# Convict Behavior



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

I just got a new pair of convicts. They are in a 10g (yes, too small) with my 3-4in pleco. I've only had the convicts for 2 days, but the female is chasing the male around the tank. She isn't nipping at him or hurting him, just chasing him around (so he hides behind my filter). Is this normal?

Kairi

































Sora


----------



## thefiremouthscientist (Feb 11, 2011)

completely normal, even from birth they will do that. Part of the reason is the 10gal tank you have them in, its too small to fill with cichlid rocks or anything to give them their hiding spots and space. But also, how do you know they are male and female>?


----------



## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

The orange belly is typically a good giveaway with convicts, plus the orange belly one has no fin extensions, and the one without the orange does, so those are good signs.

It might be that the male isn't aggressive enough... I had the same problem with an over-aggressive female that I took back, got a pair of black cons, male killed his mate, so I bought back the killer, and they've been a pair since... It's all about finding compatible fish, though with convicts it isn't too hard...

If you can't get a bigger tank, try to provide a lot of line of sight breaks (cichlid stones, clay pots, lots of fake plants)


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

Chubbs the Jellybean said:


> The orange belly is typically a good giveaway with convicts, plus the orange belly one has no fin extensions, and the one without the orange does, so those are good signs.
> 
> It might be that the male isn't aggressive enough... I had the same problem with an over-aggressive female that I took back, got a pair of black cons, male killed his mate, so I bought back the killer, and they've been a pair since... It's all about finding compatible fish, though with convicts it isn't too hard...
> 
> If you can't get a bigger tank, try to provide a lot of line of sight breaks (cichlid stones, clay pots, lots of fake plants)


This is what my tank looks like now. I was thinking about taking maybe 2 rocks out and getting 2 unglazed clay pots. Would this help? Suggestions?
(What are cichlid stones?)


----------



## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

http://www.aquariumfish.net/information ... stones.htm

They're hollow ceramic stones


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

Would pots work? Teracotta (sp?) pots I mean.

Any advice on what food will make my convicts grow/spawn? I'm limited to petco/petsmart/and 2 lfs


----------



## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

Haha, well pots are fine, and any food, convicts will spawn VERY fast


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

How large do convicts have to be before they spawn?


----------



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Your female is mature. The male is not. She's ready to make babies, he's not. That is why she is chasing him. Cichlids test their mates before mating with them, just like humans. If you can't hack it, you're gone... BUT instinct for convicts to survive will more than likely take over in a couple of weeks and they will spawn. They are at the bottom of the food chain and NEED to reproduce. She knows that, he hasn't figured it out yet.... Typical male, always the last to know.

I'd also like to point out that finnage is not a reliable way to sex convicts and should never be considered. I've got plenty of females with nice long streamers. I've even been told by some 13 year old kid on youtube they were males! LOL He was wrong.

You can definately add pots on their sides, or up side down with one side broken off. You can even add short sections of pvc pipe. In a ten, the more hiding spots the better... If it were me I would remove the gravel too. Easier to keep clean and you'll have more water volume.


----------



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

+1 My female has fin streamers as long as the male


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

TheFishGuy said:


> Your female is mature. The male is not. She's ready to make babies, he's not. That is why she is chasing him. Cichlids test their mates before mating with them, just like humans. If you can't hack it, you're gone... BUT instinct for convicts to survive will more than likely take over in a couple of weeks and they will spawn. They are at the bottom of the food chain and NEED to reproduce. She knows that, he hasn't figured it out yet.... Typical male, always the last to know.
> 
> I'd also like to point out that finnage is not a reliable way to sex convicts and should never be considered. I've got plenty of females with nice long streamers. I've even been told by some 13 year old kid on youtube they were males! LOL He was wrong.
> 
> You can definately add pots on their sides, or up side down with one side broken off. You can even add short sections of pvc pipe. In a ten, the more hiding spots the better... If it were me I would remove the gravel too. Easier to keep clean and you'll have more water volume.


I thought that she might have been more mature, but I wasn't sure. I was relying on the fact that she has an orange belly to tell the sex. I didn't even think about finnage lol.

I did add two pots (after removing two rocks) and put some fake plants in there as well.


----------



## Sickaqua (Feb 27, 2011)

Re-do of the tank looks much better! My convicts done the same think in my 50 gal. I bought 8 and the smallest 2 males were and still are highly picked on and didn't pair with any females (they are on their way back to the LFS soon). So I would say that what FISHGUY said was dead on! He always gives such excellent advice (no wonder they call him the fish guy lol)

ALSO:

RICEBURNER-------- I LOVE YOUR FEMALE! I thought mine was pretty but dang, yours is beautiful!


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

Sickaqua said:


> Re-do of the tank looks much better! My convicts done the same think in my 50 gal. I bought 8 and the smallest 2 males were and still are highly picked on and didn't pair with any females (they are on their way back to the LFS soon). So I would say that what FISHGUY said was dead on! He always gives such excellent advice (no wonder they call him the fish guy lol)
> 
> ALSO:
> 
> RICEBURNER-------- I LOVE YOUR FEMALE! I thought mine was pretty but dang, yours is beautiful!


Thanks! And your female is gorgeous Riceburner.

Does anyone know what I could feed my cons so the male will grow larger, faster? If that's even possible. I've heard that NLS Grow Formula works well, but I can only find it on Amazon.com


----------



## cage623 (Feb 2, 2008)

I know what it is like to also have limited resources for supplies and food. When i had cons I felt like they did just fine on your standard small or medium cichlid pellets (in your case the small ones because they are so young). In addition I also used shrimp pellets and blood worms. I am a believer that no food source is perfect so going with a pellet for everyday meals and adding other so called snacks and treats is better. I hope that helps. Good luck.


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

I have freeze dried bloodworms for my betta, would those also be good for my convicts?

Will convicts eat peeled peas/zuchinni?


----------



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

can't hurt to try


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

Very true


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

When I got up this morning, my convict pair were darker...is this normal? Or is there something wrong with them?

Yesterday

Sora









Kairi









Today

Sora









Kairi









This evening I did add 2 firemouths to the tank, but my convicts were already darker this morning. Any ideas?


----------



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Should not have added more fish to that ten gallon. The cons will spawn first and kill the fire mouths.

Cichlids change color with mood. Were the lights off, sometimes they darken up when sleeping.


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

The lights were off overnight. However, I've turned the lights off every night and this is the first time they were darker.


----------



## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

Thanks, her daughters looked as good.
Marsha when younger...









just before I gave her away...









Mine change colour all the time.


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

Well, I returned the firemouths and got a 20g tank for my convict pair. They seem much happier and are exploring the new tank.


----------



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

:lol: Ignor my pm...LOL


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

TheFishGuy said:


> :lol: Ignor my pm...LOL


lol too late. I read the pm before your post.

I know this is unrelated, but what size tank would you suggest keeping a H. sp dayglow or tomato in?
And is it possible to put anything else in the new 20g? Or should I just leave my convicts and pleco in there alone?
Colorful cichlids for a 10g?


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

I have one pair of convicts in a 20g tank and they have not spawned yet. My female is mature, but the male is not. I noticed that my female's black stripes are almost gone on the top part of her body. Is this normal for a female convict that isn't spawning? Or is something wrong with her?

My female

















My male


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

YoungCrazyCatWoman said:


> I know this is unrelated, but what size tank would you suggest keeping a H. sp dayglow or tomato in?
> And is it possible to put anything else in the new 20g? Or should I just leave my convicts and pleco in there alone?
> Colorful cichlids for a 10g?


I am just concerned about my male con. He is still smaller than the female and even in the new 20g she chases him everywhere. Still no biting or anything, but he's pretty much been banished to the top of the tank. Anything that will help?


----------



## duds (Apr 16, 2010)

It's a mood thing. If she gets more confident and interesting in spawning she'll darken up, if she's feeling shy or bullied she'll go lighter. The 20 gal is new for her, right? Could be she's still getting used to her surroundings. Is the tank cycled?


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

duds said:


> It's a mood thing. If she gets more confident and interesting in spawning she'll darken up, if she's feeling shy or bullied she'll go lighter. The 20 gal is new for her, right? Could be she's still getting used to her surroundings. Is the tank cycled?


Yea, they've only been in the 20g for a day. They were in a 10g that had been running since December. I took the gravel and water from the 10g and put in it the 20g, along with fresh water. Tested all the levels before I put them in and all the levels were fine. Everysince I got them, she's been chasing the smaller male around both tanks. He's pretty much been banished to the top of the tank. The only other fish with them is my 3-4in pleco.

Her stripes have been that way since I got them from a lfs though. The shop owner told me that the group of 4 convicts had been brought in by someone else that didn't want them anymore, but he couldn't tell me anything about them other than that.


----------



## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

Yes it is cycled or Yes it is a new tank to them?

If you just moved the water and gravel chances are you will at the very least have a mini cycle if not be starting over since. If you the filter is from the 10g too then you might be ok.

What are the water parameters now? Might have some ammonia/nitrite build up since you tested before you moved that is stressing her out. If it is all good then I would sit back and give it a little bit. Like said before they change color. You should see of the changes my dems go though when they get moved or are getting picked on, deep purple almost to light blue/silver-ish real fast.

I am not a patient person either and this is a bad hobby to have if you lack that! :wink:


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

xxbenjamminxx said:


> Yes it is cycled or Yes it is a new tank to them?
> 
> If you just moved the water and gravel chances are you will at the very least have a mini cycle if not be starting over since. If you the filter is from the 10g too then you might be ok.
> 
> ...


Yes it is cycled and new to them.

I'm still rather new to cichlids...definitely have more patients with cats/dogs/rabbits/reptiles/everything else lol


----------



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Is the ten still up and running?

I'd say the wise thing to do is take care of the issue at hand, then worry about getting more fish. I understand it's very addicting but try to be patient, it will pay off in the end.

As for the two that do not get along my typical answer is to remove the aggressor. If you ten is still up then banish her to it for a couple of weeks until he can establish his terrirtory. Then try and reintroduce her.

As for the other fish you're asking about, do a quick google search and try to find "profiles" on them. I would still wait on getting any more fish though.

And once you do get boy and girl to get along in the 20L then in reality they should be the only ones in the tank.

It's obviouse it's a pair you're after. Typically you'd get six young and raise them together to let them naturally pair off. Once you have your pair remove the others or return them back to the store. The reason is usually that naturally formed pair will have a stronger pair bond and get along much better than a forced pair.

So you could approach the situation one of two ways now. Either remove her for a little while, or return both and get six small new ones. And don't worry about not knowing for sure if a pair forms... It's painfully obvious when it happens. 

GL.

TFG.


----------



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I have merged your topics since they have to do with the same tank, fish and essentially the same subject.


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

TheFishGuy said:


> Is the ten still up and running?
> 
> I'd say the wise thing to do is take care of the issue at hand, then worry about getting more fish. I understand it's very addicting but try to be patient, it will pay off in the end.
> 
> ...


My 10 isn't still running. I only have one heater and don't have the funds to get a new one right now.

I will definitely wait on getting any other fish now.

I called the store I got them from, and they will not give me a refund for them or even take them back. The other lfs doesn't have any convicts in and won't for quite awhile. (ARGH!)

What if I went to Petsmart and got a few (2-4) convicts from there and see if they make their own pairs? Or would the two I have just terrorize them?


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

I have some sad news 

My female convict, Kairi, passed away a few minutes ago.


----------



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

YoungCrazyCatWoman said:


> I have some sad news
> 
> My female convict, Kairi, passed away a few minutes ago.


Whoa? Huh, that's wierd.... Sorry about that, if you were closer I could give you 1000 convicts...

None of my convict tanks have heaters by the way... Is your dorm room cold?


----------



## YoungCrazyCatWoman (Mar 4, 2011)

TheFishGuy said:


> YoungCrazyCatWoman said:
> 
> 
> > I have some sad news
> ...


Yea, I came back from breakfast and she had jumped out .

It gets a bit cold at night. My betta doesn't seem to mind though.


----------

