Is It Possible To Move Eggs?

Someone is giving away a pair of Convicts with eggs. They are in a sixty 60gl. with other cichlids and have to be removed. How would one go about it and what are the chances of successful hatching? I'm certainly not in
a position! Just curious.!

Just lift it into a bag inside the water and carry it to the new tank in the bag so they never come out of the water. If you remove the eggs yo will have to either remove the male and female cons with the egg or get a air pump next to the eggs because they need to be fanned by the parents but the air pump will move water over the eggs. They should hatch withing 3-4 days. If your thinking of getting cons ive go a care sheet on them i write and could send you?

I don't have an extra tank. I thought the parents might just abandon them.
It was general curiosity and thought of you since cichlids are one of your favorites.

fair enough. you could get away with dividing the tank. Or depending on the tank mates the fry might be fine cons are one of the most aggressive there are so might be strong enough to hold of the other fish. Is is a tank you where looking into buying?

I only have a 2.5" Peppered Cory and 2 Neons. I don't know how large the Convicts are but they stated they were surprised because they are small. How
big do they get. How many in an average spawn and what to feed.? Also any special housing needs?

They get fairly small for big cichlids but they still get 6" hers the care sheet i write on them it might help a bit

Name: Convict Cichlid.
Scientific Name: Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum.
Family: Cichlidae.
Origin: Central America: Guatemala, El Salvadore, Costa Rica & Panama .

Maximum size: 6”.
Tank size: 30g min.
Tank temp: 23 – 37C.

Tank setup: Lots of hiding places and cover.
Tank compatibility: Can be kept with similar sized medium aggressive cichlids or catfish if there is enough room. Will get very aggressive when spawning and any small or peaceful fish are likely to get injured.
Ph: 6-8 but 6-7 is best.
Feeding: Can be feed flake and cichlid pellets but really likes live, frozen and dried foods.
Sexing: Males are bigger and when ready to breed the females will get a bright orange patch on the side of them.
Breeding: They will breed in a cave where the male and female will guard them there could be 50+ eggs. They should be free swimming within 2-3 days and the parents will still guard them. The fry should be feed brine shrimp micro worm or vinegar eels and one they get bigger they can be feed on brine shrimp and crushed flake and pellets until big enough to eat the adults food.


young pink male
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normal striped female convict
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I had planned on cleaning the algae in the 10gl. today I can call around locally and anyway. I could mull i tover a bit as I'm doing that. Kind of a late start
for any feeding cultures I imagine. I can call around locally and see whats available. They would be better off in someone else's hands I know. I could contact them and volunteer as a back to a last resort!

What have you brought them? what size tank are they going in? what other fish are in there?

We were typing at the same time. Look above.

Right im really lost. Are they going to take these fish? is it just the fish or is it the 60G aswell?

Just the Convict brood. They have other Cichlids and want the spawn to have a chance. I know they would need a bigger tank ASAP and I'm looking anyway
I'm going to collect several tanks as I can within my means. Which are limited
as you know. I'd like to have at least three more. No larger than a 50gl. be-cause of space, etc,,

Fair enough. You will need a air pump or small filter to put next to the eggs to keep water moving over the eggs. 10G should be fine for a few weeks depending on how many there are but ones they get to 1 or 2 cm they will need a tank about 30-50G. and the tanks will need daily waterchanges once the eggs have hatchet.

A pertinent question would be how long are they safe in a bag for transferring? Do you scoop underneath the gravel. Is that where the eggs are laid?

A hour or so should be fine. If its in a car or something then the water in the bag will be moving so they should be ok. Cons normally lay there eggs on a flat surface of cave so you will need to scoop that into a bag under the water so they never come out of the water.

If its in a cave I'll insist it comes along if it even happens. I'm only in the middle if other arrangements can't be made. Its even iffy if I'm the last chance before
they trash them. At that point their chance might be better!lol

Good luck with them if you do get them :]

Honestly the luck would be for them, but thanks and for your time too!
Gotta run an errand. To bad its not to an lfs!

Did you mange to sort something out?

Hi Kiz! What I decided was to leave it up to chance since it was short notice and I wasn't prepared. I was out running around and on the way home decided to contact them when I returned. The post had been deleted so some-one took them. Truthfully I'm glad it happened that way. Better care for the parents and eggs! Also I don't have to feel guilty if I blew it!

Fair enough. There would be no need to feel guilty if they did, Because the fry have been taken away they have probably already layed another lot lol. You still watching any tanks?