A Female Angel Laying Eggs Alone With No Male Fertilizing

[DFT]

I found one of my angel was laying eggs in late afternoon today. I am pretty sure that another angel beside her is her spouse according to their behavior recently, although he did not show the protruding tube outside his anus. There are another two angels of the same age in this tank. The funny thing is that I saw only the female laying eggs alone, but no male fertilized them. What happened? Did she just have fun by laying eggs? BTW, late at night, all eggs were eaten. I didn't even know who ate them!

 

[SarahR]

I don't know how much fun it is for them, but yes, females can and will lay eggs without a male even present. What makes you think she has paired off? Generally if there are mature males in the group the most dominant would be showing a breeding tube and at least attempting to woo her by cleaning the spawning area before she layed. If another angel merely stood by it could just as easily be another female or immature male.

 

[DFT]

Thank you for your information!
 
The reason I think they paired off is that in the past week, the alpha "male" (or it could be a female, I couldn't tell) fought vigorously towards other angels, except for the female that was laying eggs yesterday. They fought before, but never as that violently as in the past week. So I thought this was the preparation for the alpha "male" to set up the territory for breeding. 
 
So, according to your information, among the four angels, I only know the one that is laying eggs is a female, and nothing else...

 

[SarahR]

You got it- the one spitting out eggs is female. If you have fighting keep an eye on them. Some will fight dirty (often females) and go for the eyes doing real damage. Females can be a tough and wicked as any "alpha" male. If there is a mature male in the group he should be showing interest. Set up "mini" territories so a pair can have some visual blocks and defend it. Your female should spawn again soon, see who is hanging with her. Two females will sometimes briefly behave like a couple, and males are sometimes desperate enough to share. The picture is two males spawning with a single female. Easy, eh?

 

[DFT]

Very helpful! Thanks!