# reproducing convicts



## afoctober2 (Apr 7, 2007)

Anyone that has convicts what do you do with all of them once they have reproduced. I started with 2 now i have more than i ever wanted. Its like a black and grey cloud that comes up to feed. No fish store wants them I don't know where to take them or what to do with them. I don't want to flush fish either.


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## yankz12603 (Mar 2, 2008)

food for other fish


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Ahhhhhh , the joys of convicts! :lol: Well unless you have another tank to seperate them into, or a tank full of hungry preditors( baby cons make great feeders) I couldn't tell ya. There is (or at least there was) an article on euthanasia in the articles section but I can't remember which particular subgroup it was in(I think it was illness but I'm not 100% on that). Other than that , try to give some of them to your friends if any have tanks so you can spread the joy. :lol:


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## afoctober2 (Apr 7, 2007)

I got lucky after calling around a petco by me took all of them well I couldn't catch maybe 5


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

Put as many in a bag as possible and drop them in a tank next time your in the pet store :lol: 
I always keep them with other fish so that before they ever reach 1/4 inch, they get eaten by something but it can be pretty stressful if the parents guard them hardcore. You could reach in and remove the parents after the fry are free swimming and let the other tankmates terminate them for you, then put the parents back. As for all the already grown fish, I am surprised nobody would want them as feeders...


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## AU Chief (Jun 20, 2007)

I've never heard of Petco taking fish before. I know its against company policy for them to do so, unless its a rescue type situation. weird.


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## gunk (Jun 23, 2008)

If I take the fry away and use them as feeder fish every time a pair of convicts breed, will they eventually become too stressed out from having their fry continually stolen from them?


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## axs377 (Aug 20, 2006)

gunk said:


> If I take the fry away and use them as feeder fish every time a pair of convicts breed, will they eventually become too stressed out from having their fry continually stolen from them?


not likely


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

No . They look around for them for a bit, then go about business as usual. BTW it's easier to move the parents than catch a hundred baby cons.


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## gunk (Jun 23, 2008)

Well I have a small tank that I want to just house a pair of convicts in to produce feeder fish for a couple cichlid tanks I have. I have nowhere to move the parents and I would be catching the fry anyway to put them in the other tanks.

Thanks for the advice though! I appreciate it.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

I keep my cons in the tank with the fish I want to eat the babies . Cuts out the whole having to catch them thing.


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## gunk (Jun 23, 2008)

Well in a 40g tank will that method work? Won't the convicts go after just about everything else? I want to stock my new 40g with the convicts, a small-medium sized Jack Dempsey, a Pike, and maybe another fish. I feel like I wouldn't be able to keep the harmony with crazy convicts patrolling the tank.


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Well your probably gonna want a 4 foot tank anyway with a stock list like that, but it could work for a bit. Eventualy though you'll need to upgrade.


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

gunk said:


> Well in a 40g tank will that method work? Won't the convicts go after just about everything else? I want to stock my new 40g with the convicts, a small-medium sized Jack Dempsey, a Pike, and maybe another fish. I feel like I wouldn't be able to keep the harmony with crazy convicts patrolling the tank.


That would be pushing it for size, besides, depending on what pike you get, he will easily keep that con stock to a minimum. My orange pike was a terminator, at 4", it ate twice as much as my 8" red devil and was ruthless on smaller fish, reminded me of a dangerous mbuna.


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## afoctober2 (Apr 7, 2007)

AU Chief said:


> I've never heard of Petco taking fish before. I know its against company policy for them to do so, unless its a rescue type situation. weird.


2 petco's by me take fish I've brought them 4 or 5 blue acara and lots of convicts. They put my acara in their display tanks with green terorr. The rest of my fish are being taken by people that work there.


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## stechappo (May 18, 2008)

I have a set-up with 1 male and 3 female convict's and one 6" Salvini, the Salvini doesnt require much feeding from myself.  opcorn:


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