I have a question concerning convict cichlids comp. and elephant nose sel. 01/21/2008
<Ask away.>
Ok... Are elephant noses hardy fish?
<Not even close to being hardy. Among the most difficult freshwater fish commonly traded.>
What is the minimum tank size for one?
<On its own, likely around 150 l/40 gallons. They get pretty big if kept properly. In a community setting, much more space is needed, because they are territorial and their electric field does irritate some fish.>
Also, do they need to be put into groups, I was planning on getting just one.
<Elephant noses are best kept either singly or in groups of six or more. In twos and threes they tend to be unpredictable, and sometimes quite nasty to each other. Wild fish do live in schools though, so singletons are, unsurprisingly, rather shy (i.e., you don't see them most of the time).>
My other question is, are convicts really that aggressive, because I have friends who own these and they say they have had success keeping it with zebra Danios.
<Define "aggressive". Yes, Convicts are (for their size) very aggressive towards anything they deep as either a rival for nesting space or a potential predator on their offspring. So despite being relatively small cichlids, they are best kept in (big) community tanks that only include larger cichlids, such as Jaguars and Red Devils. On the other hand, in a spacious enough aquarium, Danios might well be ignored. The use of Danios and other surface-living fish has been widely documented among cichlid-keepers as sometimes beneficial. Such "dither fish" as Danios encourage the bottom-dwelling cichlids to stay out in the open more. So would such a combo work? Quite possible. Is it a good idea for the less experienced aquarist? Probably not.>
From your experience, are they really aggressive?
<I've kept Convicts in a 200 gallon tank with a Red Devil, a Jaguar Cichlid, some Firemouths, a Channel catfish and a Gar. They all got along fine. Read from that what you will, but I'd make the point that the Convicts were holding their own in a big tank filled with potentially aggressive and/or predatory tankmates.>
Will it be fine to keep it with n elephant nose?
<Absolutely not.>
Thanks for your time and thank you for your help.
<Happy to help, Neale.>

My convict... beh.    11/3/07
Hi WWM crew,
I just bought two small Convict Cichlids and they are not getting along too well, one is about 2 inches and the other about an inch. The smaller one has to stay in the floating plants so it doesn't get attacked. The other one rules the whole bottom of the tank including 4 houses and when the smaller one comes down, the bigger one chases her away. I noticed a few missing chunks of her tail but she doesn't seem to mind. What's weird is that the bigger one has the looks of a female, but the characteristics of a male, kind of an orange belly and a bluish tint to a few places including the fins and the lips, but an aggressive attitude. I was wondering what this is? Also the smaller one has kind of dull striping but I think that's just because she's so young, what would you recommend me doing? I don't know if I should take the smaller one back to the pet store or just leave them be? Please help
Jesse
<Hello Jesse. Cichlids are territorial and aggressive. A single male (which can get to around 15 cm) will attempt to monopolise even a very large aquarium. If you have two males, they will fight. Sexing Convict cichlids is notoriously difficult. While males *do* tend to be bigger and have longer fin rays, and females *do* tend to be more colourful, there is plenty of variation. This is why experienced Convict keepers recommend keeping 6 juveniles together and letting them pair off naturally. Once a pair has formed, you can remove the 4 leftover fish. So depending on the size of your tank you could either get a bunch more juveniles (not recommended in smaller than a 55 gallon tank) or else separating the two fish now to let them grow up some more. Sexing fish at the size you have them now is very unreliable. Even if you are right, and the small one is the male and the big one is the female, there's no guarantees they will "bond". Sometimes cichlids don't like each other. There's not much you can do about this except swap one of the fish for another fish. Cheers, Neale.>

Convict parents, repro.  10/14/07
Hello WWM,
<Frank>
My pair of convicts bred a little more than a month ago. The fry are doing well, as I have removed them from their parents and put them in a separate tank. However, now that the parents are by themselves (which they have been for about 2 weeks), they are starting to chase each other. Actually, just recently, the male has been fiercely chasing around the female. Is something wrong?
<Mmm, no... they're just spawning again>
Should I remove the female? There are no other fish in my tank. Thanks!
Frank
<Well... do you want to produce more young? It may seem cruel, but if the successive batches of eggs, young are left with the parents, this will slow down their rate of reproduction... Bob Fenner>

Bloated Jellybean Convict  9/27/07
I have a female jellybean convict who has successfully bred, but due to aggression of the male was moved to a different aquarium.
This female has recently blown up to a huge, uncomfortable looking state, she is not eating well and just sits in her cave gasping.
Her scales are not opened up so I don't think she has a disease. I am afraid to move her back to the original aquarium in her "state" due to the aggressive nature of the other fish. Will she eventually lay the eggs with no male, absorb them or die? What can I do to help?
Thank You, Carolyn
< Your jellybean convict is a genetic mutation that has been bred to assume an unusual body shape. Unfortunately these body shapes have a tendency to create internal deformities as well. One of which is severely bent intestines. The result of this seems to be food particles lodged in the intestines. These intestines then distend and swell as the internal bacteria begin to digest the food. The extension of the gut stresses the other organs to the point to where they no longer may function. I recommend placing the fish in a clean hospital tank and treating with both Metronidazole and Nitrofuranace.-Chuck>

Growing convict fry – 09/01/07
Hi WWM!
How fast do convicts grow (if all conditions are normal)? I have a lot of fry from a spawning from a couple weeks ago! they are doing well. I'm just wondering how fast they will be growing. Thanks! =D
<Greetings. Cichlids generally reach a "saleable" size in 3-4 months, and will be at least sexually mature if not adult sized within 6-9 months. This varies somewhat from species to species, but other factors, specifically diet, aquarium space (i.e., water quality and aggression), and water temperature are also very important. But your convict cichlids will fit into this range, all being well. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: convict fry - 9/3/07
Dear WWM,
I read somewhere that convicts breed every 2-3 weeks? Will they breed again even if the last batch of fry are there? or will they keep on taking care of those fry?
<Convict cichlids, like most other cichlids, will spawn within days of their fry or eggs being removed. If they are left with their fry, then they will extend care to them for about 3-4 weeks, after which point the parents will become increasingly short-tempered towards the fry. Eventually the fry will swim away (or be killed, if the tank is too small) and the parents will spawn once more. It isn't a good idea to let the cichlids breed constantly because it will wear out the female especially. So leaving them with the fry for a while gives you a few weeks to "fatten up" the female before she breeds again. Cheers, Neale>

Female Convict non-male companion   7/25/07
Dear WWW Crew,
5 or 6 wks ago a co-worker had convict cichlids that were breeding out of control (go figure). He netted up the babies and got them sold/given away. He missed one little female and was going to just flush her. Sigh. Sounded heartless to me so I took her & set her up in a spare 20 gal. I always keep spare bio-wheel filters hanging on my main tanks so I can have a fully cycled tank for quarantine or for emergencies such as this (learned that the hard way). I used water & gravel from a cycled tank and she's doing great, about 2 1/2" long.
I've become pretty attached to the little orphan, her name is "Lifer". I wanted to name her "20 to Life" but was out-voted.
My sister told me about your web site and told me to search 1st, which I did. But it seems most people keep convicts as pairs and most the information was about breeding. I don't want babies but would really like some suggestions as to a 'companion fish' for her. (will be quarantined of course). Maybe one of the smaller catfish? How about another female Convict? Also, do you think a 20 gallon would be big enough for another fish? If not I'll just leave her in there by herself.
Thanks for reading this and thank you for your undying dedication to this web site. No doubt you've saved thousands of fish with your advice!
Amelia
<Hello Amelia. Territorial fish like Convicts don't become "lonely" in the way humans do. We're sociable animals that have evolved to live in groups, and when we're alone, we feel sad. Territorial cichlids, on the other hand, have evolved to defend their "patch" fearlessly from potential competition, and view any other cichlids as rivals to be expelled at once! So unlike humans, they get unhappy when forced to live cheek-by-jowl with other cichlids in a too-small aquarium. The only time they break this rule is when the find a mate, and even then the truce is often only temporary! So, your female Convict is just fine by herself. I personally wouldn't recommend adding any more fish to a 20 gallon tank containing a Convict, since they have the potential to be pretty waspish. But is she's still a baby and pretty docile, you could add an Ancistrus sp. catfish of similar size, just making sure there were caves aplenty so each fish could set up home comfortably. Cheers, Neale.>

Convict doing head spins, Convict Going Loop The Loop   8/23/07
Hi there. You guys really have a wonderful and quite often when I have the time I spend it here. I am relatively new to the hobby (about a year) and am quite fascinated with cichlids. I have 3 convicts, 1 male and 2 females. The male I have had since he was a toddler. The females I introduced later and there weren't any problems. It's been about 6 months and recently I think the one of the females and a male seemed to have formed a pair. They've been digging up the sand in a corner of the tank and they protect it as their own territory. My male convict suddenly started acting funny today. He started spinning quite energetically. Not horizontal in circles, but vertically, like he was doing head spins. I have seen fish with swim bladder problems and his spinning seemed too conscious to be a swim bladder problem, but I am no expert. He did this twice in a span of 10 minutes and after that he went back to being normal. I have been keeping an eye on him and he's not done
it again (over the last hour and a half). Am a bit flummoxed by the behaviour. Could you please throw some light on the above. Thanking you in advance, warm regards. Sujay
<It is not part of any spawning ritual that I am aware of. Never heard of this before. Check the water quality and offer some live food. Spawning can be stressful and you want to make sure your fish are in good shape.-Chuck.>

Re: Convict doing head spins   7/25/07
Thank you
Have been keeping an eye on him and he's not done it again.
Was wondering whether it could be the onset or symptoms of some internal energy?
Regards... Sujay
<Not sure what "internal energy" means in this context. But, as ever, keep an eye on water chemistry and water quality. Trying mixing up the diet a little, and offer some green foods and algae as well as the usual flake and bloodworms. Practically all cichlids eat some green foods, even if only incidentally to their normal diet, and just like any other animal, the vitamins and fibre in green foods are important. (Even cats, the most completely carnivorous animals on Earth, make a bee-line for the partially digested plant matter in the digestive tracts of the prey animals they eat.) When cichlids lose swimming ability, it's usually either environmental or dietary, so if you can cross those two things off, you've made a good start. The last time I saw "spinning cichlids" it was a tank full of baby Pelvivachromis taeniatus into which I'd poured some freezing cold water without thinking... they recovered within half an hour or so, but it was pretty scary to watch! Cheers, Neale>

Convict cichlids   8/19/07
Hello WetWebMedia crew,
I find your site very useful. I have a pair of convict cichlids, about 2.5 inches, and right now they are moving around gravel and digging pits and redecorating an area in the tank. And the female likes to stay in this little cave rock thing that I have set up. Does this mean that they're going to breed soon? do you know how long?
Frankie
<Yes, they're likely going to spawn soon. Spawning usually occurs within a couple of days of the fish pairing off and decorating their cave. But often cichlids will eat the first batch of eggs, almost as if they're "practising". But convicts generally make superb parents, and before too long you will have more baby cichlids that you'll know what to do with! Cheers, Neale>

Re: convict cichlids – 08/22/07
Hello WWM:
Yay, my convicts spawned yesterday! Why is it that the male convict doesn't really display his stripes or his "colors" as much as the female does? is it because there are no other fish/predators in the tank? (they are in a tank by themselves)
<Well, male convicts are less colourful than females anyway. But also remember the colours aren't there for your amusement, but for communication. When fighting over territory or flirting with potential partners, the colour patters will be used in different ways. When communicating to one another while guarding the fry, and eventually when communicating with the fry themselves, different colours are used. So for now, just sit back and enjoy cichlid behaviour. Cool behaviour is, after all, why anybody keeps these cranky, violent animals! Cheers, Neale>

How many convict cichlids can you fit in a 29 gallon tank - 7/23/07
Hello I just purchased a 29 gallon tank and I am interested in convict cichlids can I fit in there safely with extra filtration(35 gallons)
<Greetings. The issue isn't filtration but behaviour. Convict cichlids are very territorial and belligerent. While a matched pair probably would use a 29 gallon tank safely for breeding, putting two unmatched fish in there will lead to all-out war. Male convict cichlids can and do kill females that don't respond favourably to them. Read some of the FAQs on neotropical cichlids to see past experiences of others along these lines. The standard way to care for convicts is to buy six juveniles and then remove the 4 excess ones once a pair forms. Alternatively, you may be able to buy a matched pair from another breeder, but there's no guarantees the bond will stay in place once you move them to your tank. Just to reiterate the point: if you add a male and female to a small tank (or even a big tank) and they've never met, the male will probably kill the female. Hope this helps. Neale>

Re: How many convict cichlids can you fit in a 29 gallon tank – 07/23/07
what if I put all males or females in the tank with many separate caves and hiding places would they still attack each other?
<What, no "hello" or "thank you"? So much for manners... Anyway, it doesn't matter how many caves or hiding places you use. The convicts will attack each other. It's what they do. If you want fishes suited to a 29 gallon tank, then choose small things like tetras or Corydoras. Much safer. Even dwarf cichlids like Kribs are likely to want to take over something as small as a 29 gallon tank. Please buy or borrow a book about cichlids, and read the articles here at WWM before proceeding. Yours etc., Neale.>

Convict cichlids, comp.   7/11/07
Hi WWM! your site is very helpful. does a compatible convict pair get along as soon as they are introduced, or does it take a while for them to get used to each other and then they spawn? thanks Tim
<Oh boy, I wish people would take the effort to spell "thanks" in the traditional way. "Thanx" just screams "lazy self-absorbed teenager" to me! Anyway, no, convict cichlids do not "get along" straight out of the box. The best approach is to keep 6, and then let 2 pair off naturally. Introducing a male and female into a tank in the hopes of breeding often fails, to the degree the male kills an unreceptive female. Also, before trying to breed convicts, make sure you have a market for the fry. They are very fecund, and the fry are very very easy to rear. Few pet shops want hundreds of convict cichlids. Cheers, Neale>

Convictssss  7/8/07
Hi WWM Crew!
I recently bought 3 convicts (2 females, 1 male) and put them in a tank. The tank is clean with relatively new water. The male kept chasing the females viciously and seemed like he was biting them. Finally, i removed one of the females and put her into a secluded tank and she DIED !! after 3-4 hours...I quickly removed the other female also. Right now they are separated. My question is: Should I keep them separated until they show signs of breeding (i read about how to do "train" them) or should i put them together and just bear with the chasing and do water changes? Thanks!
Frank Ye
<Hi Frank. What you describe is 100% normal for convicts. Please have a read of the Convict FAQs over here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/convictfaqs.htm . And yes, you do need to separate them until the female is ready to spawn. Even then, introduce them carefully and watch for problems. A good tip is to use a divider of some sort (such as egg crate) with a hole cut in it big enough for the female but too small for the male. This allows her to swim to safety. There's really no way to "train" cichlids to do anything other than their normal breeding behaviours whether you approve of them or not. Much like humans really! Cheers, Neale>

Re: convictssss  7/8/07
Sorry, just one more question. I know you guys are busy replying to other people's emails. What kind of signs do they show when they are ready to spawn besides coloration on female? and also, coloration on males too? Thanks, Frank
<Hello Frank. There are no obvious signs that the female is ready to mate. All you can do is feed her well ("conditioning") on the best foods available. Live foods such as snails and mosquito larvae ideally, but also (wet) frozen bloodworms or similar. Once she is "in condition" she will look healthy and have a nice round abdomen. You can assume that any male in good physical shape and sexually mature will be willing to assume. Introduce the two fish into the breeding tank, the female first, and the next day the male. Watch closely. The bigger the breeding tank, the better your chances of a stable pair forming. I'd suggest 30 gallons for an as-yet unmatched pair of fish. Once a stable pair is formed, these fish breed readily and the fry are easy to rear. Be 100% sure you have somewhere to get rid of the fry. Most tropical fish shops can only accept a certain number of Convict cichlid juveniles. They are aggressive fish, and the quality of much of the stock in the hobby is poor, lacking the lovely colours (and impressive size) of wild-caught fish. You can easily end up with 100+ juveniles, and few retailers will take all of them from you. Cheers, Neale>

Re: convictssss 7/9/07
Do convicts have "good memory"? I had my male in the breeding tank for a little while and he seemed to have set up a territory. I removed him because he was attacking the female. When I put him back, will he remember? Thanks.
Frank
<Cichlids generally don't remember their territories *if* you move all the rocks and ornaments about. But simply taking the fish out and then putting him back a week later isn't certain to work. As I've said repeatedly, what you're experiencing here is normal with convicts and there's really nothing you can do to prevent it. You need to condition the female to the point where she is ready to breed, and *then* introduce her to the male. Anything else is likely to end in tears. Please, there are lots of good books on cichlids generally and Central Americans specifically. Go buy or borrow one of these. Cheers, Neale>

Re: convictssss– 7/10/07
One quick question. I don't have time to borrow books. What does it mean when the cichlid is wagging its "tail" at another one?
<Frank, don't take this the wrong way, but if you don't have time to sit and read a book, you probably don't have time to look after animals properly. Reading and learning isn't an optional extra, it's an essential part of the hobby. Anyway, cichlids waggling tails can mean various things. If accompanying other threat behaviours, like gaping and gill flaring, it's likely a sign of aggression. If the female is doing this in front of the male, it typically means she's inviting him to mate. If two males are doing this to each other but not otherwise being threatening, it's a dominance thing, and they're using the strength of the water current from the tail to judge who's the strongest. And so on. There are several books about fish behaviour out there, and many are focused on cichlids. Cheers, Neale>

Convict fry capabilities    5/7/07
Hello! WetWebMedia has help me tons on breeding my pair of convicts (THANK YOU!!!!) But I'm having a problem. I have had a breeding, as I was planning for. I have moved the mom into a holding tank for the period. My brother is getting rid of 2 Dojo Loaches, will those 2 be fine in my tank of fry?
< If they will fit in the dojo's mouth, then they will be eaten or the dojo's will attempt to eat them, depending how mobile they are.>
They are messy eaters, but with the loaches in the tank will eat the leftover droppings. So whatcha guys say? Hope these 2 will do well!
-Sean
< Dojo's are always eating. When the food is gone, they will go after the fry.-Chuck>

Hi, I have got a male and female convict who have babies which are about 3-5cm long and there are about 20 of them.    5/11/07
<Well done.>
What should i do with them and when how big till I can sell them?
<Ideally, rear them in another tank to a marketable size, but if you must keep them with the parents, double the rate of water changes. Cichlid growth is slowed down by dirty water, and so the more often you change the water in an overcrowded tank, the faster the baby fish grow. As for selling them, ask your retailer! Usually, 5 cm should be fine for them.>
Is it true that you can put them from cold water into warm water will it make the female have more babies?
<Never heard of that and sounds dubious. Cichlids hate cold water, and many will go into shock even if you pour too much too-cold water into their tank.>
Thanks
Jamie
<Cheers, Neale>

Baby convicts...    5/11/07
Thanks Neale for the reply but I forgot to ask you a question.
You said to put the babies in another tank last time they kept on dying one at a time.
<Greetings. Baby convict cichlids are generally easy to rear. If you're losing them, there's a few things that could be to blame. Water quality is obviously important, just as with adult fish. Don't dump them in an uncycled tank and assume they'll survive. If you need to, remove some mature filter media from the main tank and put in the filter in the breeding tank. A simple air-powered box filter is adequate and can be easily filled with filter floss or ceramic media from the mature filter. Regular water changes are *essential* when rearing baby fish. Diet is another issue: baby fish invariably need lots of small meals, at least 4 per day, often 6 is better still. Baby fish can easily starve to death. Many baby fish are tricky to feed, but convicts (like most cichlid babies) are easily reared on powdered flake food and liquid fry food. That's because they're somewhat omnivorous and don't need live baby brine shrimp or infusorians. The next issue is infections. At least until they are free swimming, newborn baby fish can be subject to things like fungus. Very small fry can even be attacked by things like snails and planarians, so keeping the tank clean is important. All things being equal, Convicts make *excellent* parents, so if you can, let them do the work for at least the first 2-3 weeks. In most cases, cichlids are better at looking after their eggs and fry than we are! Cheers, Neale>

Convict Cichlid Aggression    5/12/07
I put 2 convicts together but the female keeps running away but she has yellow all over her??????????
Blake
<Male convicts are larger with longer fins. Females usually have some yellow coloration on the stomach area. Males will usually dominate other fish, especially other convicts. Until the female is conditioned and ready to spawn he will continue to chase her and may even kill her if there are no places for her to hide.-Chuck>

The female convict is being picked on what do I do    5/12/07
<Hey Jamie, You started off so well by saying "thanks Neale" on your follow-up messages. Please don't disappoint me! Anyway, Fighting between convict cichlids is common and impossible to prevent. The best you can do is try adding extra females (if the tank is big enough) or install a tank divider with a gap small enough for the female to swim through but not the male. You can also try re-arranging the decor, as this sometimes "resets" the social structure. Adding extra decorations (flower pots for example) can work by giving the female somewhere to rest and also by breaking up the line of sight (what the male can't see, he can't attack). But worst case scenario and nothing works, remove the male and find another one, preferably smaller than the female, and try again. Cheers, Neale>

Convicts And Larger Cichlids  4/25/07 
Hi folks, great site!
< Thanks for the kind words.>
Currently I have a pair of convicts and a Pleco in a 29 gallon tank. Tank has a lot of rocks and hidey holes for everyone, and I'm running a Top Fin 30 and a Emperor 280 bio wheel. Convicts are about 2-3 inches and the Pleco is about 4-5 inches. I am currently looking to get an additional tank. A 55 gallon tank is more in my range, but I have my eye out for a 75 gallon tank for a good price. I would like to get a couple of larger cichlids for the new tank and keep the convicts where they are now. Option 1: I'm thinking of a tiger Oscar (had 'em before, loved 'em), a Jack Dempsey (same), and another Pleco in the 55. I know those 2 are pushing a 55 gallon, but I would put a lot of filtration and don't mind the effort.
< The Jack Dempsey would get as big as the Oscar if it was a male. The Jack would probably be the more aggressive of the two.>
Option 2: My other thought is to put the convicts, Pleco, and either one of the larger fish in the 55, then do something entirely different with the 29 (I'm liking a Malawi tank). Now, if I get the 75 gallon tank I know these are not an issue. What are your thoughts on my two options? Thanks! Billy
<If the convicts pair up, they would hold their own with any larger cichlid. A 29 gallon is pretty tight for a Lake Malawi cichlid tank.-Chuck>

Convicts Taking Care Of Fry  4/8/07
Hi guys, Thanks for the info it really helped and now I have at least 30 baby convicts in a seashell. But how long do the parents take care of the fry until they try to eat them?
<Usually a week after they are free swimming they are going to be eaten because the female is now getting ready to lay eggs again and she will need a nutritious meal so she can lay lots of eggs.-Chuck>

Convict Cichlid Egg Color - 03/25/07
Hi again guys and thank you for the info before my convicts now have little white eggs on a seashell in my tank. I was wondering if the eggs are supposed to be this color
<Dead eggs turn white, live eggs are a translucent brown color.>
and I was wondering if after the fry is born will my male convict go back to swimming with my Oscar fish? they did before.
< After spawning the male convict should be guarding the fry. Once the fry are gone the pair bond could be gone too and the male convict might not pair up again.-Chuck>

Keeping Cichlid Eggs Viable  03/26/07
Thank You yet again but I have one more question. What can I do to keep the eggs brown?
And I swear this is the last email for a while.
<When cichlid eggs are first laid they tend to be a translucent clear brown color. If the eggs are not fertilized in 24 hours they will turn white and begin to be taken over by a white water mold. This use to be commonly referred to as a fungus but recent work at Sacramento  State have shown this to be actually a water mold. The adults should be able to stay with the eggs and remove and dead or diseased ones. Clean warm water goes a long way to keep eggs healthy. The addition of some Methylene blue helps retard the water mold. If you continuously get no eggs to hatch then you could have a male that is not fertilizing the eggs.-Chuck>

Breeding Convict Cichlids   03/23/07
Hi Guys,
        I have two convict cichlids, one female and one male, and the females underbelly colors are almost like a rainbows color. She seems to be getting bigger and they always dig holes in my tank gravel together they really get along.
<Convicts usually present few problems for breeding once they've formed a pair. They usually make excellent parents.>
I was wondering if the female holds the eggs in her belly and if so how long until she lays them?
<She'll spawn when she's ready. Two things: be sure and raise the temperature slightly above normal (25C/77F+) to encourage spawning and also pay attention to diet. These are omnivores, so a mix of greens (chopped spinach, blanched lettuce, algae) and insect larvae will get the female in best possible condition. Alternate regular and vegetarian flake. Constipation is very common in omnivorous fish given exclusively carnivore diets, and will cause abdominal swelling that might be mistaken for eggs. Beyond that, breeding convicts should be straightforward and rewarding. They exhibit lots of parental behaviours such as parent-to-fry signals when alarmed. Enjoy! Neale>

Convicts and Oscars, repro.   3/14/07
Hi,
<Hello>
I stumbled across your website during a Google search and I found it very informative, however there are questions that I would like to ask about our convicts and Oscar fish.
<Okay>
Firstly, we have an adult size Oscar and recently introduced a much smaller Oscar into his tank.  These two fish interact with each other extremely well and we were wondering how we can determine if we have a breeding pair...
<Mmm, they'll make this known in time... by successfully reproducing... There is such a thing as two females laying eggs together...>
they seem very playful to each other and are always rubbing against each other but we would also like to know how we can tell the difference between a male and female Oscar?
<Posted... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/oscarreprofaqs.htm
and the linked files above>
  A friend told me that you can tell the male from the female if their tale fin and dorsal fin overlap.....I have done heaps of research online and I have never come across this information....is their any truth to it?
<Mmm, some... the unpaired fins on most Cichlid species are longer, more pointed in males than females... but individual care, early life history can alter appearances...>
Secondly, we have a pair of convicts which every couple of weeks lay eggs that never hatch.  This has happened about 4 times now.  The first couple of times the female ate the eggs but more recently the some of the eggs turned a "yellow" colour and then these little worm like creatures appeared all over the eggs.  The eggs have since been eaten but the wormy things still remain.  Can you tell me what this means and what we need to do to get our convicts to breed properly?
<Mmm... May be that there is some creature in your tank interfering here... I would move these fish to another system, and dump, clean the present tank... Perhaps bleach wash it and its contents... See WWM re>
Thanks so much for your time...
Peta and Simon
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Convict is pooping weird   3/3/07
I have a male and female convict about 3 inches each, they tried to have babies about one month ago and failed.  Days later the males poop started to turned white and stringy.  He stopped eating for about 3 days. After the 3 days he started to eat again and his poop went back to normal so I thought nothing of it.  Now about four days ago they laid a second batch of eggs and today they hatched and are hidden under a rock, but the male is pooping white again, and he also didn't eat this morning.  I have 3 other convicts in the tank and he still protects his territory, but when he wins the battle he goes right back to his spot and does nothing.  The female protects the babies all day and still manages to eat.  If it was a parasite then why would it go away and then come back,
<Maybe...>
that doesn't make any sense.  No other fish are displaying any of the same symptoms.  Thank you for you time.
<Does seem odd that the other Convicts aren't affected... If it were mine, I might treat all of these fish... with Jungle's Parasite product containing both Metronidazole and Praziquantel...
Bob Fenner>

Baby Convicts With Big Fish II
Ok I get your point but I really think they won't eat them.
<Your fish must be very well fed.>
I was able to raise 100 s of convicts in the tank under the same conditions it was the same kind of situation I bought 3 convicts and they never got bugged and well in time they had babies never ate any. They had like 6 more batches in the next 3 months. Man I had babies of all sizes and not a one got eaten. So that's where I am stuck. Was your guesstimate on the fact you know that they would get eaten cause they are jack d. and not convicts?
< Cichlids are opportunistic predators. This means they are pretty smart and won't pass up an easy meal. Just about 90% of the time the smaller convicts would be eaten or killed. You may be lucky. But on this website I still can't recommend placing smaller fish with much larger fish and expect them to survive.>
Or  that tiger Oscars will eat anything?
< Oscars are not as smart as the convicts and the smaller fish might get away with it. If they get eaten by the Oscars you are out four fish.>
Second of all if they did survive do you think having 4 jack s with my Oscars would work when they are full grown?
<When cichlids breed they pretty much take over the entire tank. You fish will go together for awhile, but if they breed you tank will not be big enough.>
And thanks for taking time to answer ... Tyler
< Next time correct your grammar. Spent way too much time fixing this email so it can be printed.-Chuck>