Angelfish

[jrp1588]

Well, they laid eggs last friday. Today they hatched and the parents are VERY busy taking care of 70 or so little wigglers. They decided to stick the little guys to a verticle leaf and are having the darndest time keeping them there. lol...it's funny to watch like...10 at a time fall off...mom and dad rush over and suck them all up. Then they spit them back out on the leaf...maybe one sticks and the rest fall...parents go after them...I watched them do this for 10 minutes...I think they finally got most of them stuck tight. They are being very good parents...So, just curious, when could I expect them to start swimming freely? When should i start feeding them? And do you think i could feed hikari first bites instead of brine shrimp?

 

[Jasonanatal]

Congrats, on your new additions.

 

[cdawson]

Congratulations!

The fry usually take about 48 hours to hatch and another 5-6 days to become free-swimming, at this point is where you begin feeding them newly hatched brine shrimp.
Unfourtunealty these are no livebearers and will not accept dry or even liquid fry foods. You'll need either a really good culture of microworms or you'll need to hatch brine shrimp, using a brine shrimp hatchery. Also, frozen BBS won't do either, you need live foods for the first 6 weeks.
Hatching BBS is much easier than you think if you haven't already done it before.
If all of those fish are in the 30 gallon with a spawning pair of angels you might want to consider upgrading your tank, the angels will viciously defend their territory against all other fish. Even a 60 gallon is too much for more than a pair of angels. The leopard angel will be harassed until death now that the other two are a pair. It might not happen right away but eventually it will starve as the other pair won't let it eat what it needs.

 

[Jchillin]

Congrats jrp! You now have another use for that 15 gal that you're currently cycling

 

[rich311k]

Congrats JRP. Way to go. Good luck with the little guys and gals.

 

[jrp1588]

I assume my LFS should have a supply of brine shrimp eggs? I suppose I'll have to go check that out.

 

[mattrox]

I am sure you can feed them micro-powdered foods.

 

[cdawson]

I am sure you can feed them micro-powdered foods.

Most fry aside from livebearers don't fare well on dry foods, and they grow 10x faster on live BBS. You can use micro-powered foods, but you have dump alot in for them to get the idea to eat it and it spoils the water quickly. It's safer and healthier to use BBS.

I assume my LFS should have a supply of brine shrimp eggs? I suppose I'll have to go check that out.

You might want to order some online instead. Most shops keep their BS eggs on the shelf and that basically kills them. They need to be refridgerated or they spoil and the hatch rate is extremely low.
Try brineshrimp direct, they ship express and it usually arrives within two days, which should be right on time.

 

[Guest]

congrats on the spawn!!! What are your water parameters

 

[jrp1588]

7.2pH, 0ppm nitrite, 0ppm ammonia, 20ppm nitrate

 

[cdawson]

7.2pH, 0ppm nitrite, 0ppm ammonia, 20ppm nitrate

Angelfish fry are pretty hardy, but 20ppm might be a little high for any fry. If you notice any significant losses once they hatch you should perform a 50% change immediately.