Is this normal?

She's hanging out at the bottom right now and still breathing quite a bit. She's so large her scales are sticking out. The black on her head has lightened up a bit but her stripes are dark still.
I have another question regarding my male. I noticed yesterday as he was hovering above the few eggs in the pot that there was a tube sticking out of him. Does that mean that he is actually fertilizing this time?
 
Uh-oh, buddy..... If you said that her scales are sticking out and she is fat she might have dropsy. This is generally a fatal disease by the time you notice your fish has it. I mean she might have eggs, but if scales are sticking out, it is probably dropsy. Good luck and hope for the best.
 
The good news is the male is doing what he is supposed to do.

The bad news is if the female sort of resembles a porcupine, it could very well be dropsy. Even if it isn't she should be through laying and back to normal by now. I do not have a solution.
 
I hope she doesn't have dropsy. There's loads of info on the condition online so I won't get into details. It's an internal bacterial infection, generally considered incurable once it's gotten to the stage where the entire fish looks like a pinecone. It's also contagious, so remove her if you can to a hospital tank, treat her with antibiotics and above all, do these things as quickly as you can.
BUT, I have also read that it is possible for a fish to be so incredibly bloated by other means (constipation, eggs etc.) that _some_ scales stick out. If it's the entire fish, and she looks 'ill', you have big trouble on your hands I'm sorry to say. Good luck.
 
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Well she doesn't really look like a porcupine and she is swimming around fine and eating. Probably the reason she hasn't layed yet is because the male appears to be not letting the female near the nest again. If it is dropsy, it'll be too bad I can't help her. I'll keep an eye on the situation.
 
I've never heard of a Convict Cichlid getting that before. I mean..duh, I KNOW the can get it - but Convicts are usually so tough...even if your water quality isnt that great.
 
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