MissMTS

I had another pair of Angels pair up and start to spawn about a month ago. Today they spawned for the 2nd time. They seem to be much better parents than my other pair (my male was recently killed, so it will be nice to watch these guys give it a try). They spawned on a leaf of my sword plant. I'm not sure if the eggs will actually make it to the hatching stage, but I thought I would post pics so that everyone can see I think it is so interesting to watch fish engage in breeding behaviors.

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navyscuba

How Cool. That's awesome. Sorry about your other fishie.

CHoffman

AWWW Kate, I'm sooo stinking jealous!!.. They are beautiful. Congrads on the spawn..I hope they make it for ya...then you can send me some!!

Franklin

Very cool.Cichlid breeding behavior is very interesting to see first hand.
Congratulations,good luck!

MissMTS

Thanks I was really sad about my other angel, but seeing these two spawn makes me feel a bit better.

Thanks Cesch! If the babies do make it, I will definetly send you some If they hatch I have to get a grow out tank......lol....my husband will just LOVE that

Thanks. I agree. Their breeding behavior is one of the reasons that I love keeping them. The miracle of life is amazing

Regal

Your angels are sooooo pretty. I don't think I've seen any that were all white like that. They get better at it each time. In the main tank they get eaten after they start free swimming. Good Luck

Shawnie

congrats kate!!!!!!! your angels are amazing ...love them!
keep a video diary also..its fun to watch the stages .....I have to keep a light on 24/7 for all my spawns so the eggs dont get eaten and the free swimmers dont either .....I wish them well !!

MissMTS

Thanks My angels are called platinum angels....I hadn't seen any either until my LFS got them in stock. I am going to try to remove the eggs once they are ready to hatch and let them hatch in a growout tank.

Thanks Shawnie A video diary is a great idea! Hmmmm, keeping the light on sounds like a good idea. Can I remove the leaf that the eggs are on, put it in a grow out tank, and let them hatch in there? How long until the eggs hatch? Can I use the whole plastic bin, heater, and filter idea that you gave me for the quarantine tank for a grow out tank as long as I block the filter intake with a sponge? Sorry for all the questions, lol. My other pair always ate the eggs right away so I never thought about trying to raise the fry, but since these guys are better parents, I thought I might give it a try

Shawnie

dont be sorry about the questions silly gal

you can remove the leaf...the spawning tank has to be prestine condition with some small airation to be near the eggs tho...the parents as im sure you noticed, are fanning them constantly to keep fresh water around them and keep them clean of fungus.....I try to remove them at free swimming stage instead of egg stage..but carol is a huge help more on that...

egg will start moving around on the leaf and look like lil beady eyes about a 3-4 days after...they are usually free swimmers 6-8 days or so after spawning ....

yes you can use the QT idea for a grow out...just remember, it sometimes takes them 3 or 4 spawns to realize they shouldnt eat them LOL and again, leaving the light on helps mine totally ...the second I shut the lights out, the eggs/free swimmers are gone

aquarist48

Very nice. Beautiful pics and good photos! Thanks for sharing.

Butterfly

You can remove the leaf and put it in a grow-out tank(I use a 10g). Leave the stem long enough you can rubber band it to a rock so it doesn't float all over the tank, That would damage the eggs. Then put a bubble stone gently bubbling under the leaf. gotta keep the water/oxygen moving past the eggs. This helps keep them clean and supplies that extra oxygen they need. Continue this even after they become wigglers(3-4 days from lay to wigglers) After they become freeswimmers now starte the 50% water change regiment. Their water must be near perfect and highly oxygenated. I keep a sponge filter cycled in another tank to put in the grow-out tank when they become free swimmers(3-4 days after wiggler stage). The sponge will have microscopic critters (rotifers, infusoria) growing on it for them to eat. As soon as the egg sac is gone you can start feed ing them newly hatched baby brine shrimp,Golden pearls or decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. http://www.kensfish.com/kensspecialtyfood.html
Shawnie and I both love the decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. I like the golden pearls for my tiny fry especially good for Ram fry.
Just some thoughts I'm rambling today I see LOL Keep us posted. I love baby fish.
Carol

Shawnie

do you like the decapsulated eggs carol? mine adore it...all the fry from cons to angels..

Martinismommy

That is so cool!

Martinismommy

Shawnie mine all love the stuff you sent....It sets off a feeding frenzy lol

Shawnie

awesome mm!! its so cheap and so healthy for them im glad they like it

Butterfly

Sure do. Even my Multis love it (of course they eat everything that moves )
the reason I like the golden pearls (it's a mixture of different fish, no fillers that I could see) is that it's real tiny but has an air bubble in the tiny cluster to keep it afloat and moving until some thing eats it instead of falling to the bottom of the tank. Most fry aren't sure what to eat and what not to but if it falls to the bottom most of the time they won't go get it. So now I start mine out on this and at about three days go to the decap BS. Just like the DBS it's dry and you get a ton of it.

Carol

MissMTS

Thanks for the kind words Aquarist48 and MM

Carol and Shawnie, thanks so much for the help I left the lights on in my tank last night and so far the eggs are still there. I am going to see what I can do today about getting the supplies that I need. Shawnie, since you keep yours in the main tank until they hatch, how do you prevent them from being eaten?

Shawnie

after about their 3rd spawn kate, nothing..they protect them to the end of the earth...I just havent had the time to concentrate on the free swimmers like I should and the other tank mates eat them after awhile...as well as mom and dad im sure..but for the first few weeks, mine protect them

MissMTS

Thanks so much for all of the help Shawnie I think I am going to have to wait until after our move until I have the time and money to concentrate on growing out babies. Hopefully these guys will get the hang of it soon though and make things easy for me

Regal

These are really bad pics but they are what happened to be in my phone. Thought you might like to see the difference in the hatch rate between them hatching in the community tank and in their own breeder tank.

The first two pics are in my 75 gallon community and the second two are the same pair in a 20 gallon by themselves. This same pair has about 20 that I think are gonna make it right now, I'll try and get a decent pic of them posted.

I don't have a ton of luck keeping many babies alive long term. They all seem to die after a while. I've had about 20 or so make it more than a year but not from this pair. Those babies are all healthy and most are as big as mom and dad.

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agabr123

congrats! they're gorgeous!!!!

MissMTS

Thanks for the pics! I think that after I move, I am deffinetly going to look into a 20 gallon tall tank as a breeder for my angels. Do you keep them in the breeder all the time, or do you just move them in from the main tank when they are ready to spawn? Your angels are beautiful My pair are doing a good job this time around. They are eating the unfertilized eggs off of the leaf and protecting the rest of them. I don't think I am going to try to grow out the fry until after I move, but it certainly will be nice to have a pair that knows what they are doing. My other pair didn't do as well as these two are doing with their 2nd spawn and they spawned at least 10 times in my tank.

Thanks Alex

Regal

I moved them into the 20 gallon and they laid the eggs in there. That was about 2 months ago. I don't like to move them to much because of their long fins.

They definitely get better at cleaning and defending the eggs, becoming better parents each time. It's funny, they have laid eggs twice since these babies and though they try to take my arm off every time I put my hand in the tank they just let the older babies eat the new eggs and don't try to defend them al all.

I can't imagine trying to move all the tanks you have. I've been thinking about moving my 75 about 30 feet from the family room to the living room but it just sounds like so much work. lol

MissMTS

Yeah I am absolutely dreading moving day. I know that I am going to be completely occupied with breaking down and setting up the fish tanks. I am soooo anal when it comes to decorating the house and arranging furniture though, so I am going to need to be in about 5 places at once, lol!

torren

did ur eggs hatch? i'm waiting to see if mine hatch my angel spawned on monday when i came home from work this is the 4th time they have spawn this month but all the eggs turn white on 3rd day =( i have add some No10 but its hard to see gone all blue lol i got my pair in a bear just a Filter+UV and Air Filter, 1 plant but they always spawn on the filter same as the other pair of angels alway spawn on filter never on plant or lump of slate with is about 10inchx12inch lol i may take the filter out but im afraid that their stop spawning plus the filter has a build in UV filter. If my angels are spawning every week do that mean their happy with their conditions?

MissMTS

No my eggs didn't hatch......the little stinkers ate them on the 3rd day I have had angels spawn on the filter as well. I have never heard of angels spawning every week, but I do think it is a good indicator that they are happy with their conditions

Regal

Sorry about your misbehaving angels Kate. Maybe by the time you get them settled in after your move they'll try again. They really do get better at being parents with a little more practice.
The pair I have in a 20 gallon breeding tank lay eggs right on the tank glass. I tried to tell them they're supposed to lay them on the sword leaves but I don't think they are paying much attention to me. lol Four times in a month is a lot. My pairs don't lay eggs any more than every two weeks. I think breeding is a sign that they are healthy and happy.

MissMTS

Thanks Sue These little guys did good for their 2nd try. I really think I will set up a breeding tank for them at my new apartment. My other angels used to spawn on the glass and the filter tube all the time. At least these guys know where to put the eggs I'll keep you updated and I'll definetly post more pics when I get the breeding tank set up

Speedy

Congrats on your spawn! Nice looking angels and eggs!

MissMTS

Thanks Speedy!