# Male Convict and Female Convict? Help?



## thedeepreef (Apr 11, 2014)

Hey,
I have had my convict cichlid breeding pair for a month now, and the male has ALWAYS been so aggressive to the female. They live in a 45 gallon tank with rosy red minnows and 2 turtles. The male is 2 inches and the female is 1.7 inches (roughly). They have plenty of hiding spots and plants. Haven't gotten a batch of eggs yet. But my main questions are why is the male so aggressive to the female? To lower the aggression should I had more female convicts or some semi aggressive fish? How old should convicts be to breed? and Why doesn't my male convict have striping like the female?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
TheDeepReef


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

What are the tank dimensions? What size and species of turtles?

Could you post a pic of your fish? Both males and females have striping. If you do have a pair, allow your fish some time to grow before any breeding occurs.

I would suggest more dither fish like your minnows, but I'm guessing they're feeders for the turtles. The cons can certainly be on the menu as well.


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## MizOre (Sep 20, 2013)

Convicts tend to be slightly picky (not extremely picky) about their mates, and in the wild, have nests between a half meter (circa 20 inches) to a meter apart (little over three feet). If she's not ready to breed or has rejected him, he's going to be aggressive with her. I wouldn't have them in with turtles and I'd buy another female. They also need caves for spawning. Since I'm in Nicaragua, house tiles are easy to come by, but slate caves, cichlid pots, or flower pot lying on their sides and in shelter also work. One of my pairs bred under driftwood (dug out a space big enough for the female. Males and females of the strain I have who are not courting or spawning or leading fry don't have the full striping but look like this:










Mine are wild-caught fish from a man-made lake. Most aquarium strains of convicts may be different.


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## thedeepreef (Apr 11, 2014)

Hi again,
The turtles in the tank are still babies and tend to keep away from my convict cichlids. The tank dimensions are 36 inches by 13 inches by 18 inches. The turtles are a Red Eared Slider and a Mississippi map turtle. I will try and get a picture of my convicts so you can get a better look. The lfs told me they are wild caught from Costa Rica.
The pics should be up later today.


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## thedeepreef (Apr 11, 2014)

Ok,
My computer is being stupid and won't let me upload the photos. So I guess no photos&#8230; :x :roll:


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

This may help...
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?nomobile=1&f=13&t=255434


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## thedeepreef (Apr 11, 2014)

Ok,
so I picked up 2 more female convicts from the same lfs as I got my previous convicts and the male seems to have calmed down. He even shows interest in the biggest new convict.  :fish: :dancing:


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## MizOre (Sep 20, 2013)

When they breed (they're convicts, they will breed), the spare females need hiding places. I have three pairs in an 80 inch tank, two with growing fry.

In about a month after they lay eggs, you'll have this: 

And the little fish look like this close up:


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## thedeepreef (Apr 11, 2014)

Yes I know that the other females ail need hiding places to hide. I already have 4 caves in my tank so that will not be a problem.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Since your tank is a bit small, it'd be best to remove the excess girls once a pair forms.


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## MizOre (Sep 20, 2013)

Yes. And moving the spare girls is critical if they end up in the corners of the tank.


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