i need male convics

3 pairs are way to many for even a 55gal trade 2 lesser males in for your females. a common breeders rule: 2 females for each male. the best thing to do would be to have 2 females in with one male, after he breeds don't take the extra out he will trade off until he finds a worthy staple female. then you can take the extra con out. a tip: at walmart buy 2 of the smaller ceramic logs with the plant comming out, 2-3 various size aquarium safe flower pots, and one walmarts large ceramic logs they will breed in each until they find the best suited one. leave a few in for the female to hide if she needs to. as far as the female getting foods while tring to gard eggs I have seen my cans use 2 methods: A. the male will bring food in his mouyth to the female so she doesn't have to leave. B. the female will leave and gether a share of the food and the male will gaurd and they do this in shifts. to feed the fry they will bring and shred flakes in there mouths for the young. be warned, the parents can't do it on there own, you also have to give some fry food. with these tips convicts will take over your tank because of the fact that they never stop breeding. you can use a divider to separate the pair tempareraly if you need some time to grow/get rid of some of the fry at a lfs without distroying the pairs rituals for good
 
Cons are not mouth brooders. They lay eggs, the eggs sit on the substrate or rock, and hatch. I've seen them "scoop" up a few fry and spit them back in thier hole, but they do not cary them in ther mouth in quantity or for any long periods. I used fry food once, and found it unneccisary. The parrents would chew and spit up flakes for the fry. But you deffinatly should get some liquifry for egglayers just in case the parrents don't quite get the hang of it. Good luck
 
thanks you guys i used some of the advice u gave me. i have a very lrg tank prolly 90g for the oscar and jack and the rest of the fish in my 55g but i think its really more than 55g because i have another 55g that looks half the size. i had 3 males with 2 females then the biggest male and biggest female joined up and picked on the smaller ones so i moved them to the other 55g tank. shortly after they did some strange thing where they kinda kissed for like 30mins straight...is that a mating ritual?? and the female is acting sluggish 2 hours later... not sure why...she just sat in the spot they defended against the others and they dig a small hole there, but its not as deep as people sugesed it would be.and the female wont let the male come close to the hole... is this a good sign or a bad sign?? and is it ok to use one of those breeder boxes thats like a net u put in the tank and seperate the fry from parents after the feeding sack is gone?? or is that only with comunity livebearers?? and how long after they do the acctual mating does she lay eggs?? 2-3 days or like a couple weeks?? o and thanks to every1 that gives me advice i really appreaciate it!!

edit: Oh nice tank dude sounds like u got ur act togeather.
 
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yor fish are mouth restling they will breed if the female can survive.one thing to looks for is a breeding tuble on either parent. they are right befure the anal fin. I don't expect you to understand what I meen. I didn't either until I watch my pinks lay eggs. I saw the egg laying 3 times, but still yet to see the pre laying "dances". the pre egglaying thing should last a couple hours imediatly follwed by egg laying. Dependening on how well the female has been conditioned and how well of a breeder she is it could take a few hours to finish. the parents care for the fry until they want to breedagain wich is when the fry should be moved at wich point they will be around half an inch and be able to be treated as adults on the adult diet. they may eat the eggs the first couple times but they get the hang of it. I strongly advise you not to remve the eggs and try to artiffically raise them. It is quit dificuilt to raise them on air tube and how will the parents learn if they dont have a batch to practice and master their skillswith.
 
cool. does that mean i might have time to get another tank for the babies?? i have one they can go in but by then the other fish might have gotten bigger or have staked out terrirory. id hate to go thruogh all this to have the babies get kille d or eaten....and was that a yes to the breeding net i have a small one my friend had lying around but its made for fish that dont lay many eggs and dont have very big fry. umm is it ok if i put a 4" clown loach in with the cons while their breeding or will they kill him cuz hes like my most favorite fish..so far they havent payed him much mind... and do you no what it is whne they lock jaws and like spin around?? cuz they do that alot...=/

edit: the female has a tinny bump just before her anal fin, its about the size of the tip of a pencil...is that what u were tlking about??
 
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Wow it sounds like you are setting up tanks faster than you should... are you cycling these tanks before you put fish in?

You seem very unsure of exactly how large your tanks are. Here is a link that will help you calculate exactly how much your tanks hold. Remeber, gravel and decorations displace water further. http://www.malawimayhem.com/calculate.php

When fish lock jaws and 'kiss' they are actually fighting. Watch them closely during this time as a weaker fish can easily get killed. Usually its only males that will fight each other... but territorial females will too.

Can you list ALL your tanks and EXACTLY what fish are in each of them? Im very confused reading this thread....


-Diana
 
you found the tube!
about the loach: I wouldn't add anything unless I knew the tank was calm they rough up newcomers to show whos bose when they aren't breeding, how do you think they will treat him when they are breeding? With everything youve said keep a close eye on them if want to wach them laythe eggs. your next post will probably say there are eggs. at this point they should be protecting a specifect territory that they will defendand stay close together. where is that territory? and how big are the breeders?
 
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