Black Convict Fry

[midmichman80]

I picked up some black convict from today. I got 11 of the little guys, the lady I got them from had several dozen in her tank. I have them in my 15g tank now, and plan on only keeping a few until they get bigger. When I was scooping them out of the tank I noticed that some were a lot lighter than the others. Albino convicts? never seen them. They are so darn cute though, but with lights out, it is hard to see them. I would like to get a breeding pair out of the group, I hope there is one healthy m and f in the group of 11. I think most will be feeders, but keep your fingers crossed for me.

[Cichlid-Man]

Were they pink? There are pink convicts and black convicts. Just different color morphs. Also marbled convicts which mixes the two. My old black pair used to throw 50% pinks and 50% black babies.

There are also some black ones that seem a bit lighter then other black ones.

[prgwin00]

I don't know when they will be old enough to tell the difference between male and female, but this is what I found on a fish website that I have been looking at for information: "The female has orange scales on her lower body and dorsal fins and the male is larger, less colorful, has a steeper forehead and longer fins. As it ages, the male will acquire a fatty lump on the forehead."

I hope this helps.

[midmichman80]

The breeding pair were both black, I guess that doesn't mean one didn't have the pink gene in them. I guess I will have to wait until they mature a bit to really tell what is going on. After a week or so, I will sort through the remaining guys in the tank and find 5 or so that are pretty/healthy. The rest will be fed to Vinny and Jackie. From there, I will try to sex the remainders and keep one male and one female, hopefully. This is all my master plan, just hope it works for me.

[TabMorte]

I have convict fry right now. BEWARE they can start breeding on their own when they're as small as an inch and a half and before they can easily be sexed (though usually unsuccessfully at that age).

The girls bellies turn a lovely shade of pink regardless of color morph when they're amicable to breeding, and if you put some small flower pots in the tank they'll start claiming territory in them and you should be able to pick out the pairs pretty quickly that way.

[midmichman80]

Thanks, that is a great suggestion. They pair up when they are this small? They can breed at that small?!? Crazy stuff, I will have to research a bit more on these guys. Thanks for all the info.

[Cichlid-Man]

I've seen them start to pair and breed at about 2" before lol. Its crazy.

[marvin]

been said before they make good feeders

[midmichman80]

That's my plan, let em breed, them feed em to the bigger fish. Hopefully I can keep that cycle going for awhlie.