Lovers' quarrel

[4eye gold fish]

Hi all, Can someone please tell me if this is normal. I have these pair that spawn for months then went off spawn cycle for about two months now. Yesterday the male started to show aggression toward the female. He pins her to a corner and would not let her come out to feed or swim. This morning, I noticed the aggression has gotten more heavy. Did the bond break between the two and should I separate them? They are in a 20 gallon, I have a spare 20g I could put the female in. I also have an empty 55g available, should I place them in the 55 and see if they would bond again?

Thanks

[peewee1]

If they have been breeding and if several batches fail they may turn on each other.

[4eye gold fish]

If they have been breeding and if several batches fail they may turn on each other.

Most of their spawns has resulted with fry but fails at the attachment phase. On their last spawn prior to the pair going off cycle, I was successful with artificial rearing. Unfortunately I figured out what I was doing wrong a bit too late and lost most of the batch, Now that I know what to do, they stopped spawning

I have placed a divider to separate the pair for a few days and monitor if there is still aggression toward the female. I'm thinking of setting up the 55 with divider so that they have more room.
Will the pair bond again?

[LizStreithorst]

Sometimes that works. To you have a community Discus tank where they can go and sort themselves out? They generally go back to one another but sometimes they choose other mates or just take some time off until they get back in the mood.

[4eye gold fish]

Sometimes that works. To you have a community Discus tank where they can go and sort themselves out?

I do have a Community Discus tank. I thought about that also but the tank is established and doing well so I didn't want to disrupt the balance. I have placed them in the 55g with divider to let the pair have some self time.

[Willie]

I'd suggest that you move the two lovebirds into the 55, then add a 3rd discus to the mix. Adding an extra discus will often cause the pair to re-bond. Watch them carefully as they may start to bully the 3rd fish. The process should take than two weeks at the maximum. If nothing happens by then, remove the extra discus.

Willie