# New here :) Wanting to set up a tank for a pair of convicts



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

*Convicts are fun =) ??*​
Yes1275.00%Not really.425.00%


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

Hello  I'm new here ......I have a 25 gallon tank which id like to setup for a pair of convicts...with no other fish , I will let them breed then move the fry to other tanks when they're juvies. I have never kept cichlids before and they sound really interesting and fun to keep to me  
I currently only keep Fancy guppies which I have been selective breeding for 3 years and they are also a great fish :thumb:

My questions are:

1) What type of tank do convicts prefere ...They like rocks and caves right?what about temp/lightning/plants/gravel....etc.

2) How often do convicts spawn and how many fry do they produce in 1 spawn?

3) Does anyone know a good safe website where I can order a pair of convicts BUT it has to be a website that ships fish to all over the world cause I live in alexandria,Egypt and I have been having a hard time trying to find one that would ship to me.....otherwise id have to wait for many months till the fish store gets convict cichlids....Last week I checked they had 3 types of cichlids but not convicts that wouldn't fit nicely in my 25 gallon.

Thanks alot :drooling: :fish: :dancing:


----------



## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

they love rocks and caves. in my breeding tank. i only have sand, and a few rocks. they arent picky. my temeperature is 78degrees.


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

Thanks for your reply Khaki  Im glad to hear that they aren't picky  What do u feed your fry?? The foods that I currently feed my guppy fry are ....newly hatched baby brine shrimp, "Gel food" Daphnia, sometimes hard boiled egg yolk when soo small, Fry-sized flakes , crushed algae pellets and I have about 25 gallons of pure green water and infusoria :lol: so im ready with the food for any fry but i first have to get my convicts :fish:  If i cant order any then I will ask my LFS owner to get some convict cichlids with his next stock...his a really nice guy and ALL their tanks are crystal clear, they are amazing shop owners  .....

So still, dpes anyone know how many fry does a spawn produce on average?? ....*goes to do some more research on convict cichlids*


----------



## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

It is tons of fun to watch em do their thing. :thumb:


----------



## Chris2500DK (Feb 15, 2006)

A 25 gal tank is a bit small as a permanent home for a pair of convicts, in my opinon at least.


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

Maybe it could be a little small when they grow larger but I would never do anything that I know isnt the best for my fish and I can upgrade their tank if it doesnt look good enough to me


----------



## Nighthawk (Mar 13, 2003)

Convicts multiply like crazy. What are you going to do with all the fry? I know you said 'move them to other tanks' but then what? It's very hard to give convicts away here, unless people are using them for feeders.


----------



## Nighthawk (Mar 13, 2003)

Sorry, I forgot to say Welcome to Cichlid-Forum! There's lots of information on this site. What you can't find on your own ask and someone will be happy to help. Good luck with the cons!


----------



## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

Sounds like there arent any in Egypt. He could sell them there :roll:


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

tannable75 said:


> Sounds like there arent any in Egypt. He could sell them there :roll:


Yupp....this is true  Convicts ..and generally cichlids aren't at all common in egypt :roll: I can very very easily sell them and for a BIG prophit here :drooling: But anyway im not getting convicts in hope of selling their babies for money , I just like them as a fish i've never kept before but also if I can sell the babies it would be helpful to atleast cover up my expenses buying them quality food and the tons of BBS eggs I already buy which are really expensive here :? So my convicts breeding is not at all a problem ,I have the time, space and homes for their fry if I do get some or many :fish: 

I understand that they multiply like crazy and this is going to be good....I mean, i want more people to start realizing that fish keeping is a fascinating hobby here and maybe these little guys will help me do so 

Also im definitely going to buy more tanks in the near future and expand my hobby and even try new types of cichlids but for now im starting with just one type of cichlids I think would be good as a first cichlid......

Anyway now i have to go feed my Guppy fry BBS feeding time :dancing: ....they go MAD about it !


----------



## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

Are aquariums in general not common or just cichids?

Sounds like you need to open an LFS.


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

tannable75 said:


> Are aquariums in general not common or just cichids?
> 
> Sounds like you need to open an LFS.


LOL no ...you can easily get an aquarium and some common fish like goldfish, zebra danios, some barbs....etc but i'd readily accept to open one...maybe later when I gain some more knowledge on various types of fish... , I know 6 LFSs in my area so thats quite alot but 3 of them totally suck :x Their fish are all the "feeder type" even the guppies they sell are feeder guppies (but mine are fancy) and are kept in icky conditions that I never buy anything from there except tanks cause they look so diseased! I once got 2 guppies from them and I was still new to the hobby a few years ago so I didnt quarantine my new fish and all the tank bloomed with itchy icky fin rot  And i lost some of my best fancies to the horrible disease  And since then I decided never to get anything from there....anyway these fish store owners are coarse people who have only received minimum kind of education that just want money...so u can imagine how horrible their fishs' quality would be!

The other three are much way better! Two of them are decent shops with healthy fish and good shop owners that atleast care about their fish. And the last LFS (which is the ONLY LFS i deal with now ) is super awesome :thumb: Their tanks are crystal clear and they sell all kind of fish, all kinds of plants ,aquariums,decorations ,equipment and their fish are SUper fish! They sell all the fancy types which gets shipped to them often .The shop owners run the place themselves every single day! ...No "petshop guys" stand in there so everything is just fantastic! They also get cichlids so often and im sure that if I tell them that id like convicts they'd get some!They are really nice people! They are also very knowledgeable and keep many rare and fragile species (not for sale...its their own) in tanks at their house and shop and u can see how educated they are when it comes to fish keeping by how they keep some of the most sensitive fresh and saltwater fish alive for many many years.....I mean I see the same fishes there everytime I visit since maybe about 8 years and they are still there :lol: Last time I visited we talked about guppy selective breeding and he was explaining to me a few things on how to obtain certain traits...never tried talking to him in ANY fish topic and he didnt know what imtalking about LOL very impressive people......they were the reason I got into fish keeping and i hope i'll be the reason to enchance many other people too  Fish keeping is just beautiful :fish: ....isn't it?? 

Ooops! Seems like im in the mood for writing! Sorry i Blabbered too much LOL :lol:


----------



## VT4Me (Mar 23, 2008)

Don't apologize. It's interesting to hear about fishkeeping in other countries!


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

VT4Me said:


> Don't apologize. It's interesting to hear about fishkeeping in other countries!


It sure is  I,personally am lucky that I can find everything I need for my fish here and easily. It makes the hobby more interesting to have fun things available to experiment with ....like trying different foods for your fish and culturing ur own. I really enjoyed raising brine shrimp to adulthood and I was able to sex them...u can even recognize which are males and which are females when they are full adults if u keep them alive for a month......that was a pretty interesting thing I did once but it ended in a dramastic ending ....the nany dumped the whole jar in the toilet cause she thought it was just smelly water :roll: LOL


----------



## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Convicts are the deffination of 'cichlid' in my book. I keep coming back to them even after 20 years of keeping fish ... even if it's only for feeder babies. Much more entertaining to watch breed than platies and such.


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

Yes i agree that convicts are much more entertaining to see breed than livebearers since livebearers eat their fry immediately if u dont use a breeding box/net or well planted tank so there isnt much to see .....but its fun to see the babies colour up!


----------



## riffraffxl (Aug 2, 2007)

I had a mixed experience with my breeding pair. Their behaviour was fascinating and they did exactly what people described they would do: digging, breeding, caring for young, and fighting. Oh how they fought. That was the sticking point.

The male beat up on the female so badly, the male spent half the time in a "fish prison" I made from an overturned salad spinner. In retrospect 2 convicts in a 20 gallon was not enough space. I should have gotten a larger tank OR gotten a massive female and small male.

Fascinating? Yes. Aggravating? The ones I got, double yes.


----------



## littlemissyfishy (Jul 5, 2008)

Yeah ....convicts are great in alot of things about easy keeping and breeding but everything just has to have a downside......and maybe thats what happened. Maybe you could have seperated them if the male was being territorial though...


----------



## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

I've had similar experiences. I think its luck of the draw as to whether you get an overly aggressive male or an overly passive female.


----------

