Male vs Female Convicts

[CichlidChick716]

I am going to be setting up a 60 gallon 'community' tank and I want to have a convict in there. I would like to get a pair but I just really don't want to deal with a million baby convicts. I like the colors of both the males and the females equally, so I need to base my decision off of something else. When kept singly, are there any differences between a male convict and a female convict? Do they differ in any ways as far as behavior and/or aggression?
Other tank mates will be a green terror, a jack dempsey, and a salvini (all juveniles).

Thanks for any input

[Redeye75]

I think adult males are better looking than females, they have nicer finnage imo.
here is a link with a very nice male. http://www.cichlidforums.com/showthread.php?t=33020

[varuos]

da belly of ta female is slightly pinkish or a tinge of orange...

[JackDempsey76]

I had a female on it's own and she kept laying eggs and of course they were eaten by my other fish. She was full of eggs again when I gave her back to the fish shop, I don't know if all females do this regardless of whether there is a male in the tank. It just seems a bit sad to me that she kept laying eggs and they would never be fertilised. I just have a male now and he is a gorgeous looking fish, great shape on him and he is getting more blue by the day, plus his hump has started to form and his fins are growing nicely. Personally I would go for a male. Just my opinion though.

[CichNewfie]

I had a male and female, then they had fry. I had to decide which one to keep, so I chose the male due to size, finnage, and eventually hopefully he'll get a hump. I found the female turned into a total biatch once the eggs were layed and even after they hatched and all the fry were removed. If I had known at the time that they are male and female I wouldn't have gotten both of them because now the male seems lonely and is being picked on as they were the newbies to the tank. They were given to me by a friend and had grown up together so they were close, if that can happen with fish.

[HmoobVaaj]

Females will alwase have a orange/red belly...they can get very aggressive toward other fish when they pair up n have frys but usually when their by themselves with other cichlids, their mellow.

[Austin]

Yeah I agree with ^ I have about a dozen calico cichlids and I think the females are much better looking. The males are more aggressive when paired but I recently split up my community tank and the almost all female tank are getting along better. Too bad you are in New York you could come see them and pick out one to take home! (I have too many fish see my post)

[Peeps]

I have a 75 gallon convict tank with fry of course. I like how big the males get when fully grown with a slight lump on their head but I also like the colous of females, the pink belly. But it's your personal preference. I myself like the males.

[ablockag]

i have male and female and when they have fry i remove 10 and let the others become fish food for the others but i like the males more because they handle there own better

[Victor Creed]

It is all a matter of personal opinion, I got rid of every male I owned when my initial pair of Convicts had a clutch, and the females were much more vibrantly colored. Not only do the females get a red/orange/pink breast, on certain individuals they will also get that same hue on the base of the dorsal fin, like the few females I decided to keep. IMO, males are rather drab in comparison to females, however they are a good bit bigger attaining up to 6 inches or maybe a little more, while the vast majority of females don't get much bigger than 4", and I even have some that are only 1" (and 3 years old).

Overall, my personal recommendation is not to just choose between one or the other, I would suggest getting a few females, as they will stick together against the bigger fish, but obviously you won't have to worry about babies. Mate-less Female Convicts WILL LAY EGGS, however they are sterile. The difference is in the eggs' color; with no male to fertilize them, thus completing the spawn cycle, they will not hatch. I doubt the Green Terror are capable of cross-breeding, and as far as the Jack Dempseys go, they won't spawn unless conditions are perfect in their eyes; I have had 4 females and 2 males for over 2 years and they never spawned. I'm pretty sure the Salvini can't breed w/ Convicts either,if I'm not mistaken, Salvini is a member of the Cental American Guapote` family, along w/ Jaguars and Wolf Cichlids....but anything is possible.