[MaineGuy]

i have a young convict who has laid eggs twice now. the first time it looked like she ate the eggs and now this time it looks like it again. is this normal? should i do something to prevent it?

 

[LaZboyD]

Like the fish guy said in the sticky, just takes a few tries for them to get it right.

3rd times a charm<I'm just a newb passing off read info>

check the waters temp btw. 82degrees?

 

[TheFishGuy]

If it's a lone female they are know to lay eggs when they are fat with eggs. If she is indeed alone you can remove the eggs after she lays them...

 

[MaineGuy]

i noticed the stucky after i posted it
my bad.

 

[CiChLiD LoVeR128]

Out of all the cichlids I have ever bred which are: Sajica, Convict, Texas, and Salvini. Only the Texas pair ate their first batch. I know everyone experiences something different but the 2nd batch (if the 1st batch wasn't successful) should be. Like TFG stated Females will lay eggs even when a Male isn't present. I had a Female Salvini that laid eggs before I went out and got her a Male. The eggs lasted 2-3 days before she ate them all. If you have a Male then this is kinda wierd! Hopefully they will get the 3rd one down for you! They should anyway........ . If they dont you will have to get a new Male if you really want them to spawn.

 

[Russo]

If it's a lone female they are know to lay eggs when they are fat with eggs. If she is indeed alone you can remove the eggs after she lays them...

So if i have eggs on one of the rocks in my tank and i remove this... (i have a male and female albino and about 100 eggs), will this effect the eggs in any way? or should i remove the parents so that they dont eat them? Twice i have had wrigglers and the parents decided to eat them, this is their third spawn!!! If i remove the parents will this interupt their breeding patterns or anything? THanks. Im not too sure what to do and i want this batch to survive!

 

[TheFishGuy]

I'd let them see if they get it right this time. If not then something is spooking them. Either water quality (which is unlikely with convicts) or something is wrong with their surroundings.

 

[hyposalinity]

Prepare to be bitten, if you decide to remove the eggs by hand! My adult male I use to have could break the skin.

 

[mommasangelbaby]

I always remove my eggs, I don't want any more babies. Plus the eggs make a nice treat for my albino african clawed frog in another tank. My pair hasn't ever bitten me, although they seem peeved and confused when I take out the flower pot they always spawn in/on. Mine were successful with their first try, and didn't eat any of the babies, didn't spawn again until they first brood was gone. Then they spawned within a week. I thought the stress of having their babies suddenly disappear might slow the process, but they were at it again right away. The first time they spawned, the female ate several of the eggs. I don't know if she did this before or after they were fertilized. I read somewhere (maybe here on cichlid forum?) that they might eat eggs that didn't get fertilized to prevent fungus from growing in them and spreading to the good eggs. I don't know for sure if that's what she was doing, or perhaps just reducing the size of the spawn, or maybe she was just hungry. But she and her mate were very protective when it came to the babies. The final total from that brood was 43. That was after 1 move to a new tank, elevated ammonia in their tank due to overcrowding while I searched for a home for them, and the final netting for transport to their new home (one fish jumped out of the net onto the floor, and dispite my efforts to save him died soon after he was put back into the transport container). Anyway, that was my experience so far.

Cheryl

 

[ksfishguy]

If you want to keep the fry, leave the eggs in the tank with the parents. You will be amazed how many fry you have in a month or so. My cons started off slow and then when they got it right, it was unbelievalbe how many fry they had swimming around.