# Convict Cichlid Help



## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

I just set up my aquarium 3 days ago and put 2 convicts in 24 hours ago, 1 male and 1 female. I want them to breed. The male seems to be harassing the the female and she just stays in the corner of my tank behind the filter. Whenever she comes out the male chases her back to the corner. Is this normal or should i get a new male or female?
Thanks


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## Goldsaum82 (Jun 6, 2012)

Are there any other fish in the tank (dithers, bottom feeders, etc)? Often times the males can be brutal to the females in a tank that contains no other movement/activity.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

Its just the two convicts right now and the male is being really aggressive to the female. They have only been in my tank for 1 day. Do you think I should get more convicts?


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

first thought: is the tank cycled?


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

what does that mean?


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

Means you need to take the fish back and read this http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/f ... _cycle.php


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

oh I didnt know I had to do that first. I just set up my tank and let it run for 24 hours before putting in the fish. Is this causing my male to be more aggressive and will they die if I dont cycle it?


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

I also added some start zyme to it when I set it up.


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Mr.Dempsey said:


> Means you need to take the fish back and read this http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/f ... _cycle.php


best reply lol

but a non cycle tank might nt make the male more agressive but it can kill them both


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

ok thanks. I think ill just keep them and see what happens.


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

How big is you tank?


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

its 25 gallons


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

or 20 i cant remeber


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

Just wondering what are you going to do with the convict fry??


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

you mean when their grown up or when their little. I dont know if i should separate them when they hatch because some people told me i need to keep them with their parents


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

oh and btw thanks for all the help man. This is my first aquarium


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

No I mean what are you going to do with the fry in general like use them as fish food? Just a heads up most stores wont take these fish cause they breed like water rabbits and not alot of people want them just because of how aggressive and common they are.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

yeah I just wanted to have a tank full of convicts and watch the whole cycle or their lives


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

when the eggs hatch do you think i should remove them and put them in another tank because i have a smaller one


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

Well the tank will be full of them in a few weeks, they're neet fish just have alot of fry. I have a pair I keep in a 50 gallon rubbermaid tub and use there fry as feeders for my other fish works out well.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

ok and one more question if my male continues to be aggressive to my female should i get a new male or female or maybe just buy a few more convicts?


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

Just leave them in there, there first couple spawns they might eat the eggs/fry but once they get the hang of it you will be over run with cons + convicts are the best parents you will ever see and will defend there babies from fish 3 times there size (not joking)


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

im sorry but i think you should not attempt this project at all


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

bdell said:


> ok and one more question if my male continues to be aggressive to my female should i get a new male or female or maybe just buy a few more convicts?


With cons you can most of the time get away with just picking one male and one female but if you really want a pair buy 2 or 3 of each if you want a pair for sure. if she is up in the corner or getter her fins niped bad remover him and get a new male but when you add the new male rearrange the tank first.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

thanks mr. dempsey for all your advice


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

and jd lover yeah im new to this but what do you mean i shouldnt attempt this. dude I just have 2 convicts thats all. I would like them to breed just to watch the life cycle thats all


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

Mr.Dempsey said:


> bdell said:
> 
> 
> > ok and one more question if my male continues to be aggressive to my female should i get a new male or female or maybe just buy a few more convicts?
> ...


I think I do need to get a different male because the female has been hiding in the corner ever since i put them in


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

bdell said:


> and jd lover yeah im new to this but what do you mean i shouldnt attempt this. dude I just have 2 convicts thats all. I would like them to breed just to watch the life cycle thats all


breeding cons arent hard i say you shouldnt attempt this for many reasons. you dont understand the basic of fish keeping let alone breeding. you have no idea what youre going to do with the fish. i know next to nothing about the fish. you dont know how to care for the adults let alone the babies. honestly i think you should research some more before diving head first into breeding


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

yeah i get what your saying. Thats why i only got 2 so i can learn and *** been reading a lot about caring for them so i think im ready now but if it doesnt work out than i ll just learn from it.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

My female has been hiding in the corner all day and when she comes out the male chases her back to the corner. Think its time for a new male?


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## Elijah (Mar 30, 2011)

bdell said:


> My female has been hiding in the corner all day and when she comes out the male chases her back to the corner. Think its time for a new male?


Well if your tank wasn't cycled properly, it probably almost is now. Cons are extremely durable, and tough little buggers. They are probably the easiest fish to breed, and that's why cons are recommended as a starter fish for beginners. Cons can usually tolerate a few mistakes by a novice fishkeeper.

With that said, I'd probably get a few dither fish- fish that swim around relentlessly, in order to take attention away from your female con and onto them. Both cons will feel a bit more comfortable if they see a group of fish swimming around willy nilly, with no care in the world. I've had success with tiger barbs as dithers.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

thanks for the info. my male has stopped bothering my female and they are hanging with each other now. I think i might get a few tiger barbs because i heard the convicts will mate sooner if there are other fish in the tank. Is that ture?


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## Pizzle (May 24, 2011)

Before worrying about the fry, you need to make sure that you are providing a proper environment for the original stock. Your tank is not cycled yet. There are some good articles in the library about cycling a tank. The best way is to do a fishless cycle. To do a fishless cycle you would need to take the fish back and spend about a month to cycle the tank. The traditional way of cycling would be to add one or a few hardy fish and allow the tank to cycle. This way is more work because you will need to do a lot of water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrates at acceptably low ranges. It will also probably take more than a month before the tank is fully cycled. Your tank is kind of small so the ammonia and nitrite can build up to toxic levels very quickly. Especially with two messy fish like cons. If you want to do a cycle using fish, I recommend taking one of the cons back to the store because then you won't have to deal with as much ammonia being produced.

While you are at the store, purchase an API Freshwater test kit or similar test kit which you can use to check the levels of the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in the tank and let you know if you need to do a water change to reduce the amounts of those toxins. You will also need it if you choose to do a fishless cycle because it will help you to know when the tank is fully cycled Also purchase a dechlorinating product (such as Prime or Amquel) which you should use every time that you do a water change. Most tap-water has chlorine or chloramines, which is harmful to fish. Some of these products also help to detoxify ammonia.

Just a thought but, how do you know that you have a male and a female? By your own admission, you are not experienced so maybe you do not have a pair after all. Perhaps if you can share a picture someone can guess if you have a pair or not. How big are the fish? (How many inches or centimeters long?) Also, just curious but what are the dimensions of the tank? Can you please measure it for us.
And welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of helpful advice here. I hope this is the start of a fun and rewarding hobby for you.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

I got them at my local fish store and the guy working there said he gave me one male and one female. Heres a pic of the male







and heres the female http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh510/fishfag1/?action=view&current=boner.jpg#!oZZ1QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs1249.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh510%2Ffishfag1%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3D****head1.jpg

this is how I set my tank up


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## Astronotus Labiatus (Jun 25, 2011)

bdell,
You have a good project in your hands.
Do not add any other fish.
Let only the 2 convicts. They will breed, you just have to wait.
If you add new fish and you convict breed, the convict will kill your new fish.
Your tank will be cycled while yours convicts are there, it's not the ideal but, everybody make mistakes when starting in something new and i'm positively sure that everybody here in this forum was once a beginner and made mistakes.
They are not in a position to judge you, only to give advices.
My advice is to keep only your convict couple in that fish tank and let it be.
When they spawn, you can give their fry to a fish store so they can use them as food for other fish, you can even ask to watch them eat, they won't refuse.
Good luck and don't forget to keep reading about cichlids, you'll never know enough. I've been keeping them for several years and i still know very little. The cichlid family has thousands and it's impossible to know them all.


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## bdell (Jun 6, 2012)

thanks everyone. My female just layed eggs


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