LA
Female convicts sport the gold flash on their bellies.
LA Pic
This pair dug out this feeder ring as a nest site.
LA
Pic
And this pair selected a snail shell in the corner as their starter home.
Natural
Rearing.
Since there are lots of convicts around, few convict keepers feel the need to up their
production by taking out and “saving” the eggs.
They let the parents care for them.
This is the real fun of fishkeeping -- watching convict cichlid parents herd
their babies around the tank. If
you try to clean their tank at this stage of the game, you will find out just
how protective the parents can get. Breeders will bite YOU.
Yes, they bite the hand that feeds them.
LA
1.5-inch female convict with newly hatched fry below her.
Surprise
Rearing.
Most convicts spawn before their owners know it.
You may notice all the other fish crowded into one end with the
convicts at the other. Or the
little babies may be out swimming around before you catch on.
Tank
Mates.
If convicts breed in a tank with other fishes, they will take one half
(or more) of the tank. The other
fishes will gladly give up the space (or die).
Once the fry start free swimming, the parents try to herd them
together. The other fish look for
opportunities to snipe them off one by one.
The little convicts don’t know enough to stay hidden.
The parents will usually protect more than enough of the little
varmints to continue the population. This
particular species reproduces so readily, that most convict keepers feed their
young to their other fishes.
Baby
Food.
Most egglayer fry eat only the tiniest live
foods.
Convicts will eat commercial foods from day one.
Just crush some of the parent’s flakes and give it to the babies.
Oddly enough, many parent convicts will chew up their food and blow the shreds out for
their kids. (At least it looks that way. Who knows?) Baby convicts also eat the tiny infusorians that live in the water. They will not starve.
If you want to see fast growth, feed them newly hatched brine
shrimp and/or microworms.
Watch their bellies turn orange as they pack in those baby brine
shrimp.
Baby convicts eat the frozen baby brine shrimps just as readily as they
eat live.
LA
Pic
Small fraction of a pink convict spawn.
LA
Pic
Riddle: Who are these 8" severum and adult jewels cowering
from?
LA
Pic
A pair of 2" convicts helping their 150 ¼" fry emerge from
their breeding cave.
LA
Pic
Just thought you might like seeing a mature male.
LA
Would you believe somebody traded in 11 of these lunkers -- all males.
LA
You also find marble jewels these days.
LA
Produced by convicts in a 55 with 50 other young cichlids.
LA
Pic
Keeping a green terror terrorized.
LA
They hatched, of course. The two convicts continue to beat up all comers
in their tank.
Conclusion.
Breed your convicts for fun but realize they breed too easily to be
reared commercially. Most wind up
as angelfish food.
LA
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1996, © 2003, © 2004, © 2005
LA Productions
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Sixth Avenue
Corner
of Sixth & Euclid Avenues
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Moines, IA 50313
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