I find when I raise a harem of borelli in a
larger planted tank I get a dynamic very similar to
the one you described. Yet when I breed them as a pair
in a 10 gallon tank I find that if I leave the fry
with the female for extended periods it seems to me it
wears the female out a bit. I find that these females
live about 2 yrs and seem to burn out after being with
fry for extended periods. When I look at such females
compared to ones I have in one of my show tanks, the
show tank females seem to live longer and look
healthier overall. I must add that the "wearing down"
of the female seems to occur when you leave the female
in with the fry after the school breaks up. Has anyone