Angel Fish Mating: Excitement Followed By Disappointment

[Gvilleguy]

I have two angels in my 40 gallon community. They are each just over a year old. I had assumed the last month or so that I had two males, as they were extra aggressive toward each other, although neither seemed hurt. I figured I might have to rehome one. Tonight I glanced at the tank and was shocked to see them mating, meticulously making passes over a flat leaf. One had a big wide tube and the other a small pointed one. I assume the bigger tube belonged to the female.
 
They mated for well over an hour. I got some good video. Then they seemed to settle down. I went back a short while later (less than 20 minutes) to find both angels aggressively eating the eggs they had just spent so much time laying! The eggs were gone in like 5 minutes. I was so disappointed.
 
I thought angels were supposed to be good parents and not  eat their eggs? Any ideas why this might have happened? I was looking forward to seeing how they cared for the eggs.
 
UPDATE: I just read a few threads online that said young angels might take a few tries to get the hang of breeding, and therefore might eat the eggs. They might also eat the eggs if they get stressed or threatened. So I may have answered my own question, but would appreciate feedback to confirm.

 

[Akasha72]

hi, I also have a pair of angels of a similar age. I've had 4 spawns from them now, the first lot of eggs they abandoned on day 2 and the other community fish ate them. The other 3 spawns were all infertile and the male ate the eggs. This is nothing unusual for all cichlids - not just angelfish. Sometimes they get it right on the first go and other times it takes them a while to learn what they are supposed to do.
 
Give them time is all I can say. They may get there eventually or they may not. You might find the male needs to be removed after they've finished - I know some angelfish breeders do this as the male is usually the culprit when eggs get eaten.
 
Hope that helps

 

[Gvilleguy]

Thanks, Akasha! That helps. It will be interesting to see if they get any better at it. 

 

[Byron]

This is a common occurrence with commercially (tank) raised angelfish.  Apparently it very rarely occurs with wild caught fish.  Presumably this is another of those changes that tank rearing causes over the generations.
 
As Akasha said, they sometimes take several spawns before they settle down.  Of course, once they are settled, any disturbance (to the fish's way of thinking) can sometimes (certainly not always) cause them to eat the eggs, which is a natural response.  I guess the instinct is to benefit from the nourishment yourself, rather than have some enemy benefit, if you are about to lose the eggs.
 
Byron.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Thanks, Byron. I wish I had another tank large enough to isolate the male after spawning, just to better the odds. But I only have a 10 gallon shrimp tank, and he would quickly eat the entire tank!

 

[Akasha72]

if you can get your eggs to free swimming stage you could try removing a few of the fry to the shrimp tank and bringing them on yourself. I've done it with my curvicep cichlid fry and bolivian ram fry too. You will lose a few this way but that's to be expected but it would give you the chance to raise a few babies