Convict Cichlids info?

F

fishydude22

Banned
#1
Jul 14, 2003
273
0
0
35
Ottawa Ontario Canada
Visit site
#1
I was wondering if taking care of Convicts is easy or hard? Are they okay for a newbie?. What would be some good tankmates that won't bother them and vice versa. What can Convicts crossbreed with?. Because if I ever in my life decide I would like
to have an aggressive cichlid community tank and I have convicts and I see little fry wiggling,and their isn't a female convict, but their is a male convict and a female Dempsey for example. Then I might not have to "investigate" who the parents are.
 

Flex26

Flex26

Large Fish
#3
Apr 21, 2003
627
0
0
49
Delaware County, PA
Visit site
#3
IMO, convicts are easy to keep. Just keep your lid closed. My male jumped out of my tank. I didn't find him until he had suffocated. :(

Convicts breed like crazy. Just check out the cichlid discussion for some of Cichlid-Man's posts. It seems his pair is driving him nuts!! So, keep in mind that you will have many little convicts swimming around. And they are hard to get rid of....
 

420Loach

420Loach

Superstar Fish
#4
May 26, 2003
1,618
1
0
42
Makaha, Hawaii
Visit site
#4
i dont think they cross breed. i have a male dempsy and a female convict, they get along well together, but no fry.

Cons are pretty easy from what ive experienced, theyre a little TOO easy to breed(cons+water=con fry:D) unless you WANT baby cons, dont get a male and a female!:D

cons can go with alot of different cichlids and the larger ones like oscars. not sure about other types of fish, she doesnt seem to bother the gourami that lives in the tank, and at first she'd pick on the dempsy, bet she stopped when i made her her own cave. i like them over all, theyre a simple cichlid to take care of:D
 

F

fishydude22

Banned
#5
Jul 14, 2003
273
0
0
35
Ottawa Ontario Canada
Visit site
#5
What can they crossbreed with?
I've read somewhere that they can produce fry with almost any central american cichlid. The guy who made the website also said that he has heard of a Texas Cichlid mating with a Convict!. And it also says that they can produce "viable" fry with a Blood Parrot!. I guess by viable he must mean fertile. But if anyone knows what else they can crossbreed with then let me know by replying to this.
Thank you very much. *celebrate
 

Managuense

Managuense

Superstar Fish
#6
May 16, 2003
1,204
0
0
43
Springfield, MO
#6
are you looking for a fish to cross with convicts??

if so, you may have good luck with a texas or any other egglayer native to central america.....if you simply want to create hybrids you would have much better luck with some of the african cichlids like the "kenyi" which will breed with anything that moves.

just as a word of caution: hybrids are NOT popular with many people in the hobby for several reasons, none of which i will go into any detail here, my only complaint with them is that they muddy the true blood lines of many african cichlid species:mad:

if you are just wanting to prevent cross breeding, which is what i would personally do, i wouldnt worry too much. convicts do not readily breed with other species to my knowledge.

HTH
M
 

F

fishydude22

Banned
#7
Jul 14, 2003
273
0
0
35
Ottawa Ontario Canada
Visit site
#7
if you simply want to create hybrids you would have much better luck with some of the african cichlids like the "kenyi" which will breed with anything that moves.
Click to expand...
By saying this,are you saying that a Kenyi would cross with a South American or a Central American cichlid?.

And to answer your question..... YES! I am looking to create hybrids (to live within my household that is.)
If I am successful in creating fertile fry then the only thing I would have to worry about is what the water conditions for this "new breed" are.
 

Managuense

Managuense

Superstar Fish
#8
May 16, 2003
1,204
0
0
43
Springfield, MO
#8
ok, i think i can help you now. :)

if you want hybrids, and you want them with as little work as possible, start with some maylandia lombardoi or "kenyi" cichlids, which are blue with barring as juveniles.

and no, it is highly unlikely that a mouthbrooding old world ( and often polygamous) cichlid like the kenyi would breed with a cave spawing new world cichlid--which are monogamous for the most part

as they mature, the males take on an orange with barring color, while the females remain the same.

to get hybrids, keep one of the mature males and add any other type of mbuna (mouth brooding) cichlid. you WILL get hybrids within a short amount of time.

my question to you is this- why do you wish to do this?

why not just breed true species?

a lot of the hybrids you could create from SA or CA cichlids would not be viable anyway, so why do it?

another word of caution to you: many members here (and on other sites) will not be nice when answering this post, as hybrids are not popular with many hobbyists.

that being said, it is YOUR fish tank, do as you wish.
M
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#13
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
3
0
#13
Please don't churn out more crappy hybrids - people seem to have enough trouble finding true bred cichlids anyway nowadays in most lfs. I would guess that convicts would easily interbreed with other fish from the same genus Cryptoheros like sajica or spilurum, and struggle with more genetically remote C or S Americans. I suspect a lot of the stories about this crossing with the other are b.s - the chances of a C American crossing with an african are really remote.. If you really want to impress people try to breed something a bit trickier. What are you going to do with several hundred unsellable fry anyway?
Convicts are ridiculously easy to keep, and any water is ok due to the terriffic variation in conditions across their range. They are also astonishingly easy to breed but the fry are worth approximately zero. If you're going to try to breed anything try Cryptoheros spilurum because it'll sell a lot better, and is less aggressive as well, with good colours.
 

Managuense

Managuense

Superstar Fish
#14
May 16, 2003
1,204
0
0
43
Springfield, MO
#14
Please don't churn out more crappy hybrids
Click to expand...
i was thinking the same thing. ;)

he didnt ask a question about the ETHICS of producing hybrids, but only HOW to do it.

yes, i think that attempting to breed some of the harder-to-breed "true" species would be much more impressive than producing a bunch of stupid hybrids-- but it isnt worth the time of day to argue about.
M
 

Last edited:
Managuense

Managuense

Superstar Fish
#18
May 16, 2003
1,204
0
0
43
Springfield, MO
#18
he sure does, but i will field this one in his absence--he wont mind:)

marbled convicts - http://www.cichlid-forum.com/photogallery/

select the "south and central american" pictures tab, then click on the "convict" pictures, there is a marbled convict on the third slide.

all you need to do is get one male black convict, and then a female pink convict--or visa versa.

i PROMISE they will breed for you.....the trick is to get them to NOT breed.
M
 

C

Cichlid-Man

MFT Staff
#19
Jul 9, 2003
8,866
14
38
38
Columbia, SC
www.youtube.com
#19
No go ahead.

Marbled is a cross between a Pink Convict and a Black. I have a pair of Black convicts, and they acctually give me both Black and pink convicts.

Yes they will breed for you and like Managuense said......trick is toi get them to stop. Unless you want to get a good supply of live food. :D

 

You must log in or register to reply here.