Why are my angelfish eggs dying?

[bettaobsession]

Okay so i have a mated pair of angelfish that have been laying for like a few months now and the eggs never survive. Yet again, today, they layed again. I checked the water parameters and here they are:

Ammonia: 0.25
Temperature: 80F
NitrAte: 20ppm
NitrIte: 0ppm

Even when i put the eggs in a breeder net to stop the parents from eating them they STILL die! Some help to my mystery would be APPRECIATED

[bettaobsession]

heloo?

[montanafish gal]

i'm no expert, but I've heard others say "are you sure you have a true pair? sometimes you really have 2 females who are acting like a pair, and of course a female can't fertilize the eggs". and "can you tell for sure if the eggs are fertilized or not?"

[montanafish gal]

bump for ya. I'm interested in what others tell you about this.

[TwoTankAmin]

You need to watch when they spawn to see if they both deposit eggs.

It is also possible if they are indeed a pair that one or even both is infertile.

[Star_Rider]

I think they got ya covered.
watch them and make sure you have a true pair.(male/female)

[beabroca]

wouldnt the nitrates play a negative role in this, i thought they were bad for the fish?

[Hebily]

I'd say the ammonia might, but I dunno for sure... I do wonder why you have .25 ammo on a tank that's been set up that long...

[beabroca]

that is curious, add new fish recently , that would cause the change maybe.

[Star_Rider]

to answer the question about nitrate.
no at 20 ppm that should not have much effect on the eggs not being fertile.
the more common issue is the eggs are either non viable or the male is not fertile .
for that matter nitrate in general can be quite a bit higher before nitrate itself is an issue.
more important is TDS..
other possibility.. two females

hardness of the water has been suggested as possible issue the theory is the egg membrane is less permeable by the sperm.
the ammonia reading..if this is an established tank...may be reading total ammonia..since the test we generally use measures total ammonia(NH3+NH4)
possibly reading a chemical in the tank?or it was taken after a water change...
unsure really

[bettaobsession]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but the question i heard most was are you sure you have a true pair?
Yes very sure, i am positive i have a male and a female but im not sure if maybe one of them is unfertile.
Sometimes the male like hardly does anything just sort of fertilyzes in the wrong place or just watches.
The tank has been set up since like march, i didnt think that .25 was much ammonia.

[Star_Rider]

you confirmed by verifying the Ovipositor?


are these angels young?

how often have the spawned?

anything over 0 NH3 is a slight concern.
but the test kits also measure NH4.

is the Ammonia test done after water change? if so how long after water change?

[Slappy*McFish]

Are the eggs white/opaque or clear after spawning?