Help! My Angelfish Is Pregg0rz!

[Crossfc]

Sorry for the silly title. But I thought it was funny at the moment. So I think my koi angelfish is pregnant. It's belly is all large. What should I do? Should I get a divider or a small tank for it? From my knowledge, fish do not mate. They male fish oozes its 'DNA' on to the fish eggs once they are laid right? How do I tell who the father is? Clueless! Help!

 

[Tolak]

It should be easy telling who the pair is, they are the two claiming a large area of the tank to themselves, & beating the snot out of anything that slightly resembles an angel.

It depends on the tank size, & who the occupants are as to weather to get a tank for the pair, or a divider. Sometimes 2 females will form a pair, this usually occurs if there is no male present. If there is no territorial behavior, the fish may be bloated. If this is the case, epsom salt usually helps.

 

[Crossfc]

No snot beating is occuring. So I guess a pair hasn't form yet. So the fish is just really bloated?

 

[Tolak]

Could be, it depends on how much, and what you have been feeding them. I've found that an excess of bloodworms can cause bloating in angels, I only feed them blood worms once a week, twice weekly for breeding pairs. Brine shrimp has less protein, & more roughage, it helps to keep them regular.

Having the tank too cool can also lead to bloating, cooler water lowers the metabolism, slowing down digestion. The coolest I keep angels is 80F, pair & growout tanks are around 84F.