Breeding Convicts

[CatFishLady]

I have decided to make a new forum since none of my convicts are qt'd anymore!!!

This is the link that started all this: http://houstonfishbox.com/modules.ph...ewtopic&t=3129

Here's the latest:
I moved the pair and fry to the 29gal. The fry were fairly easy to catch and so was dad. Mom on the other hand, put up a fight causing me to completely tear up the 75gal!!! But all moved well and are healthy. They have been in the 29gal for about a week or so. I noticed on wednesday the fry are now going after flakes when I feed mom and dad!! The fry are still really tiny, no longer than a very short fingernail!

Last night I fed them and moved on to the next tank to feed the other fish. When I came back to check out the fry, one was kinda flopping and floating around (dying). I was devestated. I thought possibly it hadn't gotten enough to eat or the tank perimeters were bad?? Until my bf came and got me saying that Mom was trying to kill the fry...I literally ran in there and witnessed mom taking a serious nose dive into the group of babies  She was pounding them into the gravel, it's like she would take a "running start" and just ram them into the ground. Her color had turned from that pretty whitish to an almost navy blue color. After about 5 rams to the fry, Dad started running her off. :naughty: I ran to get the net and got her out Quick, stuck her back in the 75gal with the rest of the cons. As soon as I dropped her into the 75gal her color changed back to the whitish color??

Dad and fry are all okay in the tank now  

What in the world would've caused her to act that way towards the fry???

BTW: The male in the 75gal has gotten himself a female and they are breeding  

[Zulaab]

Re: Breeding Convicts

Convicts can be strange.. I am not 100% sure why my daddy convict will breed every week with a new female but he will not breed with the one that gave him young.. he breeds over and over with the 3 females that will eat their eggs, but number 1 (his first female in the tank, who gave him young) he will not even consider...  I dont know.. this is why I am taking away from of the extra females this week and pairing them up with other males so they may have some young soon :)

[Somefishguy]

Re: Breeding Convicts

Well the first 2-3 time my cons bred i know that the female would chase away the male(male was smaller). I guess out of spite or anger the male would pick off the fry each chance he got.

The next time the male ran off the female(he was now larger) and she did the same...

Took them about 5-6 times for them to work togeather till they got it right and the babies not get eaten.


Also it might be she is ready to breed again and is killing these guys off so she can protect he new ones.

[Hanson77]

Re: Breeding Convicts

Lets also remember that we are dealing with animals that don't quite have the intellect that you and I possess....LOL.

Some things are quite predictable and some are not.  If we all had the exact science down....we would all make a lot more money than we do now.

[CatFishLady]

Re: Breeding Convicts

Hmmmm..

I just found it odd how protective she has been throughout the entire process and then they start eating..she attacks them?? I haven't witnessed either parent eating the fry, nor have the fry lowered in number. Both stay extremely close and protective, even though they are now in their own take. I thought it was weird and didn't know if this was normal, abnormal...etc.

[edkrueger]

Re: Breeding Convicts

Here's another strange behavior, when my Texas [male] and my Convict Parrot mate and the fry get to be about an inch long they begin to attack the parents. The parents don't fight back.

[imagirlgeek]

Re: Breeding Convicts

What in the world would've caused her to act that way towards the fry???

Sounds like postpartum depression to me!   8O That's horrible!  We had convicts (4 pair) who were great parents...so great that we finally had to just give them away because we couldn't deal with the number of baby convicts they produced.  It was out of control.  And they always co-parented.  But I have NEVER heard of a convict parent going all psycho like that!!

[jabear32]

Re: Breeding Convicts

I had a pair that would breed every 6-8 weeks and in a tank that had 1 texas, 1 oscar and a JD the funny thing was the male was the one who was very nurturing and could keep all others away. Man he was aggressive and for that he didn't know how small he was compared to the others he would ward off.

[dblondfemme]

Re: Breeding Convicts

my pair of pinks have about 150 free swimmers at the moment....in a tank full of peacocks, mbunas and more.  They are awesome parents.  I think the last time they had fry I syphoned most of them up accidentally.  This time she will suck them up and put them into the cave... she will battle even a large iceburg that is 3 times her size.  The other fish are very low on the aggression scale so no one is being injured.  I just feel for my convicts...they are getting quite a workout.  It is interesting to watch the parents suck them up...especially when they aren't mouth brooders

[Zulaab]

Re: Breeding Convicts

Convicts are interesting because their parenting can differ from day to day it seems like we have seen here.  Reba have both your pairs breed for you or one of the two pairs ?

[dblondfemme]

Re: Breeding Convicts

Just one....
The other female could care less lol.  She has never even gone in a cave...
The breeding pair I have are gorgeous....full fins, no nips, full bodied.. he even fans out when someone approaches the babies or his mate.  He has really grown up.  I hope these babies make it...or at least a few.  I'm setting yet another tank up and I"m going to try to scoop some out.