# Black Convict mating specifics-how do they do it?



## zoiberg137 (Feb 27, 2015)

So I have a couple of black convicts that recently laid eggs, and the babies are starting to free swim today. I am basically just curious as to the details on how they mate. I have found some info that describes African cichlid mating behavior, and how they swim in a circle while the female is laying eggs and picking them up in her mouth, how the males have a fake "egg spot" on their anal fin, and how when the female tries to pick up that egg the male release sperm to fertilize the eggs she is carrying in her mouth. Or at least, this is reported to be the case with pseudotropheus crabro bumble bees.

Is this also the case for black convicts and other central American cichids? I never saw any mating behavior with mine...they just kind of hung out together in their little cave after I introduced them, and about a week later I noticed the eggs. I am just curious to the specifics of the whole process. If anyone could direct me to an article that explains black convicts mating in particular, please feel free to do so. I have been researching black convict information via academic articles on google scholar, and while their seems to be a wealth of information on the many research projects that have been done with these fish, I cannot seem to find a basic description of what actually happens when these fish mate.

On a side note- At this point they seem to be struggling to keep the fry in one place. I wonder...did the eggs ever actually "hatch"?, or did they just kind of morph into tiny fish? They appeared to morph to me...From the first day I noticed them they seemed to be vibrating, and then the vibrating got more and more intense as the eggs got bigger...and now they are just vibrating/swimming in all directions haha. When I google moving cichlid fry, the only thing that comes up are questions about physically moving eggs from one tank to another. I would think that this vibrating egg phenomenon would also be a hot topic...If anyone would like to share what they know about this...please do!

Thanks! and remember, fish are friends, not food...


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

You probably never saw the eggs. Convicts lay their eggs in the cave, and by the time you saw them they were "wrigglers", i.e., fry that have just hatched out. It can take 4-6 days for them to absorb the yolk sac and start swimming, depending on water temperature. Once they start swimming, the fry often will go exploring, which normally results in a parent having to chase them down and bring them back to the school. Eventually they will imprint on the parents, and follow their signals - more or less.

Substrate spawners generally follow a basic pattern, where the female lays a row of eggs, then moves aside while the male passes over the same row and fertilizes them. It can vary a bit, but that's the gist of it. Immediate mouthbrooders do the circling pattern, while delayed mouthbrooders lay eggs like substrate spawners then pick them up later.


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## UB15 (Dec 11, 2014)

Here's how they mate: frequently, you will have tons of them soon unless you separate them!


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## zoiberg137 (Feb 27, 2015)

Substrate spawner, immediate mouth brooder, delayed mouth brooder....interesting! Didn't know about these distinctions. I wonder, are most Africans mouth brooding while Americans are substrate spawning?

So are the eggs microscopic? Is that why I didn't notice them? Or just really small and transparent?

On another side note.... It has now been 6 days since I originally noticed the eggs/fry. Sadly, they have all dissapeared. The parents seemed to be taking so much care with the fry and showing so much aggression whenever i got close to look in the tank, I have a hard time imagining that they just decided to eat them for no reason. I did notice some of the fry dieing off and just floating around a few days ago...I figured with what looked to be over a hundred fry that they wouldn't all make it, and that some would naturally go up in the filter, but I didn't expect every single one of them to just "vanish".

The parents are once again just hanging out together in their little cave. I am assuming this cycle is about to repeat over again. Any thoughts on how I might help the survival of the next batch of eggs would be appreciated.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

The eggs are not microscopic. They were likely laid in an area that you couldn't see them.

You mentioned dead fry floating around. What are your water parameters? Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

What did you feed the fry? They usually start swimming after about 4 days, and they need to be fed from the time they start swimming. They cannot eat the same food as the adults, obviously. Most people use commercially available powdered foods or frozen baby brine shrimp, others actually hatch brine shrimp eggs to feed live nauplii.

Convicts like to lay their eggs on the roof of a cave, that's probably why you didn't see them. Convicts can spawn again within a couple of weeks if they lose the fry.


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