Bad Luck With Black Convicts

[joestyx]

now i have had my mated pair of black convicts for about a year and they have spawned like 3 times, each time the fry have gotten eaten...1st time they spawned it was in my 55g tank and with all the tiger barbs and the JD i had in there and bala sharks, they picked the little fry off pretty easily, the second and 3rd times they spawned the father ate the fry a couple of weeks after they hatched and now the female doesn't seem to want to spawn anymore, she just sits at the top of the tank and chills until the male comes and chases her and tries to get her in the mood...now i know most of you who have bred convicts will say i am lucky for not having to deal with 100's of fry, but i have my own reasons for wanting them, why do they not want to spawn anymore????

 

[Nolapete]

Put a few giant danios in the tank as dither fish. He'll leave her alone. Rearrange the rockwork too.

 

[joestyx]

Put a few giant danios in the tank as dither fish. He'll leave her alone. Rearrange the rockwork too.

ok i'll try that, thanks

 

[wataugachicken]

you seriously need to concentrate on working out your tank stockings before adding ANY more fish to the mix, let alone 70-100 convict fry.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

^ I agree. It seems like your female con is stressed if she is hanging out near the top of the tank like that.

 

[excuzzzeme]

They are not likely to spawn with the ever-present threat of the other fish. If you put the 2 of them in a 20 with hiding places you stand a much better chance.They need their own territory and caves to feel safe. I use ½ of a clay pot for a cave and some plastic plants near the entrance of it when other fish are present. I have also just left the 2 in a 20 alone and have had great success. ( A bit too successful).

 

[joestyx]

you seriously need to concentrate on working out your tank stockings before adding ANY more fish to the mix, let alone 70-100 convict fry.

lol, there is only the 2 convicts in my 29g.....there are no other fish in it

 

[joestyx]

They are not likely to spawn with the ever-present threat of the other fish. If you put the 2 of them in a 20 with hiding places you stand a much better chance.They need their own territory and caves to feel safe. I use ½ of a clay pot for a cave and some plastic plants near the entrance of it when other fish are present. I have also just left the 2 in a 20 alone and have had great success. ( A bit too successful).

they are alone in the 29g, and they have bred before.....plenty of hiding spots in this tank, it's just that all of the sudden the female has lost interest and doesn't respond to the male's advances anymore

 

[wataugachicken]

lol, there is only the 2 convicts in my 29g.....there are no other fish in it

uhhh... the goldfish in the 10g, the three gouramis in the 20, and everything in the 55g if you still have it. all bad stocking.

 

[IceH2O]

I believe his stocking issues will come up in future threads. Right now he is asking about his Cons so lets keep it on topic.

Its not that she doesn't want to spawn, its that he is being aggressive with her and she is stressed. It happens from time to time. I put a divider between mine for a couple of months then removed it. They spawned a few more times then started fighting again. Divider then a few months remove it. Sometimes she just needs some recovery time.

To keep the fry from being eaten, never had that problem, remove them when they become wigglers and put them in another tank to grow out. Or if you want them for feeders just divide the tank for a month or so.