Archocentrus nigrofasciatus

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Convict Cichlid
Convict Cichlid
Species	Archocentrus nigrofasciatus
Difficulty	Moderate
Min. Tank Size	75.708 liters 75,708.236 mL 20 US Gallons (75.7L)
Size	3.937 in 8-10 cm (3.1-3.9")
pH	7.0 - 8.0
Temp.	295.15 K 71.6 °F 531.27 °R 305.15 K 89.6 °F 549.27 °R22 -32 °C (71.6-89.6°F)
Water Hardness	9-20
Stocking Ratio	1:1 M:F
Availability	Common
Diet	Omnivore Pellet Foods Flake Foods Live Foods Other (See article)
Life Span	8-10 years

[edit] Alternative names

Convict Cichlid, Zebra Cichlid

[edit] Other Scientific Names

Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum, Claustroheros nigrofasciatus

[edit] Habitat

Streams, pools and ponds of Central America: El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

[edit] Sexing

Male has dorsal and anal fin extensions, in many cases the female will develop orange-red markings on underside and dorsal fin when ready to mate. Another observation is that the dorsal fins of the female will develop a bluish hue.

[edit] Breeding

Just add water and fish! Eggs are laid on a stone, earthenware flowerpot, or in a depression dug in the substrate. Both parents provide excellent care and protection of eggs and fry, they will attack anything that enters their territory.

Once a pair is formed, the duo will start digging the gravel to form a nest. If there are flower pots then the area around the pot will be cleared to give a cave like appearance. The eggs hatch in 3 days, if eggs turn white it means that either they are not fertile or they are affected by fungus. Eggs usually hatch in 3 days and result in wrigglers. The parent shift the wrigglers to a safer spot in the cave and it is another 5-6 days before the fry are free swimming.

[edit] Tank compatibility

Easy breeding great for beginners! NOT a community fish. Stock only with large fish which can hold their own in a fight, the convict will easily bully fish twice its size. It is best kept in a species specific tank or with similar sized or larger Central American Cichlids, like the Oscar or Firemouth. Recommended tank size is 20G long and higher for a pair of convicts. If there are other fish to be considered as tank mates a bigger tank is required.

[edit] Diet

Convicts are not picky eaters, in fact they can be very greedy. Although they will do well on flakes and cichlid pellets, they will do even better with the addition of frozen/live food like bloodworms and brine shrimp as well as vegetables like chopped spinach and cucumber.

[edit] Feeding regime

Feed once or twice a day.

[edit] Environment Specifics

Provide with hiding places/caves. Can and will dig and uproot fake/live plants.

[edit] Behaviour

Convicts mainly stay within their territory, where they do not tolerate other fish. Convicts can be very aggressive and are best suited to an aquarium designed for single species accommodations.

[edit] Identification

The Convict is available in several colour morphs including a popular "pink" colour morph. The wild colour has a blue-grey base body colour with 8 or 9 dark vertical bands, a dark spot is often visable on the gill cover. These dark bands are absent on the lighter colour morphs.

[edit] Pictures

Convict

Convict Pair

Juvenile Male Pink Convict

Convict eggs

[edit] Videos

Spawning:

[edit] External links

• Fishbase
• Badmans Tropical Fish
• Aquariumfish.net - Breeding Convicts
• Wikipedia
• The Tropical Tank
• World of Cichlids
• Convict Profile & Video