. Some people are very nervous, take SWilkins for instance, she was nervous about using the very same advise. Look at driftwood, some people rinse it maybe or maybe not with hot water and plop it in the tank, while others boil and bake the out of it. Whatever you are comfortable with.
Most fish need no interference while some need it.
There are hundreds of ways to do most things fish related, pick the ones you are comfortable with and good luck.

Brian

fishingman001

thanks. ill go out and buy one tomorrow.

bolivianbaby

I agree with SWilkins and I've got 4 batches of babies to prove it, some were hatched this morning. I do my water changes at the same temp as the tank water.

If you could post a pic of the cons, we could probably sex them for you. If they are male/female, you will have babies without changing water temp.

And also, how big are they?

Shawnie

I agree and disagree...temp water changes in fact DO create spawning most of the time..in many different fish..but 9 degrees either way is way too much IMO ....2-3 degrees is plenty IMO again....cons arent susceptible to ich most of the time..no matter what their conditions..they are just tough tough cookies... but dropping a temp 9 degrees in a tank compared to cool rains in a much bigger body of water, is gradually happening ...I dont doubt it works for brian as he has a ton of knowledge he shares daily and has some beautiful fish to prove his point, but it doesnt work for everyone and every fish and its too drastic for someone trying new fish to attempt..they may not know the signs to look for if the fish go into shock or stress...again im going with the new tank and they are just affected by that ...

fishingman001

>>If you could post a pic of the cons, we could probably sex them for you. If they are male/female, you will have babies without changing water temp.

And also, how big are they?<<


i am planning on having my neighbor take them for me but that wont be for a couple months. when they are out i can try to snap some photos...they are about 1.5-2 inches. the one has pinkish orange on her side so i know that's a girl. i will post pics soon.

btate617

One thing I will add I did not think of until reading Shawnie's post.

Most of the tanks I do this in is 90gallons and up. And like I said if you take out half the water in a tank that has 79degree water and put back in half that is 70degrees the water will not be 70 degrees. It will be some where in the middle, probably around 74-75 degrees and I would say within 4 hours the tank will be back to temp at 79. So that would be a 4-5degree temp drop. One thing I don't always take into consideration, like in this case, a smaller tank it does not take as much to throw off. If it were me, maybe not with cons as said they would probably spawn if you tossed them on the floor with no water but with another species, I would feel comfortable doing it. If you are new to spawning cichlids maybe wait them out, they will spawn if you have a male and a female. Good luck with them.

Brian

Thanks Shawnie

Shawnie

no thanks needed ..but thank you for clarifying the bigger sized tank...I know allot of members value your advice...me included!

@ breeding on the floor...so very true!

CHoffman

When breeding pleco's especially, ALso heard of doing this with cories like sherry said. they say to use cooler water. I use a couple of degrees cooler water when I do my pleco tank wc when trying to get them to breed. like this week..lol....All the research I've done (for plecos) says to try to mimic the rainy season to encourage them to spawn. So i didn't do a w/c for a week and let the water get kinda dirty now I'm doing w/c everyday with a cooler water when refilling. But my tank is only 20 gallon so I try not to go to much under just a couple of degrees since it's a smaller tank. Allot of people I have talked to and got advice from use this method to get certain fish to spawn. But like most have said here...Convicts need no help at all..lol..

btate617

I have never done cories, but I am thinking of getting into them in the next month or so. They are a cool little species of fish. Good luck with the pleco's CH. Brittlenose by chance?

Brian

CHoffman

Long finned L-144's...Yup a type of Ancistrus. Very pretty too

btate617

Right on good luck

TedsTank

Well everyone, it is true for SA cichlids that a change in temp, water or lighting can trigger spawning...but not always necessary. Whenever I buy Apistos, if they are mature, I can count on a spawning within 2 weeks, just from the shipping and new/different water....amazing but true....anyway like i said, not necessary unless they won't spawn in the current conditions.
If I remember my convict days correctly....they just spawn as soon as they can. (convict days meaning fish!!!....lol)

Fishingman001...try tapping on the glass everytime you feed them....they will learn to come out to you...first for food and then forever more because you are there.