Do female convicts stop growing once they spawn the first time? The lady at the LFS told me they did, but I wanted to see if anyone had a different experience with that.
Female Convicts
- Thread starter Dahlia
- Start date
NO not at all.........They reach sexually maturity at a young age and small size..Like 2" or so. They will keep spawning and keep growing. I think they will get to be around 6" with the males larger still.Mine were 1/2" when I got them now the female is spawning and she's 1.5"-2" and she's still growing.
I would take what info the LFS gives you with a grain of salt. Unless the store has a high reputation I would research EVERYTHING they told me..and thats what your doing.
I would take what info the LFS gives you with a grain of salt. Unless the store has a high reputation I would research EVERYTHING they told me..and thats what your doing.
I would take what info the LFS gives you with a grain of salt. Unless the store has a high reputation I would research EVERYTHING they told me..and thats what your doing.
I always do. I research what I'm told on here, too.
The lady at this LFS has won awards in fish shows and been a serious aquarist all her life, as her parents were as well. She's extremely knowledgeable about a lot of things... but I've found sometimes her info is dated or popular myth. She only uses older books and doesn't use internet sources. Sometimes she has read recent magazine articles and updates her opinions from there. But, because I disagree with her from time to time I make sure to check when something seems "fishy".
I always do. I research what I'm told on here, too.
The lady at this LFS has won awards in fish shows and been a serious aquarist all her life, as her parents were as well. She's extremely knowledgeable about a lot of things... but I've found sometimes her info is dated or popular myth. She only uses older books and doesn't use internet sources. Sometimes she has read recent magazine articles and updates her opinions from there. But, because I disagree with her from time to time I make sure to check when something seems "fishy".
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Some fish do fully Grow and mature before they are sexually mature but convicts are the opposite. They will have babies at a very young age/small size and continue to grow and have babies and more babies and more babies....
Its good she knows her stuff but with a lot of new sources of info (like this site) so her dated and popular myth knowledge shouldn't be given out in place of true and cutting edge info. She should give her experences but also keep up to date to keep her customers well informed.......lilke my dad said " I never did it that way and its worked fine for me " What works might not always be correct and whats correct might not always work.
since you check multiple sources for info try www.aquamojo.com its has a forum and its mostly about cichlids. There are people on the site that have had convicts and other fish for many many years and they can help from experence. Ask jeff Rapps ANYTHING about a cichlid and he will defently tell you loads..........if not him someone will
Its good she knows her stuff but with a lot of new sources of info (like this site) so her dated and popular myth knowledge shouldn't be given out in place of true and cutting edge info. She should give her experences but also keep up to date to keep her customers well informed.......lilke my dad said " I never did it that way and its worked fine for me " What works might not always be correct and whats correct might not always work.
since you check multiple sources for info try www.aquamojo.com its has a forum and its mostly about cichlids. There are people on the site that have had convicts and other fish for many many years and they can help from experence. Ask jeff Rapps ANYTHING about a cichlid and he will defently tell you loads..........if not him someone will
Hey I was on another forum and I came across some breeding questions. They talked about hearing that a fish won't grow to its full adult size if it starts to breed at a young age. B/C the fish will be trying to protect its eggs/babies and will not be worrying about its feeding. But it will eventually grow just at a slower rate. and if the fish was taken out of the "breeding" enviroment that it would continue to grow faster than it was while breeding.....so it may apear that the fish has stopped to grow b/c of it breeding at a young age. Also fish tend to grow fast when they are young and then start to slow down as they get larger, but if they are concerned with child care than they will not really be concerned with their own care.
Seaman
Shrimp gumbo, shrimp salad etc...
I would think thats partially true, also because the female will be making eggs wich im sure take up quite a bit of her food consumption also.
The males I have are extremely large, and probably approaching full grown, but the females are staying pretty small. I have noticed when they have eggs they will stay in their cave during feeding time regardless of if they are hungry. So, I try to throw a pellet in the cave with them. I'm planning to trade them in at some point or perhaps give them to a friend, I want some more unusual cichlids. I just wanted to make sure they weren't stunted somehow. Thanks for all the info!