their 1st time breeding, questions

[theemon]

ok a little background first. theres 11 angels in a 55gal tank, hoping for them to pair off, ive seen signs for a month or two, but nothing positive. well today i notice ALL my fish on the left side of the tank, but 2. oh yeay i think i got a pair, then i notice the eggs :) :)

my plan:
im cleaning out a 30long right now, then ill transfer the pair + the eggs into new tank. i dont expect the eggs to live(1st time n all)

my questions:
1st. half the eggs got mold/fungus. will the parents remove this or should i? i know there dead eggs, and itll spread to the rest. though i dont expect any to survive 1st time parents.
2nd. i remember reading you should only leave 1 parent with eggs/fry correct? i think it was the male?? well i cant because i dunno witch is wittch.
3rd. out of the pair theres one obviously the dominate one, would that be the male(i know we cant 100% be sure but...)

imma go clean the tank and get it ready, ill be back to read this thread b4 i move them.

[theemon]

ok well im done, im about to move the pair + the thing they laid eggs on. im going to keep the eggs submerged in a 5gal bucket. im also going to attempt to remove the fungus/mold ones. i wished someone would have replyed by now. input is still appreciated

[Star_Rider]

Parents are often left with the fry.. but rearing fry is not automatic and the parents may eat them for a few spawns.
if you want to increase success you can remove the eggs after they have been laid.. keep an airstone near or under the egs to increase water movement. you can also add methylene blue or hydrogen peroxide to the water.. (only until eggs are hatcehed)
my pairs don't eat the fry untill about 2-3 weeks after hatch.. I usually remove the freeswimmers..keep a constant supply of BBS or similar fry food) you will need to begin feeding the fry a few days after they become free swimming.

[theemon]

well they ate the eggs, i assumed they would anyway since they had fungus on them.

im confused though, should i remove the eggs or let the parents raise them naturally? whats the pros and cons of both ways?

also how often do they spawn?

[Star_Rider]

spawns may occur every 2 weeks.

you can try many ways. what worked best for me was to allow the parents to hatchout the eggs and move the wigglers..once they became free swimming I had about 2 weeks to move the free swimmers to a grow out.

this really depends on the pair. some make great parents and will tend the babies for several weeks..others may eat the eggs a day or two after they lay them.
the results vary and you can just stand by and do what works best for your situation.

[theemon]

so whats the best tank size for a pair? a 29 gal? kuz i moved the pair to a 3ft 30gal, and it seems a little too large, im thinking of downgrading them to a 29gal.

[Star_Rider]

the 29 is shorter in length but deeper than a std 30(remember there is only 1 gallon diff)..this is better for the angels.
technically a 20 tall can be used for a breeding pair..I prefer a bit more room of the 29's