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Hey everyone,

I think I have a pair of convicts, but im not completely sure if they are male and female. They act like a pair, they are always arond each other, but I can't tell 100% if they are male and female. My question is, the one I suspect is a male has no gold or orange on him, he is completely black and grey, with a pointed dorsal fin. The one I suspect is female is a pink convict, which has very vibrant colors comnpared to the other. "she" has a very orange belly with blue fins, and I think I see some gold on the underside, but im not 100% sure on that either. I was trying to compare the fins, but when it says that the female's fins are more round, does that mean they are completey round, or just more round than the males? Because "hers" are still a little pointy but less sharp looking than the males. And does a pair of comvicts constantly stay together like a pair of angels, or do they separate some times?

Thanks


Last edited by GRimZ at 03-Dec-2005 23:03

Sounds like a pair to me, but if you can post a picture, we'll be able to tell for sure.

______________
Cake or death?

yeah i'm trying to get a picture, the problem is that they arent coming out too good, but I'll try right now. You cant see the male at all really, beacuse he is black. Will turning the flash on freak them out?

Sorry about these pics, they aren't very good, but I hope they'll be ok.

Pics of the "female"
http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00231.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00451.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00521.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00201.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00471.jpg

Pics of the pair together:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00671.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00451.jpg

Pics of the "male"
http://photobucket.com/albums/a201/GrimZ1113/?action=view&current=PICT00601.jpg



Last edited by GRimZ at 03-Dec-2005 23:27

GrimZ,

Really sound to me like you have a pair. I have the same set up as you (pink female, black male). From the looks of your female it looks like she is about ready to spawn. My pink female gets the same color when she is getting ready. If you look at the fishes anal area I bet you see a little tube sticking out. Keep a close eye on them.

I have a few questions for you.
Tank size?
Fish size?
Tank mates?

If you have a smaller tank...say a 20 gallon and you have other cichlid tank mates you might have a death match at hand. Convicts even though they may be small with take out much bigger fish.

Good luck!

My Convits and some fry of theirs!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Hey,

My tank is 29 gallons, and they are the only 2 fish in the tank, besides 2 other smaller convicts I bought. The pair two are about and inch and a half to 2 inches, and the other two are about and inch.





Last edited by GRimZ at 03-Dec-2005 23:42

Your other two might be in trouble but keep an eye on them. the males will get much larger than the females.

5-6 inches Male
2-3 inches Female

Being that they are all small you probably wont have too many problems yet. Once the males start getting big look out. They will tear eachother up! (male to males that is)

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

thanks for the info, I actually have another 29 gallon tank directly below that one, so I will most likely set it up again and put the other 2 in there, beacuse I have read that the pair gets very aggressive. Do you think they are mature enough to breed?

Last edited by GRimZ at 03-Dec-2005 23:47

If you have a female that is about 2 inches long probably. The Male might be a bit too small but they might try.


55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

ok, thanks a lot for your help, Im going to try to see any tubes, and I'll keep watching them to see what they do. They keep going in a hollow skull decoration I have in there, so maybe that will be their spawning spot?

EDIT: I just checked for tubes and I do see them. The females is more elongated and hooked, and the males is shorter

Last edited by GRimZ at 03-Dec-2005 23:52

Sounds like they are more than ready to spawn. They really like nice closed caves to spawn in. Have you ever watched them spawn before? It is pretty cool to watch. The male will guard the outter area and the female with hang close the the eggs. Good luck and have fun.

P.S. Convicts are known as the rabbits of the cichlid world. Once you get a mated pair they will spawn about every 3 weeks.

Last edited by Wingsdlc at 04-Dec-2005 00:03

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Thats awesome, I really hope they do spawn. I've bred livebearers, and made many, many attempts at breeding angels, but have had no success. I have had a pair of FW parrotfish breed for me, but the eggs always got eaten, and the male recently died, it bummed me out a lot. So now I figure I'd start fresh at breeding egglayers, and I have heard these are easy to breed, so I'll breed these for a while and onec I get the hang of it I'll try angels or other cichlids again. Thanks a lot for everything, you helped me out a lot.

Glad I could help you out. I have been a Convict fan since I was about 8 years old (now 23 working on 24). Cichlid breading is way more fun than live breeders. Good luck and keep us updated!!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

GrimZ,

So whats been going on?? Have they spawned yet? Mine did this morning but my pleco got all the eggs. He is becoming a bit of a rough neck in the tank. Being that he is a 7 inch tank of a fish.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric