convict cichlids/ fry?

[mutnjeff]

hello everyone! I have a 29 gal tank with convicts in it, there is: 1 large male, and 3 smaller fish (one female) I actually started with a pair - they had about a million babies - which I gave as many away as I could, they had more babies - ate them, had more babies - ate them, and then mom died. so, anyway dad (the large fish) and the female baby - now not such a baby anymore have since had many young fry of their own and of course they are fighting with the other tankmates as they protect their young. well, they managed to kill one of the other fish, so I took the others out so that they wouldn't meet the same fate, and instantly mom turned against dad - honestly I had to separate them before they killed each other! anyone have any suggestions? I put a tank divider in and made a little hole in the gravel so the babies are going from side to side visiting both parents. (it's kinda like divorce court and we're determining custody of the kids....) can you even believe it? I wonder if I'll ever be able to put those 2 together again? thanks for any advice!
Michele and my incestuous fish! lol:smck:

[whiterabbit9]

I think that once the fry are out of the picture you will probably be able to re introduce the male. I've have had similar issues with convicts, all of which were eliminated when I moved the pair to a 40 gallon of their own with ample hiding places. Maybe I got lucky and they were distracted trying to establish new territory in a new environment? I've not had much luck with tank dividers, my fish liked to try and fight at each other through the plexi. Sorry, I know how aggressive these guys can be. Good luck.

[PEMfish]

Your tank is too small for this is why.

[mutnjeff]

Originally Posted by PEMfish

Your tank is too small for this is why.

how much bigger of a tank do I need? there's now only the pair of adult convicts and of course their fry. I did pull the divider out today and have been watching them, they are still fighting some - but mostly staying at opposite sides of the tank. I'm looking at getting a 55 gal for them, but I don't necessarily want to end up with hundreds and hundreds of fry that survive - not to be mean, but how many fish like that do I need? my family enjoys them, but I don't need to have hundreds of them in tanks all over my house and I'm not sure how to get rid of the ones that survive. I was able to give some away the last time, but not sure how many more I can give away.

[PEMfish]

A 4' would be good, yeah. Kill those who are not welcome.