breeding angel fish

Welcome to the world of breeding Angels LMB

well, if they are kept with any other fish in a 55, you run a high risk of the parents eating the eggs in less than a day after they are laid. They will spawn, but they most likely will not allow the eggs to develop for fear of tank mates getting at them. They'd rather eat them first.....if by chance, they do go all the way and successfully hatch them, there is gonna be a lot of trouble for any fish that comes near their "object", Angels can be quite ugly when defending what's there's. This will result in a lot of undue stress on the Angels as well as anything else in the community. In my best opinion, I'd say figure out your breeding pair, then separate.... Not even having a "species" tank is good enough for a breeding pair, they get very territorial when breeding..... you would think with the name Angels, they'd be a little more reserved....... not so in the FW aquarium world.

HTH

10g isn't really big enough for 1 angelfish, let alone a breeding pair. A 29g tank is really the minimum; angels can get aggressive with their partners so the one getting picked on has to be able to get away if need be. You might want to think about getting some dither fish as well to help avoid this problem, maybe a small school of tetras.

You're going to want to set the tank in a secluded spot so there isn't much traffic. They'll need something to spawn on, so you could put a piece of slate in at a 45* angel or get a spawning cone. The tank should be fairly warm, ~80F. You chould probably do bare bottom or planted with substrate, I'm not sure.

Puma is correct, a 10 gallon isn't big enough for a breeding pair of Angels, a 29 should be your minimum. Keep live plants in the tank, preferably swords, the female may even opt to laying her eggs on the broad leaves. I've never had a breeding pair turn aggressive toward one another, so I can't comment on that. I wouldn't add dither fish in the breeding tank though as this may disturb the pair at this time. I would suggest if you are going to add dithers, remove them before she starts her laying as the pair are very sesitive at this time and any disturbance can cause problems, which would include high traffic in the area of the breeding tank. Add the slate, they may choose it, they may not, depends really on their choice. Some people have suggested a small pvc pipe propped against the side too. In my tank, my pair never used the pipe, used the slate a couple of times, the filter intake a couple of times, and sometimes chose the glass of the tank. My temp has always been 80 - 82 F and I never tried a bare bottom so I can't comment on if gravel is needed or if it's better without.

I'm not sure if the parents will even breed in the 10 because of the cramped quarters for them and even though you plan to have them in there a short while, it's bound to be stressful. I think your best bet would be let them lay the eggs and fertilize in the 55 (slate provided) but watch closely. When you are sure they are done, move the slate full off eggs to the 10. You will need to get Methylene Blue to take care of the fungus that may bloom as well as an air stone to be sure an adequate amount of air is passed over them.

Taking the parents out is a bad Idea in my opinion as well. The little ones that you do end up raising were never taught the parenting skills, so will most likely never stop eating their eggs or fry. This is a major problem with Discus, Rams and angels, and I am sure many other cichlids. The fry never learn how to be good parents, so those fish if they do spawn will not know what to do with the eggs, and those eggs will need to be removed from the tank to be raised and so on and so on, its a rather viscious cycle thats hard to break. These fish are supposed to care for their eggs and fry, and that is how it should be done. You may not end up with as many fry, but they will have the parenting skills and probably be healthier fish. But a 10gal is way too small for adult angels to spawn in, even a 20high is too small, the 29 is the bare minimum, especially if the parents are kept with the eggs, as they should be.