convicts eating fry

mistergoodstuf

i have a breeding pair of convicts in a 100gallon tank. i noticed the fry (3 months old) were acting differently. they were hiding instead of swimming around like they usually would. this morning i really looked closely in the tank and i saw that almost all of the fry were dead on the ground. some were chewed in half. i saw the male attack and kill one, but that was it. the parents are staying on separate ends of the tank. a couple days before this happened the female was carrying an egg. could all this be happening because the female has laid new eggs? why is the male killing them? why are they on separate ends of the tank?

Daz

That's a sure big tank for a pair of Cons, is there anything else in there ? as far as eating the fry go, is it the first time they have bred ?

Lupin

I won't be surprised if all this was brought by sheer irritation of the male of not being able to bide his time defending his territory and fry without any fish to chased with or at least, get distracted with. Are there any dither fish? Cichlids can also have violent relationships.

I seem to remember you bred the cons before when you tried to research a lot about their breeding techniques and what else to do.;)

mistergoodstuf

no, its the third time. yeah, the tank is pretty big for them. but, i was going to let them populate the tank and feed the fry to my oscars, knifefish, and Jack Dempsey. the first 2 times the mated, they were in the tank with an Oscar and Jack Dempsey. i kept one fry just to see how it would look and let the other fish eat the rest of the fry. there are no other fish in the tank that the pair is in now. i had a pleco in there but they killed him too.

Lupin

No bottomdwellers are safe while the cons are breeding in the same tank. Cons are rather one of the most vicious cichlids especially during spawning season. You might be better off with some giant danios. Provide plenty of floating plants for them to seek refuge. There is enough space in a 100 gallons for the giant danios to escape. At least, there is someone to make the male con do his work seriously without getting irritated and turning his aggression on the female instead.

mistergoodstuf

alright. i'll pick up some danios. i was going to put danios in the tank when i first put the pair in the tank, but the lfs said the danios would eat all the eggs

Lupin

Not when the parents will viciously defend their territory. Cons are excellent parents and will not abandon their spawning site so the eggs are safe.:)

herefishy

Cichlids are sometimes known for their incessant cannibalism. Keep trying and good luck.

dreesa

I usuallsy breed my convicts and sell the babies, but what works best for me, since convicts can breed as often as every 2-3 weeks, is to breed then in anticipated fry tank. When the babies are big enough to eat on thier own (3 weeks), remove the parents and continue to feed the babies. Otherwiez, when the adult pair are ready to breed again they'll treat thier young like any other fish in the tank, "stay away or die". Hopefully that helps.

Andy Drees
The American Cichlid guy

mistergoodstuf

thanks for the replies. there were still 15 fry alive and now they are pretty big. i just put a screen to split the fry and the parents apart. i noticed something very weird in my other tank though. i started to see gravel being cleared out like somebody was about to lay eggs. in this tank, i have a Jack Dempsey, Oscar, knifefish, and a female convict [from past batch of fry from convict pair]. i see the Jack Dempsey protecting the spot where the gravel is cleared out and just noticed an egg on her belly. i always thought it was a male, but i guess not. who would it possibly mate with? the only other fish i see it pushing around and acting similar to my convict pair is the knifefish thats in the tank. could they possibly mate?????