CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

I need help with them i thinking of buying them to breed so i can feed my oscars there young lol and i want them as fish. how big do they get and how big are they in stores also are they easy to breed and how offen. sorry for so many questions.

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Redwopman

cons are thE most easiest cichlid to breed, just like the livebearer schedule. they lay their eggs every month or 30 days. they'll start to breed at about 3 inches.
the female has a orange patch on both sides. while the male has a large hump on the forehead when they get bigger.
they usually get 5" or 6" when they're full grown. the lfs sells the convicts about 3 inches or really small babies. just get one male and one female, they are sure to breed.
if they are small (3-4 inches) you CAN (im shure im wrong but...) put them in a 10 gallon tank if you have a divider. one of them will try to take control of the fry and chase the other mate out of the way. so divide one of the parents when the fry are about 2 weeks or until they show agression.
feed the fry really small crushed flake food. when they really small, they wont come to the top, but the parents will knock some down. you can also feed them baby brine shrimp when they get a little bigger (week and a half).
once you see them take shape was baby convicts, put them in a new tank with a heater, and sponge filter (you can use a plastic bucket instead of a tank).
it'll be slow progress in the first few months, but in about 1/2 a year, you'll have many many convicts.
if you reallly want babies fast, get a 20 or 30 gallon tank and have 1 male with 2 or 3 females. seperate all the females and once the 1st female has eggs, move the male on to the next... lucky male .

[This message has been edited by dethmunkee (edited 10-29-2001).]

i would just like to add that convicts can actually breed at about 1.5" they begin very early. i have a male, and bought a female that was definitely under 2" and within a couple of days, there were eggs, and the female was guarding them. 20 gallon is ideal for a pair, and i woulnd't worry too much about having to divide the male and female. my male has never harrassed the female, in fact, for the first day or 2 of the first batch, my female wouldn't let the male around. they are both guarding now, though.