Egg Time

[aj2494]

I bought these angels a few weeks ago. They are gold angels, and I just got lucky with getting a pair. When I went to the store, I saw them and kept them in mind as I walked around. When I had decided on them and went back, quite a few had been bought by someone, leaving only three in the tank. Two were at one end, and one pretty torn up at the other end. Naturally, I got the two, and crossed my fingers. Well, they are in the 29 gal in my signature down below. I came home after being gone for half an hour, and as I walked by the tank, I saw a gourami get nipped at, and sure enough, the entire side of my powerhead was covered. They are still laying and fertilizing them. I was happy to see that my instincts about which was male/female were dead on. It's really cool to see it actually happening, too. I've bred quite a few species of fish before (mostly cichlids), so I have some experience, but these are my first angels.

I know somebody else is breeding in the tank, but I don't know who, so my breeder net is already set up and ready to go. Since angels are such crap parents these days, should I give them a few spawns to try and figure it out, just like I do with everybody else, or should I take the fry out? If I should take them out, when? Thanks.

 

[Fatman315]

That's really cool. I bought my angels from a local breeder about a week ago and have them in my 15 gallon tank for quarantine before I put them in my 50. I was hopeful that they would pair up and breed, but it wasn't something I was going to bet on as I wasn't 100% sure if I even had a male and female. Anyways I got home today and they had laid their eggs on one of my filter intake tubes.

I have never bred any kind of fish... well except guppies lol (and that was VERY difficult ) So I am not sure what to do now either.

 

[aj2494]

Well, since you got them from a local breeder, this may not be the case, but most angel fry are stripped from their parents almost immediately after they hatch, or even as eggs. This produces a higher survival rate. But, for this reason, and the fact that most strains are so far removed from the wild, they, as a majority, suck as parents, because they didn't get taught any parenting skills. This is not always how it is done though, and some may not be removed from the wild enough to have lost their instincts. So, I am torn between stripping and leaving. Last time I stripped cichlids, my extremely rare pair lost their bond. It actually reformed as the male was on the brink of death, and the female later passed too. Sort of Romeo and Juliet-esc. This has been known to happen to cichlids, where theyfight over the loss of their fry. Taking this into account, I have now decided that I will leave them with the parents for at the very least several attempts, to assure I don't go through a similar ordeal again. Since you got them from a local breeder, I suggest you do the same. Just my 2 cents. I guess I kind of answered my question.

And good luck to you. Angels naturally are good parents, some of the best of cichlids. If you have a nice pair, it should work out well. Also, angels are where it's at right now, and you should have little to no difficulty getting rid of them.