Convicts Not Pairing off/Breeding

I have 4 convicts and it seems as if they're not pairing off. I've searched through many forums and they say that convicts are super-easy to breed. One is definitely a female as there are orange scales on the belly. The biggest one, which is about an inch and a half, Im not too sure about. It has lighter-colored scales (very few) on its belly. The other two are definitely males since they have uniform color all around but they are only an inch, the same size as the female. I've had them for a little over two weeks now but all they do is chase each other (no two in particular). Is something wrong?

Nuriel said:

Sometimes it takes awhile for them to pair up. What are your tanks specs (size, water conditons, plants?)

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It's a 55-gallon tank with plastic plants and some slate rocks. The water Ph is about 7.4 with a constant temp of 76F. I do 40% water changes every week.

Nuriel said:

It sounds good to me, perhaps it will just take them a couple ,ore weeks to pair up.It took my africans abotu a month before I noticed the dominant male pursuing what now is his 'girl', but you may not notice untill you see fry (eggs?) Not sure how cons breed but I'm on my third batch of mbuna fry since late September. I'd say maybe time will be the factor....Good Luck

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Thanks for the info. I guess I'll just have to patient. What kind of mbunas are you raising? I thought they werent that easy to breed.

nickbuter said:

Cons are cave breeders and will usually need some kind of seclusion i.e caves, clay pots, PVC pipe.. I hope you have an outlet for the fry if you do get a breeding pair.

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I have a 20g that i'll be using to move the fry into. I'd get a clay pot but they show no signs of pairing off at all.