Angels bred for first time help!

[ice jack]

Hi ,i have one wild caught angel and one domestic bred angel in a community tank (juwel 260 litre) .Today I came home and noticed they were guarding eggs layed on a plant leave in the top corner of the tank ,furthest corner away from the filter. they both seemed to take turns in hovering over the eggs but i only noticed a tube protruding form the wild angel the other fish didnt seem to have anything showing and it also occasionlly seemed to eat the odd egg ,the other fish didnt.What i needto know is what do i do next/ It is now night time im a little worrid some of the other fish may eat the eggs,there is a large plec in the tank and 3 clown loachs that are always hungry. Other fish include 4 keyhole cichlids ,1 severum (small) and festivum (small). The Angels are the biggest fish in the tank but will they be able to guard all night? Ihave put some wafers and some green beans in for the plec just as i switched off the lights for the night. I did consider cutting the stem of theplant with the eggs and putting them in a seperate tank but thought it might discourage the angels from breeding again as this was there first time.

[Ghost_knife]

you can move the eggs or leave them, the parents will either take care of them or leave them. since this is their first spawn they may eat them..

[Dangerdoll]

since it's their first time and since there are other fish in the tank, the most likely scenerio will be that the parents wind up eating the eggs. Not to worry though, since you have a wild one, you may be in luck but not sure with those other fishes. As a rule, young parent Angels typically eat their first few spawns.

[jm1212]

angels are pretty good parents, but all parents have to sleep sometimes, and that is when the pleco and clown loaches will get at the eggs. the best way to breed them if you want to is to put them in a seperate tank.

[ice jack]

thanks everyone for the advice, it would seem they wont be there in the morning from what you say ,i have left a small dim light on in the room ,its pitch black without it ,but still dark ,i hope this helps them to protect the eggs,not sure if im doing theright thing but its all a learning curve i guess

[ice jack]

Came down to look at the fish in the middle of the night ,noticed the domestic bred fish had wandered off ,the wild one was still on guard .This morning eggs were still there ,some turned white ,Domestic angel came back to the spawning leaf as if to help out but then started eating the eggs ,wild angel attacked the domestic one but then the severum joined in trying to eat the eggs and he got whacked to. Feel real sad ,wild fish is guarding whats left off the eggs ,will the angels ever spawn again? Wild one seemed real angry with the domestic one,will the Dom. learn to be a better parent?

[Blueiz]

Are you sure they are eating the eggs and not moving them? Also the angels will appear to "blow" at the nest. To help my angels out, I left my tank lights on 24-7 until the eggs hatched and the fry were free swimming. After which I moved them to another tank..and all the fry dissappeared. Im hoping my next spawn will be more successful. Keep an eye out on your angels and the other fish, watch for injuries. The angels will attack anything that comes into, or close to there nest.

Blue

[ice jack]

Thanks to everyone for there input , went to look again all eggs gone now ,two angels seem to be getting on ,perhaps as this was a first spawn the domestic angel will learn and be a better parent next time,was amazed how he changed from good fish to selfish bad fish in a couple of minutes .Ihave a spare small tank was thinking of setting it up now ready for the next spawn if they breed again should i put some bacteria start treatment in to the tank ,or just fresh declorinated water?

[Star_Rider]

the angels will mostl likely spawn in 2-3 weeks.

if you want to help condition the fish..increase the bloodworms and bbs or add beefheart(not my choice)

the liklihood of a successful spawn and parent raising in a commnity tank is lower than in a species tank or breeding tank.

you can remove the eggs if you want..add methylene blue to the ewater with the eggs or H2O2(hydrogen peroxide) either of these will act as a fungus inhibitor. also add an airstone in with the eggs..since the parents fan the eggs you need to substitue.

you could also move the parents into a breeding tank(30 gallon) with slates..this may slow the spawn as the parents re-adapt with the stress of moving. could you tell which was male/female??

the eggs should turn to wigglers about 3 days from being laid..the wigglers will become freeswimmers in about 3 more days. when they become freeswimmers you need to look to bbs for food.

if you have a good set of parents that raise the fry..most of your work is reduced to just supplying food to the freeswimmers. I use a turkey baster for that.

so far I don't have great parents..the male tends to eat the wigglers..so I move the woigglers when this happens..in one case the parents raise till freeswimming..easier to take care of freeswimmers..clean water and lots of bbs..LOL

[softturtle]

Nice. I love breeding fish. Yeah, trying to raise a batch of fry in a community tank is harder than it would be in the wild. Like someone said earlier, you could remove the parrents to a breeding tank, that I like to call bbb tank (boring bare bottom), with some slates. Or you could just remove the eggs to a small hatchery. Some breeders are against this, but it has the highest success rate. Here is a link to the GCCA (Greater Chicago Cichlid Association) about how to artificially raise substrate spawning cichlids. A very helpful article. Good luck with your next batch.

http://www.gcca.net/howto/hatch_substrate_spawners.htm (http://)

Oh, and if you seen a "tube" coming out of your wild angel, that is most likely your female.

[ice jack]

Thanks so much for all this great info. yep! i thought the wild one was the female,seemed a lot more interested than the dom. heard somewhere its good to add a wild angel to the mix as far as breeding gos (helps strengthen the strain?)

[ice jack]

P.s softturtle couldnt link on the address above ,but would like to,is it correct?

[softturtle]

Yes, it is correct. I just haven't quite figured out the whole posting links thing. You can just copy and paste it to your address bar and it should send you right there.

[ice jack]

Mr.Softturtle ! i managed to get to that site, Wonderful! and nice clear instrudtions thanks again ,hopefully i will be ready next time