Anyone who knows about cichlids?

[84chris]

My friend has a few cichlids in his tank. One is a convict which he has had for about 2 years now, the other ones are a firemouth, a jack dempsey, and a green terra. Well just this saturday the convict had a ton of babies! We are trying to figure out how it became pregnant since there has never been another convict in the tank. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[michaeltx]

it could be any of the other chiclids its not unheard of for them to cross species but as far as I know it doesnt happen alot.
Mike

 

[pontius]

could be wrong, but I don't think convicts hybridize with other cichlids. how long has he had the convict?

 

[30-xtra high]

fish sizes?.. my guess is the green terror got with the convict, i used to have a red terror, and if they are alike.. they look like an enlongated convict with red fins, but in your case green fins.. basically you've got muts..lol, probably not worth anything.. except free food for your fish.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by MichaelTX
it could be any of the other chiclids its not unheard of for them to cross species but as far as I know it doesnt happen alot.
Mike
Most likely explanation. Go to any decent LFS and you'll see a lot of weird cichlids.

 

[mightymouse]

most likely, the green terror. they will mate with almost anything. I used to have a breeding pair before I started this whole saltwater thing. I did a lot of reading about them and found that they just love to breed. As mentioned above, the mixed babies arent worth anything except fish food or as your own weird pet. How big is your green terror? I really miss mine.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by mightymouse
I did a lot of reading about them and found that they just love to breed.
Don't we all.

 

[84chris]

First, they arent mine so i dont know everything about them, but i can answer a few questions. The convict has been in the tank about 2 years or so, and all of the fish are 3-4 inches. Before the babies came the firemouth and the convict were always together and we would always joke about them gettin it on. Well now the convict is fighting every fish in the tank to keep them away, do you guys think there is any chance any will survive?

 

[reefkprz]

I doubt it she cant watch them all, slowly one at a time they will get picked off by the other fish.