I noticed this morning that Robert Redfish's lips were pretty swollen. This is common among males who are trying to clean a space in which the female will lay her eggs. I observed him trying to clean all the algae off the arch in their tank, so I decided to help things along.
I removed the arch and cleaned it with water and a brush purchased just for that purpose. I changed about 25% of their water and added the arch back in. Now Robert Redfish's lips are no longer swollen.
Another time the male's lips will swell is when they are constantly blowing on the fish eggs to keep them from growing fungus. When the parents are removed from the tank before the eggs hatch, breeders place an air stone beneath the eggs to keep the water circulating and the fungus away.
