how to...

[justrelax]

go about moving my angels? there are currently four in my 55gal, and i imagine they will soon need to be separated into pairs. out of the four, two in particular (we'll say pair A) seem to favor each other and pretty aggressively guard "their side" of the tank from the other two (pair B). pair B does not show any signs of aggression at all. no one shows aggression at feeding time, they all still eat together
i have a 30gal that i can move a pair into if needed, i think. it has cardinal tetras in it, that shouldn't be a problem should it? i don't think the angels could fit them in their mouths.
so my plan is to move pair B over to the thirty if pair A continues to get fiesty. then i would like to make sure that i have a male and female before i give up pair B. i realize this could take some time, which is no problem.
does this sound about right? and say i have two females in pair A, i could then try to move one from pair B over couldn't i? tia...

[JDogg]

sounds good to me

[Zagz]

As long as the parameters and the temp in both tanks are the same, you will be good to go with your plan.

[Jchillin]

I agree...the tank transfer is fine. And yes, I would wait until a definitive pair is formed. Be careful though...it is not unusual for two females to mimic a true pair, even the spawning looks the same. You actually won't know unless you observe their breeding tubes. The male will have a cone shape at the end.

[rich311k]

I would wait a few untill you are sure the new cardinals are healthy and ich free as well.

[justrelax]

thanx! yeah, the transfer will not take place until i'm sure the cardinals are healthy, and i'm sure a mini-cycle on the new tank isn't happening. both tanks are being kept at the same temp and come from the same faucet, so i don't anticipate any problems there.
i've searched and searched for angel breeding pics with no success. will the breeding tubes be fairly easy to identify and tell apart? i'm still unsure of exactly what i'm looking for...

[Jchillin]

You will probably not find any...I happen to have one though. Note, this is of a female and the pic may not be clear upon first glance.

http://www.photolocker.net/images/Jc...p252005004.jpg

[rich311k]

On mine the males is small and pointy the females is larger. If you catch them in the act you acn actually wacth the eggs getting layed. It is cool thing to see.

[justrelax]

thanx for the pic jchillin, that clears things up a bit. if i don't have the good fortune of catching them in the act , i can tell if the eggs have been fertilized by their color right? if i remember what i read correctly, black is good and white is not... yes?
when i move pair B, will pair A take advantage of the filter intake tube across the tank from their side, or should i put in a nice slab of slate for them?

[Jchillin]

Ermmm, black is bad...very, very bad. Opaque is good, almost beige. White means unfertilized, ready to become covered in fungus. In regard to the intake tube, it doesn't matter...Angels seem to love spawning on intake tubes.