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Hello all my Angelfish Breeding Friends,
I have a new question. I really want to have some baby angels, and this time they laid eggs, I have been thinking about what to do to help ensure success. The last batch was eaten on day 2 after laying, and the one prior to that made it to wigglers, then disappeared mysteriously.
The Mom Angel, is being a perfect mom. She is fanning the eggs, picking off ONLY the white sterile ones, and being very protective. The Dad Angel, is eating the eggs. When the Mom sees him, She chases him away, but as soon as she turns away, he goes right for them. I have been watching him for 2 days do this, and watching the eggs start to steadily decrease in number, now down to about 60% of the total original eggs.
I have removed the Male Angel to the other side of the divider. I am wondering though, is this OK to do? Will the pair loose their bond in the time it takes for the babies to become free swimming (assuming mom doesnt eat them)? Once the babies are free swimming I am going to move them into the 10g to start growing them out. At this point I would move the male back in. Will this work? I am just worried mostly about their pair bond and whether or not it will stress them both out too much. They can still see each other through the screening.



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I've tried that and the seperation didn't break the bond but the mom ate the fry so it was only for 2 days.

I don't think it would break the bond if no other Angels are in the tank for him to pair up with.

Good luck, Mike

Thanks Mike
I woke up today and found Sneaky Pete-ette had eaten all the eggs. I guess she missed Sid too much.
Next batch I think I will hatch myself.
Is there any way of removing the eggs off the leaf so I can "leaf" the plant in with them? Its huge and I dont want to cut the leaf, which is the only way I could pop it into a seperate fry hatcher place.
I was thinking maybe an airline tubing to suck them off the leaf?
Ideas?



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I never tried anything like that. I'm not sure you could do it without damaging the eggs.

Sometimes they'll knock them off fanning so you might try washing them off with a powerhead directed into a net.

Good luck, let me know if whatever you try works.

Mike

Angels are notorious for gobbling up their eggs...

Picking off eggs that are not fertile and turn white is automatic for the adult female while faning the eggs.

Since no Angel breeder in their right mind would leave the eggs in the same tank as the adults, a piece of smooth slate is leaned up against the side of the tank at a slight angle to allow the female to deposit eggs and the male to fertilize.

When the laying if finished, the slate is removed to a separate tank of the same temp and quality water and dosed with a little Methylene Blue to the water to prevent fungus from forming on the eggs.

Use an air stone to supply some bubbles flowing across the eggs, lightly, and wait for the fry to hatch.

--garyroland.

I put a slate in there, the fish refuse to use it. They are continuously using the same leaf on the same plant Gary.
Besides, what Am I gonna do with a large peice of slate once I remove it?
The slate I have wouldnt even fit in a 10g tank :-p


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
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Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Once the plant (leaf) is removed or moved to a different area and the slate replaced in that spot, the Angels may use it.

Slate is broken into a narrow 3-inch strip and used accordingly. If the Angels would rather have the leaf, then cut it off with the eggs attached and place it in a 10-gallon and weight it down at the bottom.

There's no way you can leave the eggs in with the adults. Be creative.

--garyroland.

You could try offering the angels a length of PVC pipe to spawn on. I use the beige stuff for potable water from the hardware store - half inch or one inch. Set it nearly vertical in the tank, leaning against the glass nearish their favorite leaf. (This stuff is inexpensive, so why not offer them two or more pipes?) Many breeders like using these as they are cheap, easy to manipulate and do not break tanks if they fall over. Some use an elbow at the top to keep them in place, others construct "breeding trees" with a multi unit arising from a base, others use suction cups to affix them to the tank.

If you really want angel fry, yes, hatch them yourself. I must know many "nutty" angelfish breeders though, as many do let their pairs parent raise - but generally only when they have enough spawns "coming" such that sucess of a given spawn is not critical.