Marble angels spawning

[Morrgan]

Here are Hobart (female) and Nemesis (male), my marble angels. They were bought in summer 1997, so they're about 8 years old, but as you can see, their age doesn't seem to bother them too much.

 

[glolite]

Coo! Loads of eggs. Do you keep them in a species tank or mixed with other fish?

 

[Morrgan]

They're in a ~200 l (53 gal) with 13 bronze cories and 2 whiptails. So they do have company, but they have the top and middle layers of the tank to themselves.

 

[Vivienne]

They're beautiful fish - but if you'll excuse a dumb, beginners question where in the photograph are the eggs ?

 

[Bloo]

Well done for keeping them so well for so many years They are lovely
Though have to admit, I can't see any eggs either

 

[Morrgan]

Thank you both! Heh, I hope this piccie makes things clearer. Hobart is just laying another set of eggs, so she's on top of them.

 

[Bloo]

Hey, I must have been blind before it's clear as daylight now
Well done !

 

[nitro]

Beautiful angels you have. Im sure they are very good parents by now?

 

[Morrgan]

Alas, they don't seem to know how to be parents. It seems they were bred by people who were more interested in how they look instead of how good they are at parenting.

That's one reason I get so annoyed when I see people suggest you raise angel (or any cichlid) fry away from their parents, since that eventually leads to bad parents. As I feel the natural behaviour of fish is just as (if not more) important than looks, I haven't even tried raising the fry, even though I'd love to see the little ones grow. However, it's been going better and better for Hobart and Nemesis each time, so I hope they'll get the hang of it one day. Maybe they're just slow learners. They only started spawning less than a couple of years ago for some reason, so they haven't had that much practise yet.