Convicts Are Having Sex in our House !!!

Ok, I'm not talking about my friends. I'm actually talking about fish. Convict Cichlids (Archocentrus nigrofasciatus) to be exact. For cichlids, these guys are about medium size, reaching around 6 inches. But don't let size fool you, when spawning they are one of the most aggressive of the Central/South American cichlids, and will take out a 14 inch Oscar to protect their fry. I wanted to get back in the hobby and was looking around for an interesting fish. Having raised Oscars and Jack Dempseys before, I wanted something with the same personality, but wasn't looking for another tank buster. If you've ever had an O or a JD, you know what I'm talking about. After a lot of reading, I was lucky to run across Dr Ron Coleman who was a huge help and very patient with my questions. The guy's an absolute fish nut and loves to talk about these fish, I would encourage you to check out his site.

I decided to start out with a juvenile pair and a common pleco, just so everyone would learn to get along. And they did, just fine. The only problem was I couldn't get the Convicts to breed. By this time the pleco had reached around 6 inches, and may have been crowding the Convicts. So we moved the pleco to the 55 gallon tank. I think they were mating within a couple of hours. So right now we are the proud parents of about 100 fry. While there's plenty of better info out there on these guys, I'll just mention that the one common comment is that they are terrific parents. And it's absolutely true. It's been very interesting watching them scoop up the fry in their mouths, herd them to a recently dug pit, and spit them out. And if you get close to the tank, there are two very pissed fish trying to get through the glass at your face. If you are interested in these fish, leave a comment and I'll get back to you. If you want a fish, let me know because in about a month they have got to go somewhere. Next post will cover the 55 gallon tank.

Here are some pics. Because of where the tank is, we couldn't get enough light to get good shots. I'll try again this weekend during the middle of the day.

Sorry about the flash in the middle of the pic. This is our 28 gallon bowfront.
My first bowfront but I really like it.

Not a great pic. Male on the left and female on the right.
Those small dark pieces under them are some of the fry.

Just One of Many Ways my Mother Tortured Me

Recently my bride stopped by parents' home. While she was there, my mother presented her with an ancient instrument of torture, the Pellatron. This devilish little thing is a home electrolysis kit. I know, this already sounds like a bad idea. It's a couple of batteries attached to a needle in a stylish casing. Well, it was stylish compared to the other medieval items my mother the alchemist used. Any way, basically you picked a hair, jabbed this high voltage needle into the pore, and the hair died. Maybe some flesh too, but beauty comes at a price. Why my mother ordered this, I'm not sure. We're not exactly a fuzzy clan. It probably seemed like a good idea when she ordered this, but one look and you can doubt your wisdom. It must have been so frightening that she totally lost her wits. Why else would you use your only son (who hates needles) to test it out. Yea for me. I had blocked this moment from my memory until N handed this to me, with a little too much glee I might add. Women can be pretty sadistic when it comes to humor. And testing mail order medical instruments.

Ok, Mom never actually tortured me. Not on purpose anyway. Luv ya, Mom !!!!



Modern, my ass. Unless these were actually printed by Gutenburg.















The business end.