Breeding Angels, help! @_@

[Genki_Pie]

Okay, I've got a 55gal tank with 5 angels and some other fish, and I came home today to find two of them in the corner working on a patch of eggs. They won't let any other fish near them, and they keep spitting eggs out like they're trying to get them all stuck onto the filter intake pipe (where there's already a patch of eggs)

For the most part the eggs are brown, though there are some white ones mixed in...Um, I have no clue what to do. Will the parents defend the eggs till they hatch? Or do I need to move the eggs? Do the parents need to stick with the eggs? Is it possible for me to just get a divider and temporary fence off a corner of the tank? Eeeeek, please help!

 

[Cian McLiam]

Probably the best thing to do is to remove them and hatch them in a small bare bottom tank with an airstone running gentle bubbles over them, failing that a divider could work well but if you go for a mesh one the fry may get caught in it. If the fry can pass through it the other angels will probably eat them.

If this is their first spawning they may eat the eggs themselves, especially if there is a lot of aggression in the tank or there are too many white ones so you can prepare yourself for a more succesful second attempt withthe parents in a barebottom tank with a plastic leafy plant or piece of slate.

Hatched brine shrimp is the best starter food so you will need to make a start on that now, a simple hatchery kit will do the trick but remember to wash the salty water off the shrimps before feeding.

Ken