Tropical Fish Hobbyist

several ye
keeping
Convict
Breeding
I’ve been
freshwater aquariums for
ars, but I’ve never attempted
to breed any of my fish before. I’d like
to try breeding convict cichlids, which,
from what I’ve read, seem to be one of
the best choices for ease of breeding.

Q

Could you answer a few questions for me to help get me started on the right foot? First, how do I make sure I’ve got a male and female? Second, can I keep the pair in my community tank? And third, if I want to keep the babies, what should I feed them?

Darlene McVicker

Sacramento, California

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from my

Feeding
Earthworms

Is it safe to feed my fish earthworms that I’ve collected yard? My fish really go nuts whenever I drop worms in the tank, and I’d like to take advantage of this free, natural resource as long as it won’t do any harm.

Bob Isaacson

Knoxville, Tennessee

Amatitlania

You’ve certainly selected a good fish for your first attempt at breeding, as convict cichlids (four species in the genus and a few closely related species) are certainly among the more prolific breeders and usually get the hang of it fairly quickly after they’ve paired up.

There are a couple ways to make sure you have both a male and a female. One is by looking closely at their physical characteristics. Males are typically larger and have longer, more pointed dorsal and anal fins. Depending on species, females exhibit yellowish, orange, red, or bronze iridescence on their bellies when in spawning condition.

However, you can’t simply plop a male and female convict cichlid together in the same tank and assume that they’ll coexist peacefully and start to reproduce. It’s often necessary to keep them separated while conditioning the female for spawning, and then carefully introduce them to a breeding tank, keeping an eye out for squabbles.

A more reliable way to get a breeding pair is to purchase six juveniles and allow them to pair up naturally as they grow. Keep one pair, and then return the other four to your dealer (it’s a good idea to discuss this arrangement ahead of time, by the way).

Keeping a breeding pair of convict cichlids in a community tank is not recommended. These fish are aggressive to the extreme when in breeding mode and will attack any other fish in the tank—even much larger fish. Your best bet is to set up a separate aquarium (minimum of 30 gallons) specifically for your convicts.

Convict fry are large enough to eat newly hatched brine shrimp, microworms, and crushed flake food, so feeding the offspring isn’t too much of a challenge. Just be aware that you may end up with more fry than you can accommodate. Your dealer might take some of them off your hands, but not all! That’s definitely something to keep in mind while you’re still in the planning stage.