I inherited my friends convicts, which is to say they didn't have tank and if I didn't take them, they probably would have died. Anyhow, I housed them in a 77 gallon tank with a 2-3 inch dempsey.
Same old story, convict guy got the convict girl, laid eggs, blah blah blah.
But here's where things get a bit screwy. Female Convict (Little Mama) gets to spend ALL her time with the eggs while the male (Big Daddy) buggers about the tank lazily. Doesn't even switch in to let her eat.
Nor does he particularly fend off the curious little jerk that is my Dempsey (Gentleman). Sure he'd chase Gentleman half heartedly ever once in awhile, but mostly he just wandered around, letting the little fella get WAY too close to the eggs.
I tried to get food right in their pot for her but I think my enormous fingers appearing right infront of her was enough to send her over the edge, and she ate her eggs.
They're now in a 20 gallon tank sitting right next to me by themselves. I've discovered Big Daddy is kind of a moron that lacks spatial awareness (he got stuck in a decorative t-rex skull that he clearly should have no business being in) and now, seems to be only sort of interested in mating. Little mama is bright as the sun and trying to lip lock and do the mating dance. He sort of half heartedly does the dance and buggers off like halfway through.
Also he's REALLY REALLY afraid of me for some reason. Even when he had the eggs before, i'd go near the tank to see how Little Mama was doing but he'd freak out and take off. She didn't mind seeing me. It's weird, he's so skittish and weird and she's pretty much what I expected from a convict without the incredible aggression.
It does seem like he wants to mate with her though. If she disappears from view for too long, he charges around til he finds her. And he's always rubbing up to her and swimming in tandem with her. I'm just not sure what his deal is... maybe he's gay.
