Angelfish pair too old to spawn?

[Bettalover333]

Last January I picked up a fully grown pair of angels that were dumped at my lfs, the previous owner claimed they were a breeding pair when they dropped them off. When I first brought them home, they were active and displayed behavior consistent with them wanting to spawn (sparring, liplocking, but never resulted in real injury) however one of the pair was quite thin, which I assumed was why they didn't produce any eggs. I treated the whole tank with a few rounds of metroplex + focus and that seemed to do the trick, the angel gained weight and now looks just as healthy and plump as the other angel. However, several months later they have still yet to produce any eggs. Is it safe to assume that perhaps they have aged out of breeding? One of the pair (the smokey) has been increasingly aggressive lately, so if they are too old to breed, would it be ok to separate them?
Tank is 120 gallon, high light, co2, with an assorment of driftwood and slate and currently a mix of java fern, crypts, and some floaters. Tankmates include 9 harlequin rasboras, 6 kuhli loaches, 3 peppered cory cats, a female german blue ram, and one male guppy. Any thoughts?

 

[rlederer]

Well it is possible that they are too old but it sounds like they are healthy. I've had angel pairs together that spawn almost weekly and others irregularly and some never spawn at all. But one problem is all the tankmates. I can't imagine trying to breed angels with so many other fish in the tank. It's not impossible, but spawning is much more likely to happen if the angel pair are alone. Besides, if they did spawn, the other fish are potential predators on the eggs and certainly the young. Try the pair in a different tank - 20 gallon minimum- and see what happens.

 

[Andy Sager]

Last January I picked up a fully grown pair of angels that were dumped at my lfs, the previous owner claimed they were a breeding pair when they dropped them off. When I first brought them home, they were active and displayed behavior consistent with them wanting to spawn (sparring, liplocking, but never resulted in real injury) however one of the pair was quite thin, which I assumed was why they didn't produce any eggs. I treated the whole tank with a few rounds of metroplex + focus and that seemed to do the trick, the angel gained weight and now looks just as healthy and plump as the other angel. However, several months later they have still yet to produce any eggs. Is it safe to assume that perhaps they have aged out of breeding? One of the pair (the smokey) has been increasingly aggressive lately, so if they are too old to breed, would it be ok to separate them?
Tank is 120 gallon, high light, co2, with an assorment of driftwood and slate and currently a mix of java fern, crypts, and some floaters. Tankmates include 9 harlequin rasboras, 6 kuhli loaches, 3 peppered cory cats, a female german blue ram, and one male guppy. Any thoughts?

Angels don't really get "too old" to spawn but do slow down tremendously as they age. They also only have a certain a mount of eggs and once they spawn them all out the female is done. However, they could get to a point where they spawn only once a year or so. That said, 1)- moving pairs can throw them off spawning. 2)-YOU might have good water but it's not the same water conditions they were spawning in so they stop. 3)- The presence of all the other fish can also make them not want to spawn. 4)- The medication you used could have thrown them off spawning. All these are possibilities. I would suggest if you are serious about breeding them, put them in a tank by themselves and see what happens. Breeding pairs of Angels are not the best tankmates in a community tank.

Hope this helps