breeding angelfish

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Forester

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jan 13, 2011
Messages
203
Location
silver spring MD
hi everyone i have a pair of angels that spawn in my 75g about once a month but all the eggs get eaten so ive decided to move them to my 29g high and help them to raise some babies. and im just wondering what i can do to help them for example how should i set it up, what substrate, i have a marineland penguin biowheel 200 should i use that for the filter or should i use something else if so what. finally are there any chemicals i should use like fungicide also should they have any tankmates thanks for all the suggestions.
 
I breed angels and use a 29 as well. I tried gravel, but decided to remove it since it makes it easier to keep clean. Try bare bottom for the breeder tank and watch water parameters closely to make sure the filter can handle the bio load without the gravel. The bio wheel if properly colonized of beneficial bacteria should do the trick. Pay special attention when they spawn and that is your last chance to change anything, just make sure that if you do a last water change to not do more than 25% and that you dechlor before adding water. After that do nothing the next 10 days and watch the eggs. Some will turn white, if too many I will take tweezers and keeping the slate barely in the water I remove them as my fish don't know to eat the white eggs like they should. They (the fish) don't like this and come and try to fight me, but it's given me good results in making sure I don't get too many more white eggs.

I also keep the water in that tank at 84F. One last thing is that after 48 hrs since spawn, if you don't see any eggs look for them closely. My fish moved them to the bottom of the tank, which I didn't like as poop and uneaten food was attaching to the wigglers, so I've used a jar in the tank with good results too.

Good luck!
 
I heard something about using fungicide if the parents don't pick of the white eggs do you guys think I should use that. Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
Some people use methylene blue on the eggs to prevent fungus and help with oxygenation. I have it but haven't used it. I've had two batches, in one I removed (very carefully) the white eggs and the rest hatched. In the other I did not and had some more go white. I have also read (I have 3 books on breeding angelfish) that the fungus is not the problem but a symptom. So good, stable water parameters, and temperature are mire important.
 
Some breeders make sure there is ample water flow so that fungus doesn't form. The root cause of fungus on eggs is that the area they are in is stagnant.

I use a little bit of methylene blue (less than the required amount, I have issues with using things at full strength) and increase flow around the eggs. Haven't lost an egg yet.
 
Definitely go with a bare bottomed tank, place or hang a narrow piece of slate for them to lay eggs on. My preference is for a simple sponge filter such as an ATI Hydrosponge. there are a couple of reasons for this. First it provides much less flow in the tank which may help with fertilization rates, secondly, if you have parents that will rear the young, the sponge filter provides a food source, and thirdly you don't have to worry about the fry being sucked into the filter.
Many angel pairs will not rear the young, even after multiple tries. For these, it is best to remove the eggs to a suitable hatching container. I use a 2 1/2 gal tank,with an airstone, kept at 80 F and with Methylene blue added, but you could use a gallon jar floated in the tank.
 
I think I'm going to let the parents do their thing then move them to the 75g and grow the fry out myself and I'll put a half dose or less of methylene blue. And I'll use the bio wheel for filtration and have the temperature at 84f and change the water every two days. Thanks for all the advice. If you have any more suggestions I'd love to hear them.
 
my angels just laid eggs and the next day they started turning white little by little.....what should i do next time this happens
 
The parents should be picking off the white eggs. Methylene blue is a chemical that inhibits fungus by staining the water. You can achieve a similar result using tannins from leaves or alder cones. I've also used peroxide at 1ml/gallon, although it seemed less effective.


I wouldn't add methylene blue to the eggs if the parents are in there, just let them do their job.
 
If the eggs are turning white, they are not fertilized. methylene blue will not prevent them from turning white, but will inhibit the growth of fungus on the eggs. Once the eggs hatch you do water changes to remove the methylene blue. There is not benefit to adding it to the tank when the fry are free swimming.
 
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