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need some QUICK advice: Angelfish

7K views 50 replies 5 participants last post by  PuterChickFL 
#1 ·
two of my angelfish got jiggy with it and laid eggs sometime yesterday. These two had been acting real odd lately and had been favoring the filter intake tube.

First things first, what do I need to do? Should I get a tank setup for them since there are other angels in the tank? Bubba is chasing them off and Stumpy is tending the eggs. I'm afraid to turn off the lights tonite on them. I got a tank full of guppies, but MAN I will have way more angelfish fry if this is successful!!
 
#2 ·
I would leave the light on tonight, but do nothing else right away. Order a sponge for the filter intake, and some small food. Its very rare to get any live fry on the first attempt. I once had a pair of angels that raised a couple dozen fry to adulthood in a 55 and it was great to see. Find that bowfront spot and move the other angels over, not right away, but in a few weeks. If you want the parents to raise fry, they will need the whole tank. If you want to artificial raise fry in small tanks, order a replacement filter intake tube and leave the rest of the angels in.
 
#3 ·
folks always talk about how prolific guppies are.......they got nothin on angels...
if you artificially hatch the eggs , a good healthy pair of angels will lay 300-500 eggs every 7 days...the biggest spawn i ever had was about 800 fry from a huge pair of marble veils....normal spawns were around 500..but that spawn was right after i shut them down for a month....
 
#4 ·
OMG that's alot. I might have 100 or so. Bubba is still guarding, tho not as aggressively, Stumpy is still skating up the pipe. Im aware that the first time I may lost most if not all, but I am just too excited to see eggs!!! I left the light on lastnite because I was afraid the others would sneak in and have a snack.

Yea, I was thinking I might have to wait on doing the Discus tank now that I may have a few hundred angels in the future lol should I put the pair in the 46 or move all the others in the 46? can the angels be in the tank with the discus?

 
#7 ·
should I put the pair in the 46 or move all the others in the 46?
First off: I have no experience breeding angels, but I have been doing a lot of research on the topic.

If i were you, I would leave the parents and the eggs in the current take and take all the other fish out. This way the parents won't have to go through the stress of their eggs being moved, as well as themselves.

After that I would order a sponge filter ASAP. Or find one in a local store. Before the eggs hatch you are going to need to turn your normal filter off so they don't get sucked in. BUT be very careful about doing this process. Remember that by turning off your current filter you are going to cause the tank to cycle again. So water changes are going to be vital!
 
#6 ·
well, space is at a premium around here, i had to make room for the 46 lol my only option is keep them in what they are in or move someone into the 46. the only bully is Bubba but he wouldnt be with the discus. the remaining angels are pretty quiet
 
#9 ·
i raised tens of thousands of angels over the years and the best thing that i have found is to move the pair into a 10 or 15 gallon tank

They will eat the first few batches of eggs/free swimmers but soon you will be able to move them from tank to tank and let them fill dozens of tanks with fry.

Let them in with the fry until the night before the fry go free swimming.(7 days post spawn) Then move the parents to the next tank to spawn again

The trick to training fish to parent raise is to have patience with them and let them learn on their own and get it right. It may take them 3-6 months to get it right.

Be patient, only bad things happen quickly in this hobby!

The tiring part is the feeding the fry every 6 hours LOL

Back in my hay day of angel breeding i was hatching brine shrimp 1 ounce of eggs a day in 2 5 gallon water bottles
 
#10 ·
I've decided to move the fry to their own tank. For what I have going on that will be easier. I just picked up a 10 gallon kit. What do I need , the air stone and heater?

I was told the parents aren't needed.....but that don't sound right.
I'm also researching baby brine shrimp. That should be fun, hopefully I get some hatchlings out of this :)
 
#12 ·
well i just got home and the eggs are still there. I see some of them have turned white, which I understand are duds. how do i tell if they are fertilized? I will be setting up the 10 gallon tomorrow and moving them over
 
#14 ·
alot of them are turning white at this point. i'm not bummed as this is the first time, but any of them surviving will be great. mommy is doing a fine job tending to the brood, daddy is being his bully self and chasing everyone away lol
 
#16 ·
that's exactly what I'm doing. alot of them are turning white and are getting fuzzy, and some of the good ones are disappearing. alot of the other angels are sort of "hanging around" and Bubba isnt fighting them off that much right at the moment. I filled the 10 gallon with mostly established water and I have the heater getting the temp right. I know this wasnt gonna be 100% success, but I'm ready for next time.
 
#17 ·
feed them good for a week...place a piece of slate in with them.....do a 30% water change and watch for when they drop their tubes..pointed tube is the male...blunt tube is the female.
 
#18 ·
yea i've been trying to get a good glance at their tubes but couldnt really tell. I'm about to move the tube over shortly, just waiting for the water to get warmed up. I filled the tank up 80/20 with established/new water, while i'm waiting I have the sponge filter in the established tank under the filter return to get some more of the bio.

i used a turkey baster to get rid of the fuzzy white ones, i swear some of the good ones are moving a little bit....
 
#21 ·
i got the eggs moved over. I thought catching the parents would be a huge hassle, but it was way too easy. when i took the tube out first, mommy was a little upset because she couldnt find her kids! I have a piece of flat rock that I put in there as well so maybe they will try that next time. I also have a sponge filter in there as well.

I like that this tank has an LED light with the blue lights so they wont be in total darkness.



 
#24 ·
thank you. the stripes (Stumpy) I got as a tiny. I'm interested to see if any of the fry will carry her stumps. I dont know if that was genetics or happened as she grew up before I got her
 
#26 ·
short ventral fins is often a result of inbreeding......you are crossing her out to an unrelated fish....you may get a few stumps , but very few..
don't just feed them frozen brine...they still need a good varied diet...veggie flake and other stuff..
best of luck kid..
 
#27 ·
What i've been doing to vary the diet is feed them flakes in the day before work, then brine when I get home. I have my mom feeding her greedy fish some frozen krill, I may try that and see if my fishies like it

as far as her ventral fins, they arent just short, they are just stumps, and her side fins are too. been like that since I got her as a teeny weeny. Naming her Stumpy was the only right thing to do lol
 
#28 ·
more then likely ammonia burn from when it was very young

i had a female once upon a time that was like that but had the best question mark on her side in jet black against a g/g body

all her babies were just fine but she never recovered or grew fins back

that is nurture over nature

her life as a fry was not so good and got her fins burnt off but her life as an adult was a fat and happy one!

And i never did get a baby with that question mark on its side like momma!
 
#29 ·
i cant wait for them to spawn again. I'm also thinking about getting a pair of convicts and breeding them. I might know someone who will take my guppies so I'll have somewhere for them. found a new LFS that I like and they have a pair with a brood and now I want them!
 
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