Fertile eggs?

[bozco]

My angelfish pair just laid eggs. Since the female was then eating the eggs and ripping apart any other fish that dared come near her I pulled up the plant that she laid them on and moved it into a breeder trap. Her agression has dropped and the other fish have all come out of hiding, the male angel will need to regrow some fins now.

My question for the moment is, how can you tell if these eggs are fertile? (if its possible to tell)

Thanks everyone.

[Dangerdoll]

Are you absolutely certain the male fertilized them? If you're not sure, you can tell because those that are infertile will turn white, the fertile ones will be a clearish/opaque color. If you plan on keeping them in the breeder trap, you'll need to provide some kind of air flow over them to ensure they don't succumb to fungus. Fungus is a huge problem with the eggs and air-flow is vital. You can do this by placing an air stone in the trap, be sure not to over-do the air though, you just need it to pass over the eggs, not stir them up. Another precaution for the prevention of the fungus is adding methylene blue, some people use both these methods, some just use the air, this is up to you. IMO, a breeder trap is too small for hatching the angel eggs, you may want to look into setting up another tank to make things easier.

[bozco]

I have another tank that will be ready in a few days (10 gal) There is air flow in the trap but I'm pretty sure most of the eggs are infertile as today they are starting to turn white. I'll keep an eye on them, but it I don't have very high hopes.

Do you know why the female was so agressive with the male? (hes missing half his tail and topfin) The tank is a 33 gal planted, the only other fish in it are a small school of cardinals and a some discus juviniles.

Also another thought, would it be ok to treat with melafix, for the torn male, or would that harm the eggs. Melafix says it won't hurt fry but I don't think it says anything about eggs.

[Dangerdoll]

The angels sound to me as if they are young parents or at least very new ones. She is displaying this type of behavior basically because she's a cichlid, it's a common characteristic of them, although some more than others. It would be ok to use Melafix, some people actually prefer it these days over the Methylene Blue, though I'm not sure of the dosage, if you'll need to use less or more, I've never used it. But I do know it will help with your male big time, at least it should, if his damage is limited to his fins. Is this your first batch of eggs?

[bozco]

Ok let me start by saying that, no the eggs were not fertile, all turned white by the end of the second day and fell of the plant.

These are the second eggs I've had with this male. He and another female laid them on a UGF stack, they were all fertile but the angels ate every last one. I didn't have the room to be raising babies at the time anyway.

I had to trade that female, because I didn't have the room for her, then I got a bigger tank as a gift (I was annoyed). This new female has probably never laid. But both angels are adults. My male I've had for over a year, she's the same size.

She's no longer agressive now that the eggs are gone, and I will begin treatment to the male with melafix. I've checked him daily to be sure, but I'm confident he only took damage to his tail and fins.

I've since been able to do some reading on them, and next time I should be ready if they decide to lay some more. I guess she never even let him close enough to fertilize them. She also attacked my hand when I tried to move them.

So, thank you so much for your help dangerdoll. I really appreciated it and hopefully things will work out in the future. I'd love a breeding pair of angels.

[Dangerdoll]

ahhh, hang in there bozco (and it sounds like you are ;)), chances are that if she laid them once, she'll be laying them again in no time. Since you say that your male has fertilized before and that this is a new female for him, perhaps this is her first batch and she's just not really sure what to do just yet, and with everything as we know, practice makes perfect ;) . She may not have been raised by her parents (i.e., artificially raised) which would explain her confusion about the whole situation. This might prove to be a challenge as sometimes when they aren't raised from the parents, Angels never really know what to do once the eggs are delivered, thus her exhibition of eating them before anyone else including the male.... while this may be the case, I would let her go and lay a couple/few more batches, watch her... eventually, I'm hoping she'll allow him to fertilize.... she may never lose the tendency to eat them or she may, but to ensure you get a successful batch, you may need to separate the eggs once they are fertilized. But you can judge that by keeping your eye on her progress as she grows more mature. Good luck ;)