Ok...so i seen the little convict in PetSmart about 4 months ago..she(researched) was missing her tail...and just as feisty as the other fish in the tank..holding her own...so every time i went in i looked at her..this time i went in and there convicts were on sale for 2$...and some chick was saying how cute the tailless fish is and it would fit in her bowl.......so i bought it..lol
i already had a tank up and running...a 35gallon witch she is in now until i do some tank swapping.

Iv never owned a convict before...this is my first, and im devoting a 22 gallon to her ^_^...here she is the first day home...

comments/suggestions welcome, and wanted!
ill have updated pics soon

They grow up to about 6-8 inches. Strange coloring. Their typical colors are gray and black. Very pretty though.

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)

yeah iv been doing allot of research on them...she is very bright and has allot of red compared to anything iv seen^_^

Her sides remind me of the coloring of some types of Oscars.

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)

yeah iv seen females with splashes of red on tummy..but never this much..and up in to her fins..

the biggest female Ive had was around 4 inches or so. I have always fed mine pellets and an occasional frozen blood worms. She may never see that tail again but will be fine. she is very nice and vibrant. Im sure happy to be in a bigger tank and less stressed.
here is my first pair from a while ago.

This is the latest couple, had them around 5 months now

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55 Gallon Planted dirt bottom,Reproducing colony of Heterandria Formosa(Least Killifish), 2 Dwarf Puffers, 5 or so Gambusia, 2 Swamp darters???, Several Wild P. Latipinna(Sailfin Mollies), a handful of Jordanella Floridae(American Flagfish), 1 Lepomis Macrochirus(Bluegill fry)

^_^ thank you!
shes only about 2 inches right now maybe 2 1/2..she was very feisty in the tank at the store so i think she will do fine^_^ im going to give her a few months to settle in and see about a smaller male...if she can handle her self ^_^ im in love so far!

the tail is fully healed..gone no mark at all she dose not seem to have any trouble getting around with out it and is eating like a little pig ^_^
and yours are lovely!

more pics! shes a little piggy and eats every thing! settling in well

the coloring just means that she is ready to lay some eggs. she only needs a male now. Females will have a redish/yellow belly and fins when they are ready to spawn

I have convicts. I have got to say, as well, that her coloration is beautiful! Mine are larger - about 4 inches and their color is typical. Grey, black and white. You came across a very pretty fish - congrats! Although my convicts don't have the beautiful coloration that yours does, I love them! They are great fish to keep! They all have a personality of their own - but also a temperament of their own too!! Just be careful if you do put her in a tank with others. I have female convict and a male firemouth together and they're best friends! I don't want babies anymore so it works out great! However, I have a male that has to be kept on his own. He wont even tolerate a female in his tank! Good luck!

really? she looked like that when i got her...and shes only about 1 1/2 inch long..can they breed at that size?

do you think she can hold her own agents a male?....
whats the minimum tank size for 2?

shes going in to a planted 22 gallon.

^_^ i love her colors, and shes such a little ham! i love watching her.

Is hard to believe i found her at PetSmart for 2$.. Im thinking she was from a little higher end spawn and ended up with tail damage..resulting in her lack of a tail, and they threw her in with the cheap batch?..

as long as the male isnt much bigger than her, she should be fine. they are ready to breed at a very young age, mine just spawned a couple of weeks ago and they were about the same size. i had only a female in there and i put in a male and the next day, there were eggs. they will continuously spawn though (i think every 4-6 weeks) and you will get hundreds of fry each time, so you might not want to get a male in there because it will overrun your tank rather quickly

hmm even with out a tail..?
neat when i get her tank moved ill get her a male! i have a Sculpin..that will gladly eat any and all babies ..she can go threw 20 1/4-1/2 guppies in about 5 days.

A sculpin!!!! I'd love to see a pic of that guy!!! I caught one of those about 15 years ago at the beach (tiny thing though LOL)

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10gal fry tank planted with Wisteria, Java Moss, Anuabis and Anacharis
35gal Sponge Bob tank with live bearing tropicals (daughters tank)
15gal planted with Swords, Java Fern, Wisteria and Red Rubin housing 10 fry and 2 bladder snails
55 gal with Oscar (future planted tank with angels and flowerhorns)
55 gal Community tank (platys, mollys, guppys, glass catfish, angels, phantom tetra, red eye tetra and swordtails)

..actually i have 5 i have a thread in the cold water section ^_^
Sculpin Tank

i have TONS more pics to ^_^

just make sure that the male isnt bigger than her. im not sure how she would be with the missing tail compared to the male. also if you take the babies away, don't take them all away right away because the parents will get very violent towards each other.

yeah that was my plan..find the smallest male to test..if it works great but ill keep a close eye on her..if the male gets to mean hes gone..this is all about her ^_^

though..being 1 1/2 inch she pushes my 6 inch pleco around...er so i dont think she will have any problems lol but ill watch closely anyway,
moving her tank with in the week or so ...she will be well settled in by then, after the move ill try the male^_^.
thank all of you for your help so far!

they will get rough when you put them together, so don't take the male out right away. just make sure it isn't deadly

will watch for that ^_^ it will still be a month or so before i get her a male.

more pics soon.