Angel Fish

[Biulu]

I bought 4 small angel fish with the idea to keep a pair, but I have tried this before and ended up having 2 large males. The thing is that in the beginning they were following each other around and clearly left 2 others out of their 'socializing', so I thought they had paired up, but 6 months later they have developed the famous head lump and are regularly harrassing each other.

So this time I want to do it right and not end up again with 2 males or 2 females. My question therefore is; what are the tell tale signs that I really have a pair? And also at which size/age can I see that they are? Currently their body has the size of a 2 Euro coin or of a looney....

 

[mattlee]

sounds like you need to wait a bit longer. fish will be sexualy mature at a certain size and age so i think it will be a while before yours are thinking about spawning.
there is no guarentee that you will end up with a mixed sex pair as it has been known for 2 females to go through the whole spawning thing but obviously the eggs wont be fertile. also its not set in stone that fish will spawn, they have to feel right and happy in their surroundings otherwise it may just not happen.
just putting 2 fish together doesnt mean they will get it on!!!!

all you can do is grow them on and keep an eye out for them cleaning a surface as this is where they will lay the eggs. let they lay and see if they go white, if they do then they are infertile and obviously no good. this could be down to 2 females or just 2 fish that arent ready yet.....

also if there are any other fish in the tank and the angels spawn when you are out then they may not be there when you get back. fish love to eat eggs and even the parents may eat their own eggs the first few times especially if they feel threatened.

if you really want to breed angels then keep them in a species only tank and wait until they are big enough to spawn, look for the signs and seperate the pair. if it doesnt work out put them all together again and start from scratch. if you do get a breeding pair then be prepared to have quite a few grow out tanks or 1 huge tank as they will need room to grow and cant all be crammed into a 2ft tank!

good luck with it and keep us informed

 

[Biulu]

Thanks Matt! Yes, I know that these fish are still young but as I told you before, I kept 4 together in a 180 litre tank, thought they had paired off and now it turns out that they are 2 males that bicker regularly! These 2 had previously also kept the other angelfish away from each other...

So you are saying that if you don't see them preparing a 'nesting' place and actually lay eggs there is no way in telling if they have paired up?

 

[mattlee]

yes without actually seeing them clean a piece of wood or rock etc, then laying the eggs and them being fertile you will never know if you have a pair that have bonded. like i said before it has been known for 2 females to go through the cleaning, egg laying part but the eggs arent fertilised so go white. so when the eggs stay good and are fertile you know its a male and female

 

[ultimatebob]

first of all if your angels pair up, they will chase away the other angels from certain area of the tank, but will not chase away each other. they will lay their eggs on anything horizontal= leaf, glass, heater, whatever. both will defend this area as a team. this is your pair.

 

[Biulu]

Ok, thanks for the answer. I guess mine still have a lot of growing to do before I can see anything like that.