my wife wants to buy some convicts and she is wanting a male and female. i don't belive my lfs knows what sex they have, so i was wondering if when you order on-line can you ask for a male and female or is it just what they send you? i have been checking out foster and smith and it says nothing about if you can, does anyone have any experience with this kind of issue? thanks agian to you all.
about ordering fish on-line
- Thread starter OscarMan82
- Start date
well, can you sex convincts at all? if not, itll be harder
you might be able to find someone who is willing to sell a breeding pair off of aquabid.com
you might be able to find someone who is willing to sell a breeding pair off of aquabid.com
Convicts are easy to sex:
Males:
Pointy dorsal fin
No orange/gold patch on side of belly
Females
Rounded or squared dorsal fin (fish in good condition may have a pointy streamer, but look at the main part of the fin)
orange or gold patch on side of belly
Most places won't guarantee a pair. Check tangledupincichlids.com or aquabid.com though for pairs.
I think there's someone selling a pair of Hondurans which you might want to consider. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119856&highlight=honduran
Males:
Pointy dorsal fin
No orange/gold patch on side of belly
Females
Rounded or squared dorsal fin (fish in good condition may have a pointy streamer, but look at the main part of the fin)
orange or gold patch on side of belly
Most places won't guarantee a pair. Check tangledupincichlids.com or aquabid.com though for pairs.
I think there's someone selling a pair of Hondurans which you might want to consider. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119856&highlight=honduran
Just remember they will breed And not just a few times! I call them the guppy of the cichlid world. When they lay eggs they can lay 100 eggs or so every 7 to 8 weeks Ive been told. I found this out the hard way. The guy at my LFS didnt tell me when I bought them and I didnt do any research on them before I got them. So IMO do a little research before getting them.
Mike D is right!!!
I started out just "baby sitting" a couple of convicts for a summer and now are overloaded with them...any chance you live in upstate ny? I regularly give them away to anyone (even as feeders) since I've also over-run all the lfs and everyone I know. I would be happy to give them to you (male and female) if you dare (and find suitable shipping arrangements.)
Drs. Foster and Smith are great for supplies...I order everything I can from them. The Live Aquaria however only ship JV stock (convicts at 1 1/2-2"), require a $30 order for fish and inverts and charge I think $30-40 for shipping!
I started out just "baby sitting" a couple of convicts for a summer and now are overloaded with them...any chance you live in upstate ny? I regularly give them away to anyone (even as feeders) since I've also over-run all the lfs and everyone I know. I would be happy to give them to you (male and female) if you dare (and find suitable shipping arrangements.)
Drs. Foster and Smith are great for supplies...I order everything I can from them. The Live Aquaria however only ship JV stock (convicts at 1 1/2-2"), require a $30 order for fish and inverts and charge I think $30-40 for shipping!
Sorry...one more thing...for sexing, with young convicts, the females are usually bigger than the males (this does change when they mature.) They will start spawning anywhere from about 12 weeks and beyond, so another suggestion is to go the lfs and watch them...give the tank a look once a week for a month and soon you'll definatly notice those little girls showing off their beautiful orange bellies...thier fins usually turn a nice green, too. The males will seem smaller, have a blue to their fins and you'll notice a difference in especially in the pectoral fins as they elongate and come to a really nice, cichlid point.
Good luck...if I can get my camera working, I'll post pics of some examples.
Good luck...if I can get my camera working, I'll post pics of some examples.
thanks the photos would be great help to me. i've been reading on here about cons and a few other sites so i think i know what we are gettin into, the babys i think is why she wants to get them since EVERYONE says they multiply like rabbits. im close to ny im in ohio in between toledo and cleveland or else i would be glad to take some off your hands. and as always thanks for all the info guys, your all always such a help and i am darn glad i found this web site just wish i would have found it sooner but hey better late then never huh.
i usually like to go to the store and pick out the fish myself, and it will be easier to ensure you are getting a male and a female. even when tehy are very small (about 1 inch), some fo the females will start to show their pinks, oranges, and golds. the males will also have noticably longer fins than the females.
WHOA!! I was really considering ordering 3 female buffaloheads from them if they would allow me to choose the sex of the fish & could do it. $30-$40 dollars for shipping,....huh?
