Female Copadichromis Borleyi Going Crazy

[Geordie]

Basically, the other day i ripped out the internal jewel filter and replaced it with an eheim, my julies laid eggs the next day after a 5 week wait and one of my female Copadichromis borleyi's was holding all within 12 hours of the new filter going in, the smaller fish which is the only male is coloured up fully and used to be a total wimp now he seems to rule the 3 females but the 4th has him on the run without fail, she is a bigger fish and chases him and every other female around without fail. Is she just confused as to what is going on? her stomach is massive and im sure she would breed if she gave the male a chance.

any thoughts?

 

[dthoffsett]

The female probably does want to mate, but the male may not be ready. As adults the males are larger, so it sounds as if you've got an adult female with younger females and a male. To cut down on the chasing, you might rearrange your tank to break up territories, or add some "caves" for more hiding spaces.

I read an article about a female that was being harrassed by the larger male, the keeper took a flower pot and made the entrance/exit hole just large enough for the female to fit in but not the male. This could work for you until the male gets his full growth.

 

[Geordie]

The male has already mated with one of the female's thats currently holding, he did try to woo her today but she seemed to be twice as aggressive as she was yesterday and didnt fall for his charms, ive had to move her to another tank for now as she was starting to get hyper aggressive chasing other females and the male around the tank for a good 10 seconds which was leaving them gasping for air. Can't really move the decor around much as i have julies with fry at one end using all the rockwork, she didnt even seem to have a set territory she just swam around looking to chase stuff.

 

[dthoffsett]

The male has already mated with one of the female's thats currently holding, he did try to woo her today but she seemed to be twice as aggressive as she was yesterday and didnt fall for his charms, ive had to move her to another tank for now as she was starting to get hyper aggressive chasing other females and the male around the tank for a good 10 seconds which was leaving them gasping for air. Can't really move the decor around much as i have julies with fry at one end using all the rockwork, she didnt even seem to have a set territory she just swam around looking to chase stuff.

And you're positive it's a female, right? Sometimes sub-dominant males can have female coloration, and the behavior you're seeing could be an attempt to become the dominant.

Either that, or you just have a hyper-aggressive fish, in which case I'd probably try to rehome her.

 

[Geordie]

Id say 98% she is female I managed to get a pic of her on the right and the male on the left (they move fast and its hard to get a good shot), she has calmed down since i put her in time out then reintroduced her, the dominant male seems to have control again, not sure for how long though, will look into taking her back if it re-occurs