# breeding cons



## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

when breeding cons, do you have to just have a male and a female in a tank alone??

or can you have a few females and a few males in a tank?? will they just find their right partner and breed in the tank w/ all the others around too ?

im askin this b/c ive had my cons for a few months now and they still havent bred yet...

i even made a clay pot house for them....


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

maybe you only have males


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

have you sexed the convicts? it's possible that you have two of the same sex. you can tell the female apart by the orangish scales on its belly. but i guarantee that you have two of the same sex. convicts are by far the easiest fish to breed. all you need is a m and f and within a month you'll have babies.

when i bought little 2" convicts they bred within 2 weeks of being put into the tank.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

no i have like 6 cons in the tank of various sizes...

and i definitely have a couple females.... they have orange speckels on the sides... it is really easy to tell apart males from females...


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> no i have like 6 cons in the tank of various sizes...
> 
> and i definitely have a couple females.... they have orange speckels on the sides... it is really easy to tell apart males from females...
> [snapback]965694[/snapback]​


check this out

its pretty easy to tell them apart


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## Fresh2salt (Jul 16, 2004)

my old cons breed in my overcrowed tank.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

im not sure why mine arent breeding then.... i definitely have males and females in the tank.... even a clay pot house....


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

man my cons have had 7 batches of babies already, and they keep going, i've had the same male, but 1 of the females died so i threw another female in there. I just have them in a 20 gallon tank by themselves and they breed almost every 2 - 3 weeks. Its crazy, i just feed them to my piranha's


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

it took my cons 4 days


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

i wish mine would finally breed... there are like 6 of them in there too...


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

could they not be breeding b/c there are too many of them in the tank??

like does it have to be JUST a breeding pair in a tank?

but if thats the case, im not sure which ones would be a breeding pair?


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> could they not be breeding b/c there are too many of them in the tank??
> 
> like does it have to be JUST a breeding pair in a tank?
> 
> ...


not at all. a breeding pair will form if you have a male and female. what are your water parameters [ph/ammonia/ites/ates]? have you provided proper breeding conditions? what sized tank?

even with slightly bunk water conditions i find it hard to grasp that out of 6 convicts none have bred.


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## Gordeez (Sep 21, 2003)

charles_316 said:


> im not sure why mine arent breeding then.... i definitely have males and females in the tank.... even a clay pot house....
> [snapback]966393[/snapback]​










Were on the same boat. I have 5 convicts, 2 males and 3 females.
THe smallest female is the one both cons fight for. When the lights are on, the smaller male will chase and harass the bigger male, when the lights are off, the bigger male will shase the other one around.

I say give em some times, and they'll pop down and that bitch will spew her eggs out :nod:


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

if you have 6 or so in a tank, when a pair does decied to breed, it can get pretty violent in there, my male is like 6" long, and he attacks/kills anything that comes by, thats why i just have the male and the famale in a 20gal by themselves.

(the male is actueally breeding with one of its daughters) YUCK!!!!! INBREED!

HAHA you should get them to breed pretty soon, just takes time i guess, and once they start, they breed allllllll the time.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

the conditions are ok.... like i said it is overstocked tho...

i have a female and male that are very small..... i have three others that are medium sized... and the largest one is about 4 inches...

these guys are in a 25-30 gal hexagon tank... w/ air pumps, heater and filter of course...

and there is a big clay pot house in there for them to go into......


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## rainydaze (Feb 10, 2005)

when they do start to breed things will get very violent. Ive seen a convict to horrible things to other fish when protecting their young. The tankmates die in a cruel and horrible way. At least a piranha will eat the fish it attacks. A convict will just take off all the scales and fins maybe an eye and leave it to die slow.


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## mom (Feb 16, 2005)

Man do you have a place for all the little ones your going to have? Yes it is neat to have your fish have wee ones but the buggers will just keep having more & more & more AND MORE! I've got a pair of cons in with my 15in. Oscar so now I usually only have a few of the little ones to find a home for. Good luck, I guess??


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

mom said:


> Man do you have a place for all the little ones your going to have? Yes it is neat to have your fish have wee ones but the buggers will just keep having more & more & more AND MORE! I've got a pair of cons in with my 15in. Oscar so now I usually only have a few of the little ones to find a home for. Good luck, I guess??
> [snapback]969841[/snapback]​


when mine get about an inch or more, they end up in the piranha tank, i save a few in the 55 gal incase the breeder male or female die, but i have an unlimited source of feeder fish! I'll put about 50 babies in my piranha tank at once, and some will live for more than a month and they get pretty big, then i dont see them any more. haha


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

damn i hope they breed soon.. its been months w/o any babies....

i have a bunch of extra tanks and plus i will put a bunch into the piranha tank hehe


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> damn i hope they breed soon.. its been months w/o any babies....
> 
> i have a bunch of extra tanks and plus i will put a bunch into the piranha tank hehe
> [snapback]971404[/snapback]​


im gona pick up some cons today and when they breed. thats exactly where mine are going. my rhom is lonley. he needs friends.


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

u want me to ship you some?

I have no idea how to ship fish, but i have hundreds swimming around, i have babies, older babies, and some about 3 or 4" long.

Free, if you pay postage


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

shipping would be too expensive tho dont you think?


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

mauls,

wat are ur conditions like? did u start off w/ only a breeding pair?? how large was the tank and wat decorations, housing was in it??

i am sooo puzzled why mine havent bred and its been months


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> mauls,
> 
> wat are ur conditions like? did u start off w/ only a breeding pair?? how large was the tank and wat decorations, housing was in it??
> 
> ...


Umm, i just put a mature male (formed hump) on the forhead (he was about 5" long, but they dont have to be that big) , and i put 2 mature females (they were about 3 or 4" long) in a 20 gal tank, pretty bare tank, just a big rock slate, laid diagionally and a few other pieces of rock slate, they always lay there eggs on this slate. When there breeding, they store a bunch of food in the corner of my tanke, and dig out all the rocks, and get ready to lay the eggs. (atleast in my tank) I will get my camera out tomorrow and take some pics of the tank setup and of the breeder pair. I have actually gone through 2 femals now, they died i think the male killed them, but they both had about 4 batches of babies a piece, then i just throw another female in the tank and they had there first batch of babies this last week or so.

Also make sure your water is pretty warm, and your fish must be comfortable and happy, if there stressed they wont lay eggs, (bad water conditions, or if they feel threatend of any other fish) Just my opinion.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

my one female con has had a pretty large belly for a month or so.... but hasn't laid any eggs.. .it looks as tho she is pregnant... but i guess it isnt

any ideas wat it could be?

i will try to take some pics of her and possibly the tank as well...


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

here is a picture of my convict tank....

i used to have them in a hexagonal tank.... lately, i have put them into this better environment...

i want them to breed!! hehe


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

and here is the female convict i was talking about....

it has a large belly as if she is pregnant... but it has been like this for months and she hasnt laid any eggs so...


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

i've never seen any of mine that had a big belly, i dont think that means there pregnant, but maybe i just missed it or something. Give it time man, make sure your heat is right and the water conditions, be patient it will happen, and once it does, it wont stop haha. I have feeder fish for life!


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## rainydaze (Feb 10, 2005)

Also, you might notice her moving some gravel around to clear a spot for her eggs.


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

ya mine always move all the rocks away to the bottom of the tank, and they store food there also.


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## cmsCheerFish (Dec 17, 2004)

i read freeze's topic, so my 2 solitary cons hopefully breeding pair btw will not breed in my 15 gallon tall?


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

how does my setup look like tho?? do you think the setup is good enough?

there are 2 males and 2 females inside the 20 gallon... it has fake plants, clay pot home, other decorations...


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

they look very happy in the tank too... as they swim all over the place and play w/ the bubbles


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

anyone?


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

it looks fine, my setup is pretty bare, i will take a pic for you, its a 20 gal with some slate and another rock.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

ya id love to see ur tank


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> ya id love to see ur tank
> [snapback]980869[/snapback]​


ok consider it done, the pic will be taken tomorrow, like i say the convict tank isn't anything special but i'll show you a pic, maybe give you an idea how to set yours up and hopefully they'll breed


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

Ok here are pictures of my breeder convicts and my tank like i said its just a 20 gal, and pretty simple setup, hope you enjoy.
Tank shot:








Male Convict:
1:








2:








Female Convict:








Here is where they always lay eggs, i drew a diagram:









They always lay there eggs on the back of that slate, where i drew the red circles, when they do that, they move all the gravel out of that corner (the red arrows) and they store food at the bottom of that slate (the green lines) Sorry my art work sucks hahah.

Hope this helps man, if you look closley in those pics you can see a batch of babies swimming around. In a few weeks i will put them in the other 20 gal and they will breed again!


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

is the slate necessary for breeding?


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

no, but i would recomend it, its an awsome spot for them to lay there eggs, but they can lay them anywhere, mine just always choose that spot


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

haha herse my new cons


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

ive noticed my cons are moving the gravel a lot...... i wonder if that means anything


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## mattd46612 (Mar 8, 2005)

Could it possibly be that your watching them wayyy to closely adn it is stressing them out and causing them not to breed?


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> ive noticed my cons are moving the gravel a lot...... i wonder if that means anything
> [snapback]986789[/snapback]​


Yea thats a good sign, they are making a nest or home so lay eggs and store food. Atleast thats what mine do.

Good luck man


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

mattd46612 said:


> Could it possibly be that your watching them wayyy to closely adn it is stressing them out and causing them not to breed?
> [snapback]986795[/snapback]​


wat are u talkin bout?? its not like im watchin them 24/7....

i jus take a look whenever i feed them which is once a day....


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

lol, just keep looking for eggs man, my female just laid more eggs, and they still have thre fry in there, now i have to take them out before the parents kill them. And there going to be so hard to catch because they are so small.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

i heard for cons the fry can live w/ the parents


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> i heard for cons the fry can live w/ the parents
> [snapback]992947[/snapback]​


they can, but once they lay eggs again, like mine did, they will kill anything that they feel threated by, which could be fry swimming close by the eggs.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

im gettin a new 80 gallon tank...... once that comes, i am gonna upgrade my con tank from a 20g to 33 g.....

hopefully the two couples will breed there hehe


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

YAY! my cons bred!!! wow its crazy seeing sooo many little guys swimming around!

can i leave them in there w/ the parents?? i was thinkin id leave em in and jus treat it like normal... then take them out in a couple months when they get larger


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> YAY! my cons bred!!! wow its crazy seeing sooo many little guys swimming around!
> 
> can i leave them in there w/ the parents?? i was thinkin id leave em in and jus treat it like normal... then take them out in a couple months when they get larger
> [snapback]1022139[/snapback]​


Yes leave the fry with mummy and daddy.As any cichlid lover would tell you cons make great parents and as you said once the fry start growing you can remove them,chances are though your cons will probably lay 2nd batch in few weeks or can even be sooner in some cases,if this is the case you will need to remove fry straight away as the parents will start to look after this new batch and may kill the fry from the 1st.Make sure you only feed the fry once they are free swimming as they are still feeding form yolk sac.these little guys will eat most fry food









BEWARE...if you want to keep your cons breeding,never remove one of the pair from the tank as thier bond might be broken and male could kill female.This is what happend to me


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

i dont have fry food...

wat can i feed them?


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> i dont have fry food...
> 
> wat can i feed them?
> [snapback]1022274[/snapback]​


You can give them finaly crushed flake foods,but make sure the pieces are not to big for them to swallow,But you realy should head to LFS and get some fry food anything from mosquito larvae or daphnia or baby brine shrimp.


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## mauls (Mar 25, 2004)

yea like he said, convicts are very good parents and leave the fry with the parents until there big enough to catch, or you can leave them as long as you want.

ALso you dont need fry food, just take flake food and crumble it up with your fingers until real small pieces.

Congrats!!!! they finally bred!


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

thanks!

can it be tropical flakes??


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> thanks!
> 
> can it be tropical flakes??
> [snapback]1025480[/snapback]​


yes,but make sure the pieces are realy small,remember,these small little dudes dont have big mouths.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

how many are expected to die out of 100?

cuz i dont see as many


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> how many are expected to die out of 100?
> 
> cuz i dont see as many
> [snapback]1025882[/snapback]​


Do you have other fish in tank with breeding pair,becauseIf you do then chances are that some of the fry who stray from the next will get eaten.When my convict pair bred,the first batch was pretty large over 200+ and most lived because they were in tank alone and now im stuck because i cant sell them :laugh:


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## Novato (Jan 25, 2004)

Don't worry. they will eventually pair up and breed. I have three pairs breeding in the same tank right now and they even exchange partners once in a while.


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

Novato said:


> Don't worry. they will eventually pair up and breed. I have three pairs breeding in the same tank right now and they even exchange partners once in a while.
> [snapback]1026876[/snapback]​


I bet they have a big orgy.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

nooo!!! i think the babies all got eaten or somethin!! 
i cant see em anymore...

also, there are 3 other cons in there and when the babies were around the parents were very aggressive and the other cons stayed on the other side of the tank.. but now they are all swimming together again and i cant see the babies...

i duno wat happened and why??? noo!!!


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> nooo!!! i think the babies all got eaten or somethin!!
> i cant see em anymore...
> 
> also, there are 3 other cons in there and when the babies were around the parents were very aggressive and the other cons stayed on the other side of the tank.. but now they are all swimming together again and i cant see the babies...
> ...


Sometimes fish can be so over protective they end up eating thier own fry,this is what could of happend.


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

damn i hope they breed sometime soon again!!

next time should i remove the fry ? or should i do somethin differently?

it took me too long to get this first batch..... it was finally after months and months and months that they bred!


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## dan-uk (Oct 31, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> damn i hope they breed sometime soon again!!
> 
> next time should i remove the fry ? or should i do somethin differently?
> 
> ...


yes as soon as the fry are almost free swimming you can remove the fry,also if you want you can remove other cons from tank so the parents might have easier time in raising thier fry.Remember also this was thier first batch so they are inexpearienced in parenting.


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## King Oscar (Apr 5, 2005)

dude once the eggs are fertilized just remove them from there in a different tank they will be alot safer like that


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

ok they jus bred again!! this time in a different spot...

im not sure wat to do... some of u guys have said the fish will get better at parenting with experience and some say i should take them out...

if i am to take it out, i would need a net that has very small holes and wat precautions would i need to take?? i dont wanna kill the babies..... obviously the water would have to be the same..... etc....

wat do u think i should do?


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

heres a pic btw...


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