How to maximize nuchal hump

[Aquanero]

I agree with genetics, some "got it" some don't. All the suggestions made will bring out the best nature gave him, but in the long run it is what it is.

Yesterday I went to Petsmart to get some fish food and looked in all the tanks like I always do and saw a little 2.5" Con with a nice nauchal hump. I wasn't looking for one but for $3.00 I grabbed him. Coolest looking little Con I've seen in a long long time. He looks like "Honey I shrunk my Midas". I'm working now but when I get home I'll try to get a good Pic and post it. I even got him a girl friend.

 

[BlackLagoon]

Okay, I thought you were talking about another species this whole time.

Convicts has been my favorite. Your marble convict looks great! What do you call that fin variation? Veil tail or long fin?

I agree with genetics, some "got it" some don't. All the suggestions made will bring out the best nature gave him, but in the long run it is what it is.

Yesterday I went to Petsmart to get some fish food and looked in all the tanks like I always do and saw a little 2.5" Con with a nice nauchal hump. I wasn't looking for one but for $3.00 I grabbed him. Coolest looking little Con I've seen in a long long time. He looks like "Honey I shrunk my Midas". I'm working now but when I get home I'll try to get a good Pic and post it. I even got him a girl friend.

I also agree with the genetic stuff, but before I give up on him getting a nuchal hump I will first try every thing that I can just to see. He is now the only cichlid in the 35G with 6 tiger barbs and a pleco, this would probably be my last try n getting him to hump up to his fullest.

Let's see that tiny "Midas" of yours. I would love to see that tiny hump on that tiny thing. I will also post a picture of some of my Cons too.

 

[Natalie]

Convicts has been my favorite. Your marble convict looks great! What do you call that fin variation? Veil tail or long fin?

Thanks he's actually just a normal marble convict. Older males tend to grow long "trailers" on their tail if they don't have someone else picking at them. It's taken several years for his tail to get that long.

 

[importracer]

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

Stick a mirror on the side of the tank so he can fight all day with it....The "rush" will cause a harmone rush to its head after awhile, pumping it up.....Feed him a variety of feed.....Lots of krill, cocktail shrimp, different blends of pellet(Hikari is the best), flakes.........Do a 50% water change every week.......QWithin seix months, you should have some bulk to that head....If there is no change, you either have a female or a male with non-nuchal hump genes.........

 

[BlackLagoon]

Stick a mirror on the side of the tank so he can fight all day with it....The "rush" will cause a harmone rush to its head after awhile, pumping it up.....Feed him a variety of feed.....Lots of krill, cocktail shrimp, different blends of pellet(Hikari is the best), flakes.........Do a 50% water change every week.......QWithin seix months, you should have some bulk to that head....If there is no change, you either have a female or a male with non-nuchal hump genes.........

I've tried the mirror thingy but it didn't work. I think he's afraid of his reflection.
I added a female HRP from my other tank today. They seem to get along quite well. Let's just see what happens. Here he is btw:

I just hope that I can still pump that cute little hump up even more.

 

[sfdvlam]

Blacklagoon, the small hump there will grow big when he is older. He looks like under 1yr old?

 

[livebearerfreak]

after adding my 1 inch female pink con to my tank i have my 2 inch blac male in he grow a hump within a day and its really noticable. so try adding a female ( you can always remove the eggs after there laid to lessen the aggression )

 

[drrobertprice]

The reason many Convicts only show nuchal humps before mating is that the nuchal hump is of two part composition. The permanent hump is a genetically determined fat deposit, as in Flowerhorns and Midas Cichlids. The pre-spawning enlarged or temporary hump is the result of hormonally influenced edema (water retention) and gets much smaller after the breeding season in Convicts and other small-hump cichlids. Any cichlid needs a proper diet and water conditions to maximize its kok size, but the existence of the structure is a genetically determined phenomenon.

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...