Angel Eggs!

[monkey_wrench]

Hi,

Today i got home from work and saw that my two angels were acting very agressive to the other fish and i soon found the reason..they were protecting their eggs.

I have NO experience whatsover on breeding angels and taking care of the eggs and the problem is they spawned in a community tank with clown loaches, other
angels and a few random tetras!!

i know it takes about 7 days before they're are free swimming and until then the two angel parents can protect the eggs but can do nothing when they hatch as fry
and i know my fat greedy angels and clown loaches wouldnt mind a side of angel fry for dinner

I really dont want my first batch of angel fry to become fish food..is there anything i can do??


P.S the spawning happened between a normal and a veil-tail angel..does this mean they will hatch as hybrids?

thanks!

 

[Tolak]

Angel spawns rarely make it in a community tank, the chances of a pair parent raising their first spawn is very slim if they were in their own tank. The first spawn from angels usually have a poor hatchout rate, they ned to get the hang of this breeding thing, I can't remember ever pulling the first spawn from a new pair.

The only thing you really can do is pull the spawn & hatch it out in a separate tank or other container. Be aware that you will need to hatch baby brine shrimp daily to have any decent sort of survival rate once they are swimmers. Also be aware that you will need considerable tank space once they are swimmers if you do get a good hatchout from the spawn & surviving swimmers.

The cheapest, most minimum setup for breeding angels includes a 20 high for the pair, 10 for hatching & initial growout, and a 55 for the final growout. You will be changing quite a bit of water towards the end as the fry reach sellable size.

With one being standard fin & one being a veil you will get about half of each in the spawn.

 

[monkey_wrench]

i see..

so would the best thing to do here is to just leave it alone and let nature take its course?

and also if i detach the eggs from the glass where they've layed them and move them to a 15 gal with the same water will they die?

 

[Tolak]

I would leave them, get set up for the next spawn. Angels will spawn every 7-14 days once they start, so there will be more spawns. Pulling angel eggs from glass is not the best option, though you can use a single edged razor blade & scrape them off, similar to cory eggs.

I always start with 100% fresh dechlorinated water in my hatching tanks, old tank water often has microscopic bacteria & protizoa that can cause problems with spawns. If you already have a 15 gallon go with that, I have a buddy that has had luck hatching in 20 gallons.

 

[monkey_wrench]

oh cool, cool..

so if i put my 2 paired up angels in a 20 gallon tank and they spawn, after they hatch and are free swimming do i remove the parents?

also is it better if the tank is barebottom and is it ok to use a sponge filter?

thanks for your help

 

[Tolak]

Generally angels are poor parents, all the line breeding & inbreeding done to obtain the different color varieties has also bred out most of the parenting instinct. This is why it is better to pull the spawn & hatch it separately. Pulling the spawn is the better option, moving the pair can throw them off their cycle for a bit.

Bare bottom tanks are best for angels, you are able to keep them cleaner. Angel fry require this, I know of nobody breeding angels who uses substrate in fry tanks.

Sponge filters are needed for fry, I use them in all of my tanks.

 

[monkey_wrench]

Generally angels are poor parents, all the line breeding & inbreeding done to obtain the different color varieties has also bred out most of the parenting instinct. This is why it is better to pull the spawn & hatch it separately. Pulling the spawn is the better option, moving the pair can throw them off their cycle for a bit.

Bare bottom tanks are best for angels, you are able to keep them cleaner. Angel fry require this, I know of nobody breeding angels who uses substrate in fry tanks.

Sponge filters are needed for fry, I use them in all of my tanks.

awesome..thanks!!

i dunno if bad parenting is an exception with my two angels cause they're contstantly fanning them with their fins and chasing away any fish that gets near..

 

[monkey_wrench]

one more thing.. when you scrape the eggs of the glass or wateva surface they've layed them on.. how do i transfer them to a different tank?

 

[Tolak]

The usual routine with angels is to pull out the plant, slate, or whatever they have spawned on, and transfer it to the hatching tank. I like pieces of pvc pipe, easy to set up at a 60 degree angle, easy to disinfect after the hatch. Put several objects around the tank, they will usually find these to be a more suitable spawning place.

Corys will often spawn on the side of the tank. Scrape the eggs off the glass, push them off the blade into the hatching tank with your finger.

 

[monkey_wrench]

oh ok thanks.. i will proceed to put objectsfor them to spawn on around the tank..

Does the water in the tank where i transfer the eggs to have to be the same water
as in the tank they were originally in?

and also how long does it usually take an angel to grow to one inch once they're
free swimming?

 

[Tolak]

I don't use water from the parent's tank, I use 100% fresh dechlorinated tap water of the same temperature.

Growth rate depends on many variables, genetics, stocking rate, diet, water temperature, and water quality. One inch body size can take from 3-5 months, depending on variables. One inch including fins depends on the variety, a strong veil strain will be 1" tall with fins in about 8 weeks.

 

[8inary]

just to touch on another part of this topic, and having been in this position myself: if you wish to breed them and rise their fry, you have to think what you are going to do with them all.

when i did it, i thought, wow, im going to make quite a bit of money from the lfs: however, once at a certain size, i proudly phone my lfs to ascertain if they wanted them, and for how much. unfortunately, it did not take too long to realise, no one wanted them....even for free!

in the end, i gave them away to friends. remember though, it will cost you to raise them, food wise, care and attention etc.

as an experience, it was great, that said, i will not be repeating it

 

[shaz-killie]

and as said before def a bare bottom tank, I learned the hard way and found some of my free swimming fry digging down into the gravel and getting trapped. spent yesterday trying to seperate gravel and fry

 

[monkey_wrench]

hehe yeah i would find it very rewarding raising some baby fish

well..i work at a fish shop and my boss would gladly take them off me to sell
at the shop once they're a decent size

What size water changes and how many would i have to do a week in a 20 gallon tank'
containing 30-40 fry?..and also is it best to have some sort of lighting on the fry tank
or none at all?

thanks for all your replys