How to maximize nuchal hump

[BlackLagoon]

Just a quick question, which of the following methods will bring out a fish's nuchal hump to it's maximum size?
1. Only one cichlid in tank.
2. Add one smaller sized male that he can continually dominate
3. Extreme over crowding so he continually pumps up his aggresiveness and hormone levels

 

[Sarah88]

nuchal hump is all about dominance and diet, so keeping it in a tank by itself where it can grow into an aggressive glass banger is def one way, or just have it with tankmates where it is the boss of the tank, a mate will also bring out the best nuchal hump since he will have someone to show off for, and of course i nice varied diet with plenty of fresh stuff like insects and shrimp

 

[Octofasciata Aficionado]

Enzyte, seems to work for Bob.

 

[thedarkone]

a mate will also bring out the best nuchal hump since he will have someone to show off for

I personally think that the best way to bring out a Nuchal hump is to have a female in your tank. Nothing will make a males hump grow like the thought of breeding.

 

[BlackLagoon]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I cannot add a female because they might shred my pleco to pieces if they start breeding. The tank gets about one to two hours of direct sunlight in the afternoon so the pleco is needed to control any algae from growing out of control.

Do you think it will be better if I just remove the other two males with him? He dominates both of them but I can't see any effect on him. It's already been two weeks and I can't see an improvement. One of the males is starting to stand up to him, nothing serious though, just flaring and chasing.

 

[Modest_Man]

Genetics plays a large part as well. Some fish just won't get them while others get huge ones in less than ideal conditions.

 

[BlackLagoon]

Genetics plays a large part as well. Some fish just won't get them while others get huge ones in less than ideal conditions.

Yep that's right. I get the genetics and the diet part right. I am starting to think that mine doesn't have the proper genes to get that nuchal hump but I will try everything first before I conclude that he hasn't got what it takes.

 

[Sarah88]

how often do you do water changes? if your tank only gets that amount of sunlight the algae shouldnt be that bad as long as the water is clean, and IME nothing get rid of algae better than just keeping the water clean, and especially if it is a common pleco they are actually really inefficient algae eaters, you would be better off just doing more water changes and using good ol' elbow grease and scrub off any algae, also what kind of fish is it and what size is your tank? not all cichlids get nuchal humps

 

[BlackLagoon]

how often do you do water changes? if your tank only gets that amount of sunlight the algae shouldnt be that bad as long as the water is clean, and IME nothing get rid of algae better than just keeping the water clean, and especially if it is a common pleco they are actually really inefficient algae eaters, you would be better off just doing more water changes and using good ol' elbow grease and scrub off any algae, also what kind of fish is it and what size is your tank? not all cichlids get nuchal humps

I do a weekly 50% WC. My common pleco does a very good job removing the brown algae that grows on the rocks and the glass. It's a pink convict currently at 4" I guess. And it's in a 35G tank together with the pleco and some small barbs and two other small male cons which I just removed a few hours ago. It's diet is some flowerhorn pellets and flakes and an occasional treat of freshly peeled shirmps.

 

[Natalie]

Okay, I thought you were talking about another species this whole time. Convicts are funny, because many male convicts are never going to get a nuchal hump no matter how hard you try. I'm sure genetics play a role, and also the personality of the individual fish. I have a 5" male con who's almost 4 years old and he's in his own 40g tank with some barbs, and he has no nuchal hump. I would love for him to get a nuchal hump, I just don't think it's in his destiny.

The only time he ever developed a nuchal hump was when he was spawning with a female con, and even then it was tiny compared to the average nuchal hump you see on, say, a male Midas or Green Terror. I would say that, on average, male convicts don't develop the pronounced nuchal hump that some other species do. A small portion are certainly capable of it (see the thread "Old, Old Convict"), but unfortunately many never will.

Edit:
Here's a picture of my convict now, and another from when he had his nuchal hump. Nothing to write home about...