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I have a 55 gallon with a Jack Dempsy ( 4 inch), Pacus ( 4-5 inch and yes we bought him knowing how big he would get and we are going to get 150+ gallon after we finish our sunroom), pink convict female ( 2 inch!!) and regular male convict ( 3 inch). The pink convict has just laid eggs. She is so little! I noticed the pink always flirting ( rubbing herself against him) with the other convict but he never paid her any interest . I really didn't think he liked her. I even saw him run her off a few times. However, now he is guarding the eggs with her. What do I do now? What should I expect? I am more worried about the Pacus then the Dempsey. The Dempsey appears to respect the Convicts territory and prefers to stay in his own place. The Pacus however does not respect anyone's territory. Even though he's only 4 or 5 inches he is the biggest in the tank and quite thick . He doesn't allow anyone to intimidate him and there is nothing that the Dempsey or convict can do to get him to move if he doesn't want to move. He also has shown aggression at feeding time. What should I expect? Will the Pacus or Dempsey attempt to eat the fry? Is it possible to move the eggs and convicts into their own tank? Or should I move the fry to their own tank?

when the eggs hatch you could have 80 to 100 fry, the parents both male and female will defend them feircly and keep them near the cave or area they layed the eggs in .moving the eggs i think wont work, my convicts eggs hatched a 6 weeks ago and i took three quarters of the fry out after 4 week and put them in ther own tank. then i noticed that there was more eggs and i needed to do a major water change and do some algae control (because as soon as i noticed the first set of eggs i stoped doin major cleaning as not to disturb them )and after i did this the second set of eggs was gone and my convicts have been majorly stressed since so moving probaly wont work. i'd try moving out the pacus and leave the dempsy sice you say he is not the major threat or you can do nothing now and let the fry hatch and what happens happens wait till you get the 150 and then leave the convict in the 77 because i garuntee you they will breed again and agian and agian

Thanks for the reply! I have a question. I noticed yesterday that some of the eggs appeared darker than the rest. I read a little about convict eggs and assumed that's the eyes or the fry developing. Earlier I thought that there were LESS dark eggs but thought maybe she was rearranging them. Now there are NO dark eggs. What happened to the darker eggs? Did they lighten up? Did she or the dad eat them?

no idea what happened to the eggs as when i saw my eggs they where all white (only saw once never looked again becasue it is deep in a a log standing upright and is a pain in the a** to get a look at)but if you find out anything about the eggs turning color please post it on this thread as i would like to know
thanxs
amico

Most of the eggs are gone now. Where are they? Did she eat them? Are they moved in a place that I can't see? I don't know. I'll post if I find out.

when i looked at my eggs they where gone a day after then my fish started to act spooked. are yours acting spooked if they are the eggs probaly where distroyed by them

I don't really see any difference in her behaviour. She is still guarding the few eggs that are left. I am confused. Maybe she is moving them and there are some on the other side that I cannot see. It's hard to describe the "cave". It is a pvc pipe that is standing upright that has big circular holes drilled into it. If she is moving the eggs to the opposite walll then they are out of my line of vision. I wouldn't be able to see them unless I disturbed the pipe. Should I do that or just wait and see? Is it normal for them to move the eggs? Is it normal for them to eat their own eggs?

no don't disturb them because there is a chance they will eat them if they havent already. Just let everything run its course and they will spawn again, they always do.

Well eggs are gone. She still hangs out in the cave but is not guarding it as vigilantly as before. She and the male are still bonded. I have spotted him in the cave a few times and they still rub against each other in greeting. I think she ate the eggs. I don't believe there are any fry because I don't see any cleared out gravel and she is more relaxed about guarding the cave then before. She ( and he) would be much more aggressive if there were fry, right?