# My New Convict!



## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

So I recently had to rehome my goldfish to my friend who has a very large pond. Leaving my 30g empty. I was looking on my local CL and saw an ad for a 2.5 gallon tank, my mom has been wanting another betta so I clicked on it with the idea to buy her the tank for a new betta and in the picture I notice there is a fish inside the tank, it was a Convict Cichlid!
I know they do fine in 30g so I went and picked up the tank and fish (tank for my mom and fish for me). He has since been moved to his new, larger, home. Still not sure if it is a girl or boy, I am thinking it is a boy. Either way I named it King. 
Here is a picture of him in the 2.5 gallon:








Here is his new setup:








And here is the King himself:









































Questions: I have never owned a cichlid before, as with Convicts, would he be happier with a friend? And if I do end up with a breeding pair, will they attack me when I clean the tank?


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## Frazzle (Apr 10, 2012)

IDK about Convict Cichlids, but I had an African Cichlid that ate everything in my tank.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

He is my first cichlid. But I have heard they can be aggressive towards other fish so that is why he is in there alone. 
As for the decor, he can do whatever he wants with it. Afterall it is his house. lol

He is already warming up to me. And it is so cute to watch his tiny body trying to move rocks and plants around. One day he will be big enough to redecorate. lol


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Definitely a boy!
And yes he's he's off on his own.
What a horrible thing to do, keep a fish like that in 2.5 gallons.

Breeding pairs are aggressive, but if he accepts the female you will soon have thousands of fry on your hands, don't know if you want that.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

They are very agressive, And they dont like other fish in there tank. Most likely he would kill any other fish that you put with him. Also dont get a female unless you want several thounsand convicts i wouldn't get a female lol


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

I also see he is just a baby now, he will be about the size of your fist when he is done growing


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

Thanks for all the help everyone!
Ok so, the color of the fish has been coming in more and just now I was looking at "him"...and there are little orange spots in patches on the belly. Is it actually a girl?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

:O
Yes orange bellies are girls. How odd. I guess she's becoming more comfortable, and probably still young also.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

So I just got some photos of King. The spots are much brighter in person, my camera just could not seem to capture the color very well but you can still kinda see it.
































































If King indeed is a female would she get along with another female or would it be better for her to live alone?


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

I would giive him/her a few days then check the belly and see if its orange or not. If it is a female then you could try another female. but its hit and miss if they will get along.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

It's a boy
No mistake
Long fin 
Female will have the orange belly when they're about the size of a nickel
If u feed him tubflix worm
He'll color up
You'll see some orange n blue on him


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

how ADORABLE! Poor baby, why was he in that little closet of a 2.5 gal? Why couldn't you wait to get him instead of stuffing him in that little prison????!!-
sorry, i got a little carried away...he is cute! Congrats!


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

Curlyfatbottom said:


> It's a boy
> No mistake
> Long fin
> Female will have the orange belly when they're about the size of a nickel
> ...


The length of the fins dont tell the gender of convicts...


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Looking at him now they are longer and pointed at the ends so he does look like a boy to me.


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## bettasusa (Nov 1, 2011)

I love these guys! They will give your tons of babies if you have a pair and are the best parents. I miss having them. I prefer the dark colored ones like you have over the pinks but they are nice too. Awesome addition. Are you going to pair him up and send me some kids?


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

As you can see this female convict of mine has longer fins then that one. 
(her tankmate nipped a few of her fins, now she has her own 35g tank and her fins healed) And Yes i am sure its female because has layed 4+ egg cluches. and infact her fins are longer now then in these pics.


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

It usually does
Male should have a longer dorsal n anal fin
N a little bigger then the girl
Crowntail 
That a nice looking female u have there
How big is she????


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

She is around 2 and a 1/2 an inch. I need some new pics she has got a lot more blue on her now


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## Curlyfatbottom (Sep 29, 2011)

Cool
High rich diet will bring out the color


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

@Crowntailed: Mine does have those little orange specks on it's belly like yours does. They are not changing but they are there.
Also when she sees me go up to the tank she gets yellow in her fins.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

Curlyfatbottom said:


> Cool
> High rich diet will bring out the color


 Maybe one of the reasons my Convict's colour is just now appearing is because of her previous owner. Not only was she in a 2.5g (which was sitting right next to a 125g. :/ ), but she was being fed tetra brand tropical fish flakes.
I am feeding her Hikari gold cichlid pellets.


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## PaintingPintos (Dec 27, 2011)

Aiiiie!
Beautiful fish you have there. I've never ventured past my goldfish and a betta  I'm hoping to have a MASSIVE shrimp tank one day. BUT-- cichlids are really amazing and have the coolest personalities. I'd absolutely love to have a huuuge tank made for them one day.
It's really sweet that you've taken King under your wings.... he/she will grow out nicely, I can assure that judging on your great care so far.
I know nothing about cichlids but you're doing something right!


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## mkayum (Jul 5, 2012)

My brother in law used to have them, they bred but the eggs didn't hatch.. but he thought they're cool to own..  he said that they're more of intelligent than other yellow/blue
cichilds. Every morning the convicts would be first to wait and swimming near to the top. They were waiting for food. lol. Sadly my bro in law said that he had to give them up. (he's in navy) He has to prepare to move to another state. I saw the pictures of convicts that he sent me... they pretty look huge!


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

How many pellets should I be feeding her each morning? I have been giving her 3 at a time and she eats them pretty quick. I just wanted to be sure I was not underfeeding. She is like 2 1/2 inches long.


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## Crowntailed (Apr 19, 2012)

I would think 3 pellets twice a day would be plenty. If your feeding her just once a day you might wana feed a little more (but we cant be sure because we are not there to see the fish) The best way i found is to just look at them, study them and see if there too fat or too skinny. And see if you need to be feeding a little more or a little less.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

Thanks! She has been looking a little hungry by the end of the day. I will feed her a little more.


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## Aluyasha (Sep 2, 2010)

A little update:
So she is for sure a girl, I checked on her last night and she had eggs all clustered on the side of her pot cave. 
Question, should I remove the eggs? Obviously they are not going to become babies but I was just curious if she would attack me or something if I remove them. And if I do not remove them would they effect the water quality?


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

She will most likely attack you, convicts are very protective fish.
I don't know about removing them, if she doesn't eat them within a few days I would remove them though.


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