Convict fry! help...!

s9601694 · 08-29-2011, 04:39 PM

I have a 54 gallon corner tank with 6 Sumatra barbs, 1 JD, 2 Convicts. The JD and the larger convict are about 3.5 inches, the smaller one is about 2.5 and the barbs are all around 1.5.

I have been looking around for a 75gallon + for the JD and the Convicts so that i can stock the corner with a large school of cardinals and some more barbs.. I just wanted the ciclids out of the corner before they go too big and they started irritating eachother.

Anyway.. just came home and to my surprize saw about 50 tiny fish swimming around, feircly guarded by the two convicts. Especially the larger one charges the school of barbs (who seem to be fine with dodging him), and the JD is hiding out. Needless to say that a once calm tank is now pretty chaotic.

I am not really looking to become a convict breeder and was hoping i got a pair of the same gender.. Hard to tell when they are little.. but, as it turns out i didnt.

What do i do? if i leave it alone, will the JD end up eating the fry when he gets a chance? will the parents stay so aggressive? Will the JD be ok? I cant get a new tank established soon enough to seperate the fry and convicts..

one more thing about my 54 corner tank: lots of drift wood with lots of hiding spots.

GreatLakesAquaria · 09-18-2011, 08:31 AM

The parent will stay that aggressive so long as they have fry. Likely the fry will get picked off by tankmates over time. Once convicts start spawning the only way to stop them is to separate the male and female. You should get a new batch of fry about once a month.

Tiw · 10-01-2011, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s9601694

I have a 54 gallon corner tank with 6 Sumatra barbs, 1 JD, 2 Convicts. The JD and the larger convict are about 3.5 inches, the smaller one is about 2.5 and the barbs are all around 1.5.

I have been looking around for a 75gallon + for the JD and the Convicts so that i can stock the corner with a large school of cardinals and some more barbs.. I just wanted the ciclids out of the corner before they go too big and they started irritating eachother.

That is a great idea! Because your convicts will eventually start killing or stressing the barbs as will the Jack Dempsey. The barbs will be seen as trespassers on both the convicts and the Jack Dempsey territories. The barbs may seem fast enough now to get away but they will eventually fall victim to one of the cichlids.

Anyway.. just came home and to my surprize saw about 50 tiny fish swimming around, feircly guarded by the two convicts. Especially the larger one charges the school of barbs (who seem to be fine with dodging him), and the JD is hiding out. Needless to say that a once calm tank is now pretty chaotic.

I am not really looking to become a convict breeder and was hoping i got a pair of the same gender.. Hard to tell when they are little.. but, as it turns out i didnt.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your view. Cichlids tend to be the best successful breeders because of their parental care. It makes it harder for tank-mates to consume the fry. You also got the rabbits of all cichlids in the convicts and some of the best parents in the bargain. I would not even bet on the Jack Dempsey with a pair of breeding convicts. Eventually, the pair and their offspring will take over the whole tank as their territory and everything that does not get out of their territory in a timely manner [at least in the convict's version of what a timely manner is] they will be killed or so stressed from continually defending themselves from the convicts that they will eventually fall victim to some malady and no longer be able to defend themselves or just plain die from the secondary cause. Once the convicts have the tank to themselves then they will turn on themselves. I strongly suggest a species only tank with a breeding pair of convicts.

What do i do? if i leave it alone, will the JD end up eating the fry when he gets a chance? will the parents stay so aggressive? Will the JD be ok? I cant get a new tank established soon enough to seperate the fry and convicts..

one more thing about my 54 corner tank: lots of drift wood with lots of hiding spots.

The Jack Dempsey may get some of the fry but the chances are he won't get most of them and he will become an even bigger target of the convicts. Use a tank divider for right now until the fry get old enough that you might be able to trade them at a LFS for at least a little store credit. It will also be a defined border of each others territories that they cannot expand on and therefore protect the occupants from each other. Separating the convict pair is the only best bet of not having this occur again. But even in a larger tank with just the Jack Dempsey and the Convicts may not be enough room. The amount of territory each fish requires depends upon each fish and not just their size or species. One of them may believe that whole aquarium is their own personal territory [which in the wild may actually be a very small percentage of what their natural territory is] and everything residing in it is the enemy and they will not stop until every living thing is dead or gone.

08-29-2011, 04:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
s9601694 Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 66 Location: Colorado My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 3 Times Said "Thanks" 10 Times Was Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Convict fry! help...! I have a 54 gallon corner tank with 6 Sumatra barbs, 1 JD, 2 Convicts. The JD and the larger convict are about 3.5 inches, the smaller one is about 2.5 and the barbs are all around 1.5. I have been looking around for a 75gallon + for the JD and the Convicts so that i can stock the corner with a large school of cardinals and some more barbs.. I just wanted the ciclids out of the corner before they go too big and they started irritating eachother. Anyway.. just came home and to my surprize saw about 50 tiny fish swimming around, feircly guarded by the two convicts. Especially the larger one charges the school of barbs (who seem to be fine with dodging him), and the JD is hiding out. Needless to say that a once calm tank is now pretty chaotic. I am not really looking to become a convict breeder and was hoping i got a pair of the same gender.. Hard to tell when they are little.. but, as it turns out i didnt. What do i do? if i leave it alone, will the JD end up eating the fry when he gets a chance? will the parents stay so aggressive? Will the JD be ok? I cant get a new tank established soon enough to seperate the fry and convicts.. one more thing about my 54 corner tank: lots of drift wood with lots of hiding spots.

09-18-2011, 08:31 AM	#2 (permalink)
GreatLakesAquaria Fish Junky Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 14 Location: MI Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 1 Times Was Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Convict fry! help...! The parent will stay that aggressive so long as they have fry. Likely the fry will get picked off by tankmates over time. Once convicts start spawning the only way to stop them is to separate the male and female. You should get a new batch of fry about once a month. __________________ http://joefish.me

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