Having trouble getting my Convict cichlids to breed

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Chaseg53

Chaseg53

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2017
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I have a male and female convict Cichlid in a 15-20 gallon tall with some Danios as dither fish. I have seen them interact and "dance" with each other multiple times, even going in the flower pot together every once in awhile. For whatever reason they won't breed. The males smaller so it almost seems like he's intimadeted or something by her because sometimes he starts showing off and then he will run away if she approaches him or try's to "dance" with him. They aren't aggressive with each other either or nip at each other, they just won't lay eggs. I have read a few threads on here but still haven't had success, my last thing I think I can do is put them in a bigger tank, give it time, and see what happens
 
Chaseg53 said:
put them in a bigger tank, give it time, and see what happens
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I think this is your best bet. I've had convict breed in some terrible conditions, for example we had a tank outside under the carport in winter, power went out for ages and by the time it came back on the cons had spawned. They should of been dead but no, not convicts :rolleyes:

The fact that they're not breeding makes me think that maybe they just need more time. How long have you had then together? How big/old are they?

Also, you say 15-20gal, that's a difference of almost 20ltrs, so is it 15gal or 20gal? Not that it makes much difference but it always helps to know how much your tank holds. If you're not sure exactly how much it holds measure the length, width and height of the tank and put those measurements into the tank calculator and you'll have a rough tank volume. :)
 
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Kittiee Katt said:
I think this is your best bet. I've had convict breed in some terrible conditions, for example we had a tank outside under the carport in winter, power went out for ages and by the time it came back on the cons had spawned. They should of been dead but no, not convicts :rolleyes:

The fact that they're not breeding makes me think that maybe they just need more time. How long have you had then together? How big/old are they?

Also, you say 15-20gal, that's a difference of almost 20ltrs, so is it 15gal or 20gal? Not that it makes much difference but it always helps to know how much your tank holds. If you're not sure exactly how much it holds measure the length, width and height of the tank and put those measurements into the tank calculator and you'll have a rough tank volume. :)
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I need to measure it and see, good point. It's been over a month they have been together. The female is older, I have had her over a year and a half and my freind that had her before that had her for about the same time or longer. I haven't measured them but I would say female is 3 inches and the male is about 2. I'm not sure how old he is but he's breeding size.
 
Chaseg53 said:
I need to measure it and see, good point. It's been over a month they have been together. The female is older, I have had her over a year and a half and my freind that had her before that had her for about the same time or longer. I haven't measured them but I would say female is 3 inches and the male is about 2. I'm not sure how old he is but he's breeding size.
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They're definitely old enough to breed then. Honestly I couldn't tell you why they won't breed. Convicts are like guppies, usually all it takes for them to breed is male + female + water and voilà! Babies. :eek:

May I ask why you want them to breed so bad? Most people try to avoid them breeding, not encourage it :P Unless you have larger fish to feed the fry to you'll very quickly find yourself overpopulated with convicts and most shops won't take convicts as trade in or even accept them as donations.

Just something to consider if you haven't thought of it. I get that its fun and interesting to watch fish spawn and raise fry, but if you're unable to get rid of the babies then you really need to reconsider what fish you want to spawn. :)
 
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Kittiee Katt said:
They're definitely old enough to breed then. Honestly I couldn't tell you why they won't breed. Convicts are like guppies, usually all it takes for them to breed is male + female + water and voilà! Babies. :eek:

May I ask why you want them to breed so bad? Most people try to avoid them breeding, not encourage it :p Unless you have larger fish to feed the fry to you'll very quickly find yourself overpopulated with convicts and most shops won't take convicts as trade in or even accept them as donations.

Just something to consider if you haven't thought of it. I get that its fun and interesting to watch fish spawn and raise fry, but if you're unable to get rid of the babies then you really need to reconsider what fish you want to spawn. :)
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I planned on using them as feeders for my Peacock bass. I had the female for awhile and one day I saw a nice looking male so I thought about it and decided it would be smarter to just breed my own healthy feeder fish. I didn't expect it to be this hard from all that I read but whatever, it's a learning experience. I'm just gonna set up a bigger tank for them and see if that helps!
 
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Bigger tank might help, they might also just need a little more time, 1 month is not all that long. I would also ask what your water parameters are- convicts are not picky about pH or temp, but if there is high nitrate or something like that they may be uncomfortable
 
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