Angels pairing up? I hope!

Ive noticed the two largest out of my six angels ( i bought them all the same size) Have been hanging out together alot lately. They will swim across the tank together and then a few seconds later, they will be on opposite sides of the tank. I like to think they are "Dating" and im really hoping this is a Male and Female and that they will pair up, because they are my two favorite. They've grown the biggest, fasters, and seem to be the healthiest. Since they are hanging out together sometimes, do you think maybe this is the beginning of them pairing up or am i just being too hopeful?

[gheitman]

I think you are right in your assessment that they are pairing up. That is exactly the type of activity I saw with my pair of angels and they just spawned for the first time a week or so ago.

Does your pair swim together all the time? Im confused about that, because mine will swim around side by side, then they will do their own thing for a while. I am completely new at this... lol, and i have NEVER kept Angels before, so its really interesting to watch them. Can you maybe describe the behavior for me when they first started to pair up? How many did angels did you have before you got a pair?

[gheitman]

My pair swims together most of the time but not all of the time. Originally, I wasn't even trying to get a pair that would spawn at all. I just bought two to add to the one I had already. After I moved them from the quarantine tank to the tank I ultimately intended for them, the two of them took on the other angelfish which was larger. I had to take that one back to the [acronym:6f361f3517="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:6f361f3517] before he got hurt. If you look at my avatar you'll see one of the two I have now.

[rubysoho]

my pair did the same thing, only I got lucky and had only bought 2 angels so there were no other angels to school with. Another thing I've noted with my angels is that about 4-6 days prior to them spawning, they fight! It scared me the first time because they even took off scales. But the nastiest part only lasted a few moments (taking off scales) and they get along so well all the rest of the time. Go figure... maybe I have some "tough loving" angels.

yeah, ive read the pair will challenge each other to test the strength... how big were yours when they first spawned?

[Jchillin]

Geez...I originally had four, now it's three since December...they haven't paired off, they still stick together like a street gang.

Perhaps I have three of the same gender?

Good luck with your possible spawning pair!

[rubysoho]

Ashley, they were about 2 inches in diameter when they first decided to try spawning. That was maybe a month to a month and a half ago. I had reserved myself to thinking like Jchillin in that I most likely had two males and "what they heck, the get along so I won't worry about it" mentality. Then they spawned. It was out of the blue, no water change right before, I just came home from classes one day and saw they spawning on a leaf (the same leaf they just used). Then they never spawned again (not to my knowledge) until the other day. I knew what was happening because they were fighting like before, then that stopped and the female started clearing the same leaf from before. However, this time the male didn't even try to fertilize the eggs, he just ate them *sigh*. I am hoping that they will get the hang of it after a few more times. Oh, and this spawn came right after a large water change.

Ok, cool, mine are only about an inch and a half, the big ones. So it will probably be a while if they do spawn. THanks.

[rubysoho]

no problem! Feed them bloodworms and they will grow very quickly. Plus, they will be healthier and spawn more regularly.