convict cichlid babies!!!

[Spectabilis73]

Hello,
When i moved to oklahoma city for 2 months, i had to give my convict cichlid pair away to a freind to take care of for a while (i ended up not selling them to pets and ponds), and while i was gone, they layed eggs! the eggs hatched, and the babies are about 1 1/2 months old, and nearly an inch long!!!

I'll try to post pics when i can

 

[Daniel]

Hehe, a phrase I heard before were, Convict are like the guppies in the Chilchid world =D. Have fun with your babies

 

[biggun110]

Hi Spec,

So what do you think turned the trick? Did your friend do anything different than you were doing?

Bobby

 

[Spectabilis73]

yes, a rock cube thing with a ton of holes in it (hollow i think), very large gravel (more like riverstones) he didn't plug in the heater for two days, then he heated it up to 80 degrees. BOOM 7 days later they had babies... lol

 

[Daniel]

They probably laid dozen of eggs in your tank too. Except convict keeps eating everything it sight, and mistakenly ate their own eggs =D. And if there are survivor for the uneaten, they are just bigger tasty bites for the convicts. I'm using riverstone also, so der is more gaps at the bottom, people use mesh wiring so the egg would drop down, but I still want it to look natural. You probably can leave your convict in a tank, for a month, then move them to another tank, and soon you'll have convict in where you moved them from =D.

 

[Spectabilis73]

Quote[/b] (DKiM128 @ Nov. 04 2003,1:59)]They probably laid dozen of eggs in your tank too.  Except convict keeps eating everything it sight, and mistakenly ate their own eggs =D.  And if there are survivor for the uneaten, they are just bigger tasty bites for the convicts.  I'm using riverstone also, so der is more gaps at the bottom, people use mesh wiring so the egg would drop down, but I still want it to look natural.  You probably can leave your convict in a tank, for a month, then move them to another tank, and soon you'll have convict in where you moved them from =D.

no, not dozens... hundreds

probably 200-400! And this was their second batch... they ate the eggs of the first one.

but most cichlids do on their first batches... on the second batch they took care of them, (mouth brooding, etc, and took in food, chewed it up, and spit it in the middle of the fry) It was cool to see

the fry are about 1 1/2 cm now

 

[Jmenprkr]

any pics

 

[Spectabilis73]

Ok, the tank is cycling, kinda, and I'll be ready for them in about a week! I can't wait

 

[Spectabilis73]

I got them!!! 50 of them! all are a little bit under an inch, and right now they seem to be getting along allright... hopefully they don't grow too fast or I will have to either get a bigger tank, or I will have to sell some of them! I don't have any pics yet, but should in a few weeks...
-Spec

 

[trashcan]

Congratulations!

 

[Spectabilis73]

they are starting to get really big- most are over an inch now... is there a way to ship fish? I'm thinking of selling some to a few freinds, maybe give some away on pft

 

[biggun110]

Hi Spec,

You can ship fish easily but you might want to wait until warmer weather. You need to get some extra thick styrofoam boxes. Your vet is usually a good source as he gets them with medicine shipments. You want a box that is 1.5 to 2 inches thick. Then get a proper sized cardboard box to put it in. Don't feed the fish for 24 hours before you send them. Make up some water in a clean bucket exactly like the water they are in and bubble it overnight so it is well oxygenated. Get some plastic bags from your LFS. Double bag the fish by placing the fish in one bag and sealing it and then putting it in the second bag but putting it in the opposite direction so you can use the outside bag to fold over the inside bag's corners and have a rounded bottom. Seal each bag with a couple of good rubber bands. The bag should have 1/3 water and 2/3's air. If you cannot just grab the air in the bag then use an airline from your pump to fill the bag. Put the bags in the styro box and fill in the spaces left loosely with styro peanuts. Tape the top of the styro box and then tape up the cardboard exterior box. Mail the fish using Priority or Express Mail and Saturday morning is usually the best day and time to ship. If you have any more questions just ask.
There is also a breathable bag that can be used too but I have not tried it yet. it is becoming popular. You fill it to the top and oxygen can move into the water filled bag from outside without the water leaking out -- pretty amazing.

Bobby