# aggressive female con



## bcline (Feb 21, 2008)

at the risk of redundancy ( i have a feeling that has been asked before, but i checked and couldn't find anything):

After pairing off with each other, My female con has begun aggravating my male while the lights are on. She constantly picks on him and drives him to the top of the tank behind the filter. He's obviously stressed out and has lost most of his color. There are plenty of places for him to hide but it's like she claimed them all. They are in a 20 gallon tank; they are only about 1.5" right now. Eventually they will move to a larger tank when they out grow this one, but for now that's where they will stay. Has anyone else experienced this? What are some suggestions.


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## cage623 (Feb 2, 2008)

Cons are known in the cichlid world for being very protective parients. Normally they will guard the young as a pair but sometimes the male or female will take control and chase the other away. A protective con will easily take over the entire 20g you have them in. You might need a divider for protecting your male from the female.


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## Hairback357 (Feb 16, 2008)

In a 20 gallon tank it will only be a matter of time before the female kills the male. You will have to separate them. Is this a 20 long or 20 high?


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## blinkmaster (Mar 23, 2008)

hi i had the same problems with my convicts too. but i took out the female and rearange my tank, then put back the female con. they work out fine now. i even got some fry.. this work for me.

heres the link to the post that help me :thumb: 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 95#1127895


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## bcline (Feb 21, 2008)

Hairback357 said:


> In a 20 gallon tank it will only be a matter of time before the female kills the male. You will have to separate them. Is this a 20 long or 20 high?


unfortunately it is a 20h, but in about three weeks they will have a 55 gallon.



blinkmaster said:


> hi i had the same problems with my convicts too. but i took out the female and rearange my tank, then put back the female con. they work out fine now. i even got some fry.. this work for me.
> 
> heres the link to the post that help me :thumb:
> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 95#1127895


thanks for the tips!


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Is this a forced pair or did you get six and let them pair off on their own?

Letting cichlids pair off "natuarally" usually results in a much stronger pair bond. Forced pairs will spawn but not always get along...

I've had naturally formed pairs spawn in a temporary housing as small as a ten gallon.


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## bcline (Feb 21, 2008)

It's a forced pairing. I just didn't have the tank space at the time to buy six and let it occur naturally.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

My suggestion then would be to invest in a tank divider, or another tank to seperate the M/F


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## stuckinthemiddle (Feb 26, 2008)

So when you say a natural pair has a stronger bond, it means they will be more aggressive when spawning?

thanks!


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

No, a naturally formed pair will have a stronger bond and not be overly aggressive towards each other. When the fry come they work better as a team than a forced pair :thumb:


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