What Happened To The Love (convict Pair Now Fighting)

[piranha_tim]

I have a 50 Gallon tank.
It has the following stock.

4 x Convict (1 male, 3 Females)
6 x Tiger Barbs
1 x Bushy Pleco

So I have air pumps in the tank but I have hidden the pipes so they come in at the back right corner of the tank and the piping is routed under the substrate so I don't have air tubing everywhere.

I wake up this morning looking at the tank and I am like "Oh whats the pleco doing there" (Quite the distance)

It wasn't the Pleco at all it was the female of the pair.

Worried she got stuck some how I free'd her but the second I did. The male came all the way across the tank and attacked her and she went back in. (She's hiding)

But I am confused ... What is happening here?

All the other 2 non-paired females, tiger barbs and pleco are business as usual they swim around and if they get to close the male lets them know.

But he will literally cross the tank to the other side to get her.

I will re-locate the female in another tank as soon as the tank is ready but why the paired female? (Ps. they have been paired for over 3 weeks now and successfully have babies in this enviroment)

 

[england]

welcome to the stressful world of cichlids, this is what they do, they can easliy pair of and have fry fry and more fry, maybe one day the male or female will decide enough is enough<divorse sets in
they may well tug of war and poss she pulled away to soon<sign of weakness>now he will relentlessly attack her, make sure theres plenty of hidie holes, it cold work out it could not,,
my angel pair done this as did my firemouths looong time ago, but after a week they was ok again, hope it works out, but have the tank or a divider at the ready

 

[piranha_tim]

Its developing so fast.

So the behavior has stopped.

The male seems to be parenting on his own.

The female has returned to her normal non paired colours and is schooling with the other 2 females now.

I guess the difference is this time I have seen it happen.

Normally I leave for work (They are paired) Come home (and they aren't)