My Angelfish are Breeding Again !!!

Butterfly, if you're reading this, my angels spawned again! On Christmas Eve, lol. So I got a nice Christmas gift from them! The strangest thing of all is that I can't tell they will be spawning until only a day or two before they actually do spawn. The breeding tubes started to be visible only one day before they spawned. I think I really do have a pair. Would two females become full of eggs regularly? Besides, the golden angel's tube was really thin and sharp-ended, just as the last time. And the blue blushing angel's tube was rather rounded, also just like last time. It's gotta be a pair. But the bad news is that I wasn't there to see them spawn again Unfortunately I wasn't home at that moment. The good news is that I transferred the angels to a separate tank just before I left my house knowing they will spawn anytime soon.

So! What do I do!? I didn't remove the parents this time. And they are not eating the eggs! I think I was wrong to have removed the parents the first time they spawned. Maybe they were not eating the eggs at all. I also observed the mom fanning the eggs all the time. You have no idea how CUTE it looks!!! It was so nice to come home and see the angels with their babies (well, not babies yet because I don't know if they'll hatch) on Christmas Eve

I am raising the temperature to 80-81F (It was 79F at the time they spawned). When should I start the 50% daily water changes? When to remove the parents? Plus, I will soon put a stocking over my filter's intake tube since I cannot find any good sponge filter in my pet store. Anything else I should do?

 

Congratulations!!!!!! When did you last do a water change? If in the last couple of days wait a day or so and then do one. Be prepared for mom and dad to attack you The stocking should be fine on the filter.
I would wait until their free swimming about 3-4 days before removing mom and dad.
Merry Christmas!!!!
Carol

 

HI Carol Merry Christmas to you too! I hope you have a wonderful time with all of your loved ones

The last time I did a 25% water change in my 10g. tank (where the angels and the eggs are) was about 1.5 week ago (can't remember the exact number of days). Does that mean I should perform a 50% water change with a gravel vac. today? Or wait longer?

 

Do a 50% today and vac, and continue doing water changes. Good Luck!!
Carol

 

No need for water changes. The eggs are gone - the "mom" ate them. I think I've had enough. When I separate the parents, the eggs turn white. And when I leave the parents with the eggs, the parents eat the eggs (more precisely, it was the mom who ate them). What's strange is that all this time she was also cleaning and fanning them, eating a couple every now and then. And now, there are no eggs left.

I don't know what to do anymore. They'll surely spawn again, but that doesn't help anything since the eggs won't make it -they'll die one way or another. So should I just leave the angels in the main tank next time they breed? It doesn't matter if other fish will eat the eggs, because if the other fish won't, the parents will. Besides, if they were to spawn successfully every time (which is about every month) I would have nowhere to keep the fry in. I don't have 5-10 tanks, but just 2 of them.

That's it for breeding. I won't be posting anything about breeding if they spawn again. I already know how this will end.

 

Make sure they haven't just moved them. Sometimes they hide them and you think they have eaten them.
Don't give up!!!! It may take them a couple of times to get it right.
Carol

 

Maybe they are both females and are not being fertilized. The one laying one wil still pass over them and nothing will happen.

 

Carol, I searched the whole tank and I can't see the eggs anywhere. Besides, the tank is only 10 gallons and it's relatively empty. I think it would be easy to spot the eggs. So, they're gone.

J-Man, is it possible that two females would spawn regularly? And if they're both females, why does only one of them lay eggs? And their breeding tubes look exactly as Butterfly described - one rounded and the other sharp-ended. I do think it is a pair. But I will be 100% sure after I myself have seen them lay and fertilize the eggs. Plus, they were both fanning and cleaning the eggs (only later the mom ate them).

I am also wondering: How does the fertilizer with which the male fertilizes the eggs look like? Is it transparent? Whitish? I am asking because I want to be able to make sure that it's a pair when they spawn next time. And what if they're both females? Does a mom eat the eggs if there is no male to fertilize them? What should I do about it if they're both females? Won't it stress them out that there is no one to fertilize their eggs?

 

When the male goes over the eggs you can't see him spread anything. I think you have a pair also. they may spawn again as early as two weeks. Some times they just get stressed and eat their eggs, and sometimes it just takes a couple of times to get it right.

Yes two females will still lay eggs regularly but I still think you have a pair. Hang in there
Carol

 

Good Luck!!!

 

All right then

 

Some one gave my daughter (tennhound) a tank but she had to take the angelfish that were in it too. Since she needed the tank for something else knowing my love for angels she asked if I wanted them. So sight unseen I said yes. When they got here there was one obviously full grown, very fat marble angel. The others appeared to be very young juveniles with huge fins. The two largest bodies isn't aren't bigger than a half dollar.
Well Lo and Behold the (pics 1-3)marble and one of the smaller angels have laid eggs 3 or 4 times (I figures he wasn't old enough, but the lastest batch laid Sunday are officially wigglers. YAY!!! They were being really rough on the other 5 smaller angels so I moved all 5 of the smaller ones to the 75G.

 

Crazy angelfish...hey at least yours aren't kicking each other butts like mine are lol.
I LOVE the bottom pix that angel is so pretty.

 

(pic s 1-3)After doing a water change today I noticed two of them chasing the other three and guess what I found???? a leaf full of eggs and two angels laying and covering. Dad is the second pic and mom is the third. Now the three that are left have been moved AGAIN to a thirty gallon long temporarily.
(pics 4,5)The two I want to pair up probably won't LOL
Carol

 

LOL They NEVER do what we want them to do.
Again so pretty.

 

WOW I'm so envious...they are so angelic...how many angels do you have now?

 

HI butterfly
A black marble crossed with those huge fins would be awesome .
Fingers crossed.

 

Thanks allie I've never seen angels this small/young breed before. The ones I want to pair are the palest blue, probably classed as a smoke
Carol

HI butterfly
A mlack marble crossed with those huge fins would be awesome .
Fingers crossed.

You are exactly right Although I don't think I've ever seen a marble with long fins.
Dads fins are really long, when he gets full grown he will really be something. He is really funny, if you come too close to the tank he snaps those fins out and just quivers like he's just daring me to come closer.
Shawnie I have seven angels now.
Carol

 

Shawnie I have seven angels now.
Carol

I'm so jealous...someday...I love the pics...

 

I'm so jealous...someday...I love the pics...

Before we moved last May I had lost or given away all the angels in my profile angel album and these are the first I've let myself have since setting all the tanks back up and they are just so sweet.
Here is a great link for anyone who is interested in angelfish genetics.


seedy- number 14 has a picture of a long finned marble and you ae right they are gorgeous
carol

 

Check out the post SabI made requesting angel pix. I have pix of a male long finned comb tail. He was HUGE 8" tall 5" wide. I have a pix of his pearl scale female somewhere but I need to search. They were very aggressive.

 

well I just adore them and would love to take some time soon, (as my life slows down) to have all the knowledge possible...ive saved all the links everyones had with angels, and mine being rescues, I got lucky so you have said before..but id really like just a tank of breeding , healthy , happy angels...

 

well I just adore them and would love to take some time soon, (as my life slows down) to have all the knowledge possible...ive saved all the links everyones had with angels, and mine being rescues, I got lucky so you have said before..but id really like just a tank of breeding , healthy , happy angels...

I thought that's what I would have for awhile, In fact the 55G was decorated just for them thinking they could live in it a bit until they grew some LOL Who Knew!!
Carol

 

That's soooo not fair. I could never get mine to breed when I had them.

MARIE

 

Wow, they're beautiful fish.

 

Thanks everyone

Tennhound :-*
carol

 

Good luck with the spawn Butterfly! ;D The Angels are beautiful.. I also love the look of the pale/blue ones...
I have a marble and never realized that a lot of the marbles fins are not long, such as like the striped ones. I was wondering why my marbles fins were short.. sort of stocky and much thicker than the long flow of the striped Angels.
I wish I had a pair.. but guess I should just leave well enough alone. As it is, Ive had to separate these guys. Imagine if they were in breeding mode!

 

Congrats!!!Beautiful angels!!

 

Well came home from work today and the babies of the first pair are missing
They were probably lunch. They have spawned four times or so and this is the first time they got to the wiggler stage so we shall see.
Meanwhile the other pair are taking great care of their eggs. I really want to leave them with their first batch of babies (this is how they learn to parent) but after the others in the other tank disappearing I don't know. I want angel babies!!!!
Carol

 

I want you to have angel babies!!! such a tough decision..its like you want to leave them to learn how to care for them for future babies, but at the same time you want to save what you have! goodluck!

 

We have 1 little Angel fry from the 3rd spawning of our Angels.. they've spawned 5 times so far. Still haven't quite got it right. Wilma seems to understand now to eat the bad eggs, but Fred guards them from her and the last 2 batches have gone fungusy. We love Fred, but he's slow at catching on, the 3rd batch was the 1st one that he fertilized.

 

UPDATE:
Well I broke down and pulled half the wigglers from the second pair and now their free swimming. Such cute and tiny babies :-* I tried to take their pics but they are just little dots. They are in a ten gallon so they don't have to hunt so hard for food, along with a 50% + water change each day. When they get bigger they will go into a 30 gallon to grow out. Right now they are getting garlic guard and first bites. As soon as the brine shrimp hatch they will have baby brine shrimp also. At this point the water changes are really important for any ammonia, nitrites or nitrates and they will stunt (nitrates) and their fins be crooked (ammonia, nitrites). Keep your fingers crossed. Oh by the way the half I left in the tank are gone. Could have been any bodys lunch I guess.
Carol

 

awesome!!!! ill keep my fingers crossed and can't wait to see pics!!! I don't think any of mine are going to pair up LOL ...be my luck id have all the same sex I'm sure

 

The baby angles are a little over two weeks old and we're down to 10. Haven't lost any in several days so I think we are stablized in numbers. seems like if they take a full four days to go wigglers and a full four days to go free swimming the fry are bigger and we have a higher survival rate. The water in that tank was a little warm (angels like warm ) and they wiggled at three days and free swam in three more days and were really tiny. Still not big enough to get pictures of(not with my camera ).
Part of the reason for this update is to tell about a cool new product(new to me) I found. My brine shrimp didn't want to hatch so when taking plants to trade at the LFS I asked if they had any hatched and he said no but he had a new product. It's called "Instant Baby Brine shrimp" from Ocean Nutrition. there is nothing in the little jar but BBS. Not even preservatives. There is 0.7ounce in the jar but guaranteed to have over 1.5 MILLION BBS in it. The draw back is you have to dispose of what's left seven days after opening. But my babies just devoured it. It's a little pricey ($10) but if you have lots of fry to feed it would be great. My Threadfin Rainbows loved them too. Bet it would be good to condition them for breeding.
Anyway the fella at the LFS traded me the jar of BBS for my plants and said to let him know how they worked out.

This ad says you can use them for several weeks after opening but the box says seven days after opening.
Oh and this pair have a new leaf full of eggs one day old
Carol

 

Part of the reason for this update is to tell about a cool new product(new to me) I found. My brine shrimp didn't want to hatch so when taking plants to trade at the LFS I asked if they had any hatched and he said no but he had a new product. It's called "Instant Baby Brine shrimp" from Ocean Nutrition. there is nothing in the little jar but BBS. Not even preservatives. There is 0.7ounce in the jar but guaranteed to have over 1.5 MILLION BBS in it. The draw back is you have to dispose of what's left seven days after opening. But my babies just devoured it. It's a little pricey ($10) but if you have lots of fry to feed it would be great. My Threadfin Rainbows loved them too. Bet it would be good to condition them for breeding.
Anyway the fella at the LFS traded me the jar of BBS for my plants and said to let him know how they worked out.

This ad says you can use them for several weeks after opening but the box says seven days after opening.

DFS has it as well, .

 

I highly recommend it to anybody with tiny fry
carol

 

I just happened to notice today when I was buying stuff on the site. Awesome find!

 

It kind of looks like butterscotch pudding in the jar but when you put it in the tank it separates really easily into individual BBS.They also stay suspended in the water column for a bit, gives the babies time to find them before they wind up on the bottom.
Carol

 

I saved that to my favs!! thanks carol!!!

now if I could be lucky enough one day to have a mating pair, ill be forever happy!

 

I should get a jar of that sometime. Then I wouldn't be running 2 hatcheries for a couple days each week to keep the bbs collecting going when switching hatcheries.