what makes angelfish fry not want to eat

[svt28103]

i have a nice batch of about 70 or 80 fry,i used to have almost 100 but alot died,i put food(brine shrimp) right in front of there faces,and most of the fry go nuts and the others i had just looked at the food and didnt have a care in the world..i felt bad,but i didnt know what to do.i attached the parent fish,male is super veil,female is the striped one.

 

[svt28103]

i have the fry separated in another tank,i wish i could take a picture of them but my camera broke.i hope they turn out cool.

 

[ExPeNsIvE HoBbY]

Angelfish fry are VERY picky eaters until a few weeks old. I feed my fry "microworms" and they always eat. Btw, with angels artificially incubated/raised, survival rates are likely to be in the 30-60% range, and if cared for by the parents, 60-80% can be expected. Micro worms are almost a necessity for angels/discus fry. Easy and cheap to maintain a good culture.

 

[shaynablizard]

A couple tips I've heard from a friend that spawns them is to leave the lights on. Once the light goes out and they settle on the bottom, some don't get moving again. Also, try putting a small brigg snail or two in there to clean up the bottom, which will also keep the fry moving around.

 

[Star_Rider]

Yup, Micro worms or BBS are good food for fry for the first few weeks.
I have not been able to get them to eat any cruched/powered flake until they hit 2-3 weeks after free swimming

 

[TwoTankAmin]

You need to feed newly free swimming angels on live foods. The easiest way is to hatch BBS. You can beging to mix some prepared food in with the live at about 10 days and have them weened over to all non live inside a week after starting the mix.

There should be no difference between the survival rates of parent raised vs fish keeper raised angels if one is doing it right. In fact, one may even get better survival rates by raising them away from the parents.

 

[ExPeNsIvE HoBbY]

There should be no difference between the survival rates of parent raised vs fish keeper raised angels if one is doing it right. In fact, one may even get better survival rates by raising them away from the parents.

Quite the contrary...

The parents can give literally unsurpased 24/7 attention to the eggs/fry that us humans simply cannot.

We rely on chemicals to reduce/prevent fungus. The parents simply fan the eggs all the time and eat the infertile eggs.

The parents of discus will let the babies eat slime coat off of them, one thing we obviously cannot do. I know we are talking about angels, but a similar fish so I will make the point.

The parents will also lead the babies to food. We can only squirt food at them in hopes of them finding it.

There are countless things that nature can do better than us, this just happens to be one of them.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It is absolutely false that parent raised angels will guarantee or even foster greater hatching/survival rates for any number of reasons. This is absolutely true in terms of the fish in the wild. Moreover, there is much more food available to fry in tanks than in the wild.

In a pure breeder tank holding just a single pair of spawning angels, there is nothing to eat the eggs/wigglers/fry beside the parents. In the wild they are lunch for all. Its the same in a community tank.

In either the wild or a community tank the angels will eat their own eggs or wigglers before they will let something else get the nourishment from doing so. Moreover, not all angels in tanks are good parents. Some never learn and will eat the eggs 100% of the time. It is common for angel parents, when startled or scared, to eat their eggs. This cant ever happen when the fosh keepers hatches and raises them.

Even the best angel parents cant provide 24/7 care when it gets dark they can't see.

And the reason that angels lay so many eggs is because that is how they guarantee a few will make it. Its a numbers game. In a breeder setup, whether parents raise or the fish keepers does so, almost all can make it.

If you have spent any time actually breeding fish or know folks who do so for profit as well as fun, you would know many pull eggs in order to get the maximum number of surviving fry.

Discus are an unusual exception since in the early stages free swimming fry survive by eating slime off of the parents. Only experienced discus breeders will succeed in raising fry away from parents when there is no other option.

 

[ExPeNsIvE HoBbY]

Well thank you for the information, but I am an angelfish breeder, for profit, and I sell to many LFS in my area, as well as a consultant for many of them. I have had much better luck allowing the fry to stay with the parents for 2 weeks before removing them for growout. My success rates are roughly 3 times higher raising them "naturally" and the amount of fungus is completely unnoticeable.

That's my experience, some have better luck the other way. Guess it all depends on the individual pairs in question and their parenting abilities.