# Breeding Convicts



## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

*Common or Pink Convicts?*​
Common2273.33%Pink826.67%


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

I just came back from a LFS and they have Convicts, both common and pink for Ã‚Â£1 each. So it got me thinking about possibly keeping and breeding Convicts. I have never kept them personally but know a few people who have so I have a few questions about them, so am I right in thinking -

1. That I can keep and breed convicts successfully in a 20 gallon without any other tankmates, other than say a Bristlenose Pleco?

2. If I have a pair consisting of one common and one pink, that if they breed they would produce Marble Convicts?

3. Plus as far as tank setup goes would a substrate of sand, a few river cobbles, and some plastic plants be suitable as an aquascape?

I would be using a external filter and a powerhead as filtration if I set up this tank?


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

Melanochromis said:


> I just came back from a LFS and they have Convicts, both common and pink for Ã‚Â£1 each. So it got me thinking about possibly keeping and breeding Convicts. I have never kept them personally but know a few people who have so I have a few questions about them, so am I right in thinking -
> 
> 1. That I can keep and breed convicts successfully in a 20 gallon without any other tankmates, other than say a Bristlenose Pleco?
> 
> ...


1. Yes, it's possible. But be aware that domestic disputes, especially in small space with out a real out side threat, is fairly likley at times. Bear in mind that this notion of "monogamous pair-bonding" is to a large extent a myth.......IMO, it should be viewd as primarily an adaptation to captivity. A pairing is really for a duration of a spawn.....the abundance of food keeping the female ready to breed frequently as well as a continous outside threat in close vicinity is to a large extent what keeps long term bonds going in captivity. Generally a bond is better if it is obtained from a larger group so that the fish are able to choose mates rather then a 'forced' pairing of 2 fish. Fortunately, convicts are one of the most compatible in terms of male and female, compared to most CA cichlids.....probably because they have been in captivity for so long, and there has been selection for it. But be aware of domestic disputes!

2. Very, very unlikely to produce marbles. The way to get marbles is to purchase them!. The 'pink' gene is recesssive. Often a striped convict will carry the recessive 'pink' gene and a cross between a striped con (that carries the pink gene) with a 'pink' con will produce aprox. : 1/2 striped (but all carriers of the 'pink' gene) and 1/2 'pink'. IF the striped con does not carry the pink gene then a cross with a pink con will produce all striped offspring (but all carriers of the pink gene). Two 'pinks' will always produce all 'pinks'. Two striped(that are both carriers of the pink gene) will produce aprox. 25% pinks. A cross between a striped(carrier of 'pink' gene) with a striped (non-carrier) will produce all striped (though 1/2 will be 'pink' gene carriers).

3. That would be fine. But probably best to have a number of caves in case of a domestic dispute. Particularily usefull is a cave that the female can fit into, but the male cannot.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

I voted for common. I don't like the pink or any morph color. Just my opinion. However, beware that both Common convicts and pink convicts can have 50/50 offspring if they have spawned together in their history. Are they kept in the same tank? Usually they are. If they are, more then likely they are from the same spawn and will have both color genes in them. You may think you are buying a pure common convict but come to find out they have the pink gene in them. Just a heads up


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Thanks for the replies that gives me a lot of confidence to give it a go as I've never kept any New world cichlids before. I have a few more questions -

1. How do you sex pink or white convicts? I think I know how to sex the striped convicts as the females have a brightly coloured underbelly, right?

2. Would a small synodontis such as two Petricola work in the same tank? I ask as the same LFS that has the Convicts has two at the moment, or would these be punching bags for the Convicts?

3. How many fry should I expect and what is best way of rearing them?


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## Similis (Feb 14, 2007)

Almost any small fish you add to a 20g tank with a breeding pair of Convicts is going to suffer.
If you have buyers for the fry / have a shop to take them, then I might consider breeding them
otherwise I wouldn`t even bother. You will end up with hundreds ( exaggeration ) of juvenile
fish that no one wants and you have to Uthanise or feed to bigger fish.


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

I voted for common, and agree with the answers above, but in my experience I've seen more pink male cons become BEASTLY specimens with nice humps... Also I've seen some males (common and pink) at the 6" mark, which to me seems a bit big for a 20 gallon, but this growth takes a longgggg time


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

A friend of mine has Honduran Red Points and has bred them successfully. He has some one inch juvies and said I could have some if I wanted them. Would they work out better?


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## allaboutfish1996 (May 26, 2011)

HRP's are definently prettier but not much easier to sell.


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

allaboutfish1996 said:


> HRP's are definently prettier but not much easier to sell.


Yeah that seems to be the running theme, guess thats why the LFS are selling them for Ã‚Â£1. How well do HRPs and Convicts mix?

I ask as my friend has a four foot tank with 3 HRPs (a pair and a female) and a female convict, with two BN plecos and two synodontis. Would a Central American community tank be better?


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

When I think of central american, the word community to me doesn't belong :lol: Unless you have a 6 foot tank or larger, a CA community is a hard tank to make work, just because of how big a lot of CAs get, and how territorial they can get (males in particular).

What fish did you have in mind?


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Smaller CA cichlids such as the Convicts or HRPs would be best, I also looked at Firemouths but I think I'd need a bigger tank than I have room for to accomodate one. I don't know whether just having a wet pet in a 20 gallon would work, how well do Convicts and HRPs fair on their own?


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## ivanmike (Jun 15, 2003)

Get what you like.

I'm not down with the sentiment of not breeding convicts - just have a plan for fry disposal - many fish will eat them (even very small fish will eat wee cichlid fry). You can always get rid of 20-30 babies, 300 is a different story. IMO, watching the breeding behavior of neotropicals is one of the biggest allures of cichlid keeping, and convicts and their close relatives are some of the most interesting parents to watch (I never got tired of letting them attack my hand when i put it in the tank).

I'll be honest, most of my convict breeding was done in bigger tanks that contained other fish that picked a lot of the fry off - and that was interesting to watch as well (especially mom and dad chasing fish 3x their size). There's npthing like convicts spawning in a 125.


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Just been to the LFS today and picked up two Pink Convicts. My mate was with me and advised that they are a male and female. LFS had loads of Convicts.... 50p each! Some people will say I'm mad to have bought them but they are a decent size (1.5 inches) and for Ã‚Â£1 I'm not going to argue about that. I've put them in my two foot tank for now, and hopefully I'll be able to get them bigger quarters soon. I'll post pics as soon as I can. :thumb:


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## sweety (Jan 10, 2010)

Where abouts are you in the UK Melanochromis ? i'm in the N/E & convicts are going for a lot more in my area Ã‚Â£5 plus


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## DFishFox (Sep 27, 2011)

ivanmike said:


> Get what you like.
> 
> I'm not down with the sentiment of not breeding convicts - just have a plan for fry disposal - many fish will eat them (even very small fish will eat wee cichlid fry). You can always get rid of 20-30 babies, 300 is a different story. IMO, watching the breeding behavior of neotropicals is one of the biggest allures of cichlid keeping, and convicts and their close relatives are some of the most interesting parents to watch (I never got tired of letting them attack my hand when i put it in the tank).
> 
> I'll be honest, most of my convict breeding was done in bigger tanks that contained other fish that picked a lot of the fry off - and that was interesting to watch as well (especially mom and dad chasing fish 3x their size). There's npthing like convicts spawning in a 125.


I think you've inspired me to get a male HRP for the one I have.. opcorn:


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## jeaninel (Nov 1, 2009)

I have a pair of cons alone in a 20 long. They seem to be a very compatible pair with few disputes. My tank is decorated with 2 caves, some rock structures, plastic and silk plants. My experience with them has been that they care very well for their spawn but will kill the older fry when they have a new batch of wigglers. So I'm not overrun with fry, in fact, I've had to remove a few fry in order to get any survivors. Has anyone else experienced this? They are around the 3" mark. I will probably move them into the 135 gallon when they get larger but for now they fit well in the 20 long and I really enjoy watching them. Also, can someone tell me if I have marbles convicts? Here's a couple pics.


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

*jeaninel* thanks for your insight. I'm looking foward to seeing how this pair get on, but I'll post some pics later just to get confirmation that I do have a male and female.

*sweety* Just sent you a PM with details of the shop. IMO Ã‚Â£5 is too much. At a another LFS I visited yesterday they had Blue Eyed Cichlids for a really good price Ã‚Â£7.99, Ã‚Â£15 for two.

*DFishFox* My mate is giving me some HRPs too. :thumb:


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## Aquatic Aggression (Sep 26, 2011)

Jeaninel your cons have very interesting bar patterns.

Melanochromis let's see some pics of the UK cons!


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Okay see if you can confirm the fish for me.

Male -
















Female -
























So am I right do I have a pair? :-?


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## Aquatic Aggression (Sep 26, 2011)

I believe they are both females unfortunately.

They look good. A male will have less color variation on the fins usually. Both have Orange bellies and Orange colorful finnage.


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## jeaninel (Nov 1, 2009)

Aquatic Aggression said:


> Jeaninel your cons have very interesting bar patterns.


Yeah, I was curious if they are considered marbled cons.


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Aquatic Aggression said:


> I believe they are both females unfortunately.
> 
> They look good. A male will have less color variation on the fins usually. Both have Orange bellies and Orange colorful finnage.


Oh well, I'll have to try and find a male. :lol: Does it matter if the male is a common Convict? I ask as the shop where they are 50p has only small common convicts and I can't ID them as to which sex and I don't want to buy loads of fish and have to weed out the males. Another LFS has common Convicts for Ã‚Â£2.99 which are roughly the same size as the pink two I already have so I reckon that there will be males there.


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## Aquatic Aggression (Sep 26, 2011)

jeaninel said:


> Aquatic Aggression said:
> 
> 
> > Jeaninel your cons have very interesting bar patterns.
> ...


I'm not sure if you would call them marbled because they still have a pretty solid bar pattern. Good looking fish that will look great as an adult.


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## Aquatic Aggression (Sep 26, 2011)

Melanochromis said:


> Oh well, I'll have to try and find a male. :lol: Does it matter if the male is a common Convict? I ask as the shop where they are 50p has only small common convicts and I can't ID them as to which sex and I don't want to buy loads of fish and have to weed out the males. Another LFS has common Convicts for Ã‚Â£2.99 which are roughly the same size as the pink two I already have so I reckon that there will be males there.


Doesn't matter at all. A pink will breed with a wild type (and almost any other fish). Find a male and let him choose one of your females.


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## dray420 (Jul 29, 2011)

I have a true breeding pair of pink convicts who have about 50 or more little swimmers right now. The way i can tell them apart (besides the females belly gets bright orange when shes ready to spawn) is the male has alot more "flowing" dorsal and anal fins, with them flowing almost to the tip of his tail while the female doesnt. Hope this helps


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Thanks dray420. Unfortunately these two are both females. Both have pink bellies, so I pretty sure they are ready to breed, just need a male. :lol:


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## Cich150 (Oct 12, 2011)

Common!


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Just been to another LFS that has more Convicts and has males, cost a bit more at Ã‚Â£7. But I think I'd rather pay extra than chance buying a load cheaper and try and weed out males/females, I have that issue with my Yellow Labs at the moment.


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

After a bit of think I returned to the LFS today and got a nice size Pink male, I'll get some pics up soon. :thumb:


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## Melanochromis (Mar 30, 2005)

Male Pink Convict, about 2.5 inches -


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## Elijah (Mar 30, 2011)

Pink cons are awesome, especially when the males get big, they resemble mini versions of midas's! :thumb:


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## Aquatic Aggression (Sep 26, 2011)

Glad you found a male. Give him proper care and females to socialize with and he will be a monster in no time.


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## shenglu (Nov 10, 2011)

I do not overrun fish, in fact, I had to delete some of the bully in order to get any survivors. Has anyone else experienced? They are around 3 "mark, I may be transferred to them when they get larger, but for now they are 20 I really like watching them 135 gallons.


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