Convict Cichlid Breeding
- Thread starter Jellymolly44
- Start date
Well everyone is just gunna say add water, and in a way it is true.
I keep my water at around 78 or so, Java Moss is incredible, the fry are always grazing off it not sure what is in it but it sure seems to be very helpful.
Obviously cover intakes on any power filters, or use sponge filters (i do both the sponge filters also seems to collect alot of food the fry love).
Keep your water very clean and that is all i can think of for now.
I prefer to leave the parents with the fry (the fry seems to grow faster that way) but if u want them to breed more often you can take the fry out once free swimming and the parents will spawn again a couple weeks later.
Anyway good luck and have fun!
I keep my water at around 78 or so, Java Moss is incredible, the fry are always grazing off it not sure what is in it but it sure seems to be very helpful.
Obviously cover intakes on any power filters, or use sponge filters (i do both the sponge filters also seems to collect alot of food the fry love).
Keep your water very clean and that is all i can think of for now.
I prefer to leave the parents with the fry (the fry seems to grow faster that way) but if u want them to breed more often you can take the fry out once free swimming and the parents will spawn again a couple weeks later.
Anyway good luck and have fun!
Better idea, don't do it with convicts. Pick some other (less common) species, even one closely related, and you'll have much less trouble getting rid of the fry. Honduran red points may be the exception to that rule, they've become almost as common as convicts. There really are plenty of species that are easier to get along with in general, more colorful, and just as easy to breed.
Put a male and a female in a bucket of water and wait. They'll do the rest, and again, and again, and again. . . . .
Best advice I can give on Convict Cichlid breeding is:
DON'T
I usually try not to be so negative, and all fish have their virtues, but these guys will kill everything in your tank once they spawn, and mine even took a couple of bites out of my arm when I reached in to move a rock. You'll end up with more fry than you know what to do with, and nobody will want them. There are a lot of fish that are very similar to the convict in a lot of ways (including ease of breeding) and most of them will be much easier to find homes for. Really, I know many people who have bred convicts, including myself, and pretty much every one of them regrets it on some level. I'm not telling you what to do with your tanks, that's your decision, but be prepared for a hassle, and definitely don't put anything else in that tank, half the time the parents are so defensive that they'll kill each other to protect the babies.
DON'T
I usually try not to be so negative, and all fish have their virtues, but these guys will kill everything in your tank once they spawn, and mine even took a couple of bites out of my arm when I reached in to move a rock. You'll end up with more fry than you know what to do with, and nobody will want them. There are a lot of fish that are very similar to the convict in a lot of ways (including ease of breeding) and most of them will be much easier to find homes for. Really, I know many people who have bred convicts, including myself, and pretty much every one of them regrets it on some level. I'm not telling you what to do with your tanks, that's your decision, but be prepared for a hassle, and definitely don't put anything else in that tank, half the time the parents are so defensive that they'll kill each other to protect the babies.
i wouldn't say don't breed them, unless you are trying to sell them then don't, but if u are breeding them for fun, or feeders, like me then it is all good, its better to feed your fish something you know is healthy then some store bought diseased fish
I would be more worried about my Jack Dempsey Killing a couple of convict cichlids. He is extremely mean and tough.
ive just started breeding cons to produce feeders for some of my fish was really easy. 2 spawn already. owned them for around a month or so
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
I had a breeding pair they ate cheap flake food and provided my with nice live food for my Red Devils. I didn't bother netting all of the young I just brought the Red Devils into their tank for a while. That's where I went wrong left them in for too long and no convicts were left, including the parents.