Angelfish eggs being eaten... Bad parents or bad eggs?

[Tim Wheatley]

Hey folks,

They may have been laid a day before I noticed them.

Day 1
Angelfish eggs | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Day 2
Angelfish eggs | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Day 3
Angelfish eggs | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Day 4
Just two eggs there, and they were eaten shortly after I saw them.

There's no fish in the tank eating the eggs except the Angels themselves.

I have a few questions:
Are the non-white eggs fertile?
Are the white eggs infertile?
Is there any way to stop them from eating the eggs?
Why might they be eating the eggs?

Appreciate any knowledge of advice.

Thanks,

Tim

 

[Jason7894561230]

No the clearish ones are fertilised
Yes the white ones are infetile
Remove the eggs and try and hatch them artificcially
They might be eating them because they are first time parents normally it takes them a while to realise that they are their eggs. How many times ahve they laid?

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Thanks.

I read about hatching, now I know they are definitely fertile I can try that if they do this again a few more times.

5-8 times in a tank they shared with other angels (while I was finding a pair), this is the first time in their own tank. They lay eggs every 2 weeks or so after the weekly water change.

 

[BigJim]

Sometimes it takes a few times before the fish become good parents. If they continue to eat the eggs, an air stone and methylene blue can substitute for the parents.

I've also heard that just about any stress will cause the parents to eat the eggs. You could also try moving the tank to a low-traffic area.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I actually poured in some new substrate recently, that could have stressed them. I'll definitely give them 2-3 more chances to get it right before I substitute.

 

[Jason7894561230]

Cool, i tihnkning breeding fish is pretty awesome, the colours on the ffish are amazing

 

[Tim Wheatley]

They've just laid again. I noticed them cleaning a leaf earlier today and they've laid more eggs than I have ever seen them lay before - on TWO leaves.

So they last laid on 2/13, they have now again laid on 2/24.

Check out the attached photo. I'm also uploading some photos to flickr that I'm real pleased with. Will post those links soon.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

They ate them again on the 26th.

Here's a photo from the 25th.
Angelfish eggs | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Sigh. How many more times should I let them try to work it out? Could it be related to the timing when the eat them? They seem to be eating them when they would be hatching, I think?