# Convict fry - How do I move them safely?



## friedrice5005

My convicts have spawned and I'm trying to save as many of the fry as possible. I have set up a tank with the water from their main and I was able to move many of the fry but there are still a good number in the tank I was unable to get. It's making the parents very aggressive to the other fish in the tank and I would like to get them out of there without hurting them. What's the best way to do this? I got the others with a large turkey baster, but it's not accurate or fast enough to get them all once they scatter.


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## irondan

i use a vacuum syphon into a bucket that has some tank water in it


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## Flippercon

irondan said:


> i use a vacuum syphon into a bucket that has some tank water in it


 :thumb: same here.


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## dright21

I have a Betta cup that I use, I just wait until feeding and the ones that were strong enough swimmers to swim to the top got scooped, but I have heard of the vaccum syphon being way more efficient


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## heaya

Parents will continue to spawn, and you will keep coming across the same issues with aggression. Solution: give the convicts their own tank, let them take care of the fry. They are some of the best parents, and the longer they take care of the new fry, the longer it will be until they spawn again. By removing the fry, you risk some possibilities. A)Dad gets pissed, thinks something is up, and kills mom. B)Someone else in your tank gets killed by the parents due to their frustrations. C)1-2 weeks later, hey! more fry! 
You could move just one or the other, but if you really want them to be happy, just give them their own tank. Maybe someone else will chime in, but I think for the most part alot of people on this forum are on the same consensus that keeping convicts with anything other than convicts usually ends in drama. 
You could get by with a 20 gallon LONG for the pair & fry. Just have a method to get rid of the fry, (feed them as treats to your other fish, freeze them, trade them, see if your LFS will take them, or even chain pet store.)


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## Elijah

I always used a net to remove them. The only problem is that the father used to swim right on top of his fry, so he would net himself. But they will keep spawning. Convicts are some of the horniest fish I have ever seen! If you don't want this to happen again, remove either the male or the female, wait a few weeks, then feed him some of the fry.


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## Elijah

heaya said:


> but I think for the most part alot of people on this forum are on the same consensus that keeping convicts with anything other than convicts usually ends in drama.


Funny story... during the summer, a friend of mine was getting ready to move so he said he was just going to flush his fish down the toilet. So I drove over, and adopted them. It was a 3 inch firemouth and a juvenile kenyi. I only have 2 tanks, so I put them in with my larger male convict. The firemouth lasted 15 minutes until the convict ripped him to shreds. Needless to say the kenyi has been living with the male convict in a 40 breeder for months...until the other day, they were fighting and lip locking whenever I shut the lights off. The kenyi is a bit smaller, but nipped some fins and practically tore the lips off of my con. So I put the kenyi in my 20 long with a breeding pair of cons. Within minutes the kenyi beat both of them up, ate all the eggs, and took over their nest.

Kenyi's are beasts of fish. I hate to imagine if I had a male.


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## bwestgsx06

heaya said:


> Parents will continue to spawn, and you will keep coming across the same issues with aggression. Solution: give the convicts their own tank, let them take care of the fry. They are some of the best parents, and the longer they take care of the new fry, the longer it will be until they spawn again. By removing the fry, you risk some possibilities. A)Dad gets pissed, thinks something is up, and kills mom. B)Someone else in your tank gets killed by the parents due to their frustrations. C)1-2 weeks later, hey! more fry!
> You could move just one or the other, but if you really want them to be happy, just give them their own tank. Maybe someone else will chime in, but I think for the most part alot of people on this forum are on the same consensus that keeping convicts with anything other than convicts usually ends in drama.
> You could get by with a 20 gallon LONG for the pair & fry. Just have a method to get rid of the fry, (feed them as treats to your other fish, freeze them, trade them, see if your LFS will take them, or even chain pet store.)


How long do you typically let the parents take care of em?


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## heaya

@Elijah

Kenyi are beast! (Most mbuna are.) I try to explain this to my husband all the time when we go look at fish. He always wants the pretty colored mbuna to go with our peacocks/labs. I love having the labs since they're so fast and they easily take care of any "smart" convict fry that think they can get away when I cull them.

@bwestgsx06

It's not really how long "you" let them take care of the fry, it's however long they decide to, no need to intervene. I'd say you can at least go 4 weeks without a new spawn. Right now I have some babies that are 6 wks old. Mom's ovipositor has been potruding out like she's been ready to lay for about 1.5 wks. She's still gravid, and super aggro when I come within 5 feet of the tank. You can end up with a few generations at the same time, but at the point that I'm at, these guys seem like they should be able to take care of the next spawn whenever it comes, aka, have fry treats for themselves.


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## tessandtherest

I have convict fry that are not yet independent but will soon be. I have a kribensis that I expect to have eggs in the very near future. Both kribs and convicts have their own tanks but I am wondering if I could combine fry of both once they are free swimming. Common sense tells me gud by to krib fry but kribs can be nasty also just don't they think are up to convicts. I would appreciate any opinions.


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