Breeding the convict cichlid is very easily,luckily. In fact, much like guppies, you'll have a harder time not breeding them!
The best information I've found on convict cichlid breeding came from Wikipedia:
Like most cichlids, convicts have prolonged brood care of both eggs and free-swimming fry.The species can reach sexual maturity as young as 16 weeks of age, though sexual maturity is more commonly reached by 6 months.Sexually mature convicts form monogamous pairs and spawn in caves or crevices, like other Archocentrus species, eggs are laid on the upper surface of the cave and are adhesive. In the wild caves are frequently dug underneath large stones. After fertilisation the eggs take approximately 72 hours to hatch, a further 72 hours is required for the larvae to absorb their yolk sacs and allow fin development prior to the fry becoming free-swimming. While in this free swimming stage fry feed and forage during daylight in a dense school and return to the cave or crevice during the night. Both parents are involved in guarding the fry from brood predators and engage in behaviours to assist feeding such as moving leaves or fin digging.Brood care of eggs, larvae and free-swimming juveniles in the wild can last 4-6 weeks, and occurs only once per season for the majority of females.In contrast, females in aquariums are known to breed many times per year with short intevals of 12-13 days between broods.In captivity, breeding pairs of convict cichlids have been demonstrated to adopt similarly aged fry from other parents.
A good suggestion I had given to me was to place a flower pot on its side in the bottom of the aquarium. The cichlids will use it like a cave and dig a depression in the gravel around it. Another thing to be aware of, the convict cichlid will sometimes bury the newborn fry when they’re threatened, so don’t panic if they come up missing for a couple of days.
So, good luck on breeding your convict cichlid!
6 comments:
Hi everyone I love fish and especially cichlids. I am trying to get into the whole blog world and I have actually started my own blog on wordpress. If you are interested in talking about cichlids more other than convicts the address is www.cichlidinformation.wordpress.com - I look forward to hearing from you!
Well, this is really a nice post about Breeding Convict Cichlid. I do agree about that flower you mentioned for hiding their newborns. They are fascinating fishes. I love writing reviews about them : http://fishy-whisperer.com/CichlidFishSecretsReview.html
Many are fond of breeding convict cichlid. And I am one of them!
I am relatively new to owning a tank and brand new to Cichlids. I originally bought a Jewel Cichlid for my 20 gallon tank only to find out that the tank is too small for him. So, I put him up on Craigslist to a good home and had a guy call me who had a lot more experience than I do - several tanks - several types of Cichlids - into breeding, etc.. He agreed to take my Cichlid and then offered me several Convict Cichlids.
I took him up on the offer and trusted his judgement. He came over and put 5 Convict Cichlids in my 20 gallon tank.
First, let me say, I love these fish. They have a large, quirky personality and all 5 will swim up to the front of my tank and line up in a row and stare out at me.
My concern, and I expressed it to the fellow who gave them to me, is that 5 is too many for this tank (although they seems to be doing fine). Second, I really don't want them to breed because then I have to find a home for them.
It is my understanding that the fish are prolific breeders, and I've read it is hard to get them not to breed, but do you have any tips on keeping the breeding to a minimum.
I THINK I have 2 males and 3 females, but not sure. The guy said they are not at maturity yet, so I should be OK for awhile, but even in six months, I'd prefer to not have any spawn.
These are awesome fish to breed. Since they are such prolific breeders, one might get overwhelmed with these. Due to their aggressive nature, it will be tough to house a whole bunch of these in one tank. I have shared a few ideas on managing a huge bunch of convict cichlids in one tank and preventing them from fighting eachother.
Convict Cichlid - The Struggle for Peace
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