Breeding, Fighting Angelfish

[dopey696]

Hello peoples. I have four black and white striped angelfish, they were great fish together until they broke apart into two breeding pairs, each pair lays eggs about every two weeks and they're always fighting. The fighting isn't cool so unfortunately I have to get rid of one pair. My LFS will of course let me relinquish them but I was wondering since they are a breeding pair if this might not be the best option. Are they worth anything, would someone actually want them and take care of them better than an overcrowded fish store? If I get rid of one male will the other male mate with both females?

 

[dopey696]

Here's a picture of them, except for the red eyed one, he prefers pruning the tank over fighting

 

[Byron]

The fact that both pairs are spawning would suggest that the fish in each pair have accepted each other as their mate, bonded so to speak, at least for the present. Not every male will accept every female, and vice versa, so having an apparently bonded pair is significant. It might be best to attempt to sell one of the pairs as such. Of course, there are no guarantees; I have known bonded cichlids to spawn several times then decide they don't like one another and one of them is soon dead.

I would not recommend keeping both females with one of the males. The bonding issue works against any success arising from doing this, and the male might well see the second female as an intruder, and when this happens, death will normally shortly follow. In a huge tank the female might escape, but not otherwise.

Are both pairs producing fertilized eggs? Obviously it would be best for you to keep the pair that is.

Byron.

 

[dopey696]

Hey Byron, thanks for all that info. Both pairs definitely go through the process. I have video of each pair laying and then fertilizing the eggs. Unfortunately for them it's a community tank and the eggs rarely last through the next day unless I intervene. Everything we've done for them as far as fry tanks is diy. As such this time around is the second successful hatching, both from the same pair. We use a masonry jar with an airline and then a syringe to keep it vacuumed. Seems to work great. But both pairs definitely go through the motions and diligently protect the eggs until my giant hand reaches in and takes the leaf.

I don't want to cause the fish any undue stress. I purchased these on sale when I got my first tank, they were about the size of my thumb nail in a community tank with female bettas. If I return them to the fish store they'll be put back in a sales tank, I don't care about making any money but that sounds like a waste...however I don't know the first thing about selling fish. I suppose a post on craigslist would work?

 

[Byron]

You could try that, or if you have an aquarium society near where you live, contact them. A good fish store would likely take the breeding pair and sell them as such, but I wouldn't trust chain stores like this.

 

[dopey696]

That's not a bad idea to try and find somewhere to donate them too.