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AquaBear

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jun 14, 2004
Messages
155
Location
Aurora CO
Well, statistically-speaking, having 6 angels in one tank gives me a 95% chance of having one breeding pair. And my luck paid off. This morning, I found out not only do I have a breeding pair, they were laying their first batch of eggs! Fortunately, it turned out to be two of the Gold Marbles, one veiltail and one lyretail.

As a result, they were being very territorial and aggressive to the other four fish angels, so I had to make an emergency trip to Petco and throw another tank together. Heck, they even got after my pleco a couple times. I tried to match the water quality as much as possible, I carried over the filter floss from another tank that completed cycling, and a plant or two from the parent tank, to help seed it. Then grabbed the 4 fish and moved them to the new tank quickly (I read somewhere that you shouldn't move the mated pair if you can help it). They're a little shook up, but I'm sure they're better off than if they had stayed in the other tank...they were getting beat up pretty bad. Hopefully they'll get over the shock soon, knowing they aren't going to be attacked anymore.

Did I do the right thing? Is there something I should have done differently? I would like to think after reading all the good advice on here, I'd at least know how to react in an emergency. I guess this means I'll be a "grandparent" soon. Woohoo!!!

--Aquabear
 
Sounds like you did it right. Typically as long as you seed the new tank with a good ammount of gravel and filter media from one tank, the biggest thing to look out for is changing water parameters. If you did regular water changes, your tank water should be close to your tank water and you will be OK.
 
You did the right thing. It is a shame that you can't keep a "school" of angels, since they are so pretty when they swim together as juvies, but eventually you will get a pair and unless the tank is really large it is best to remove other angels. It's cool that you got another tank instead of getting rid of the odd angels - MTS has you in its grip!
 
Nooooooooo, not another MTS victim :( although Bonnie and Clyde (my Oscars) thank me daily for adding a 3rd tank and spoiling them into the sweet and lovable little guys they are. :lilangel: ummm yeah right :lol: Congrats on your new future babies
 
The eggs hatched and I found the fry a few days later, but then they eventually disappeared. Either they got lost in the gravel, sucked up by the filter, or the parents (or pleco) ate them. Oh well, they should be ready to produce more eggs in a few weeks...maybe I'll throw up another breeding tank and try to raise the eggs myself. These are some beautiful fish and I'd definitely like them to keep the line going.

MTS, huh? Yeah, I think I've got a healthy dose of it! :-D

--AquaBear
 
Congrats on the breeding pair and the success so far. I didn't realize Angels would pair off that easily. I'm up to three angels of varying ages so hopefully I'm ok and they won't pair off. The largest is fairly agressive toward the next largest.

Angels will eat their fry. If I remember correctly,the eggs are supposed to be seperated from the parents as soon a they are seen, or the parents removed from the eggs. The parents will actually eat the eggs as well. I'll have to see if I have a bookmark for the article. I was going to try to breed angels until I read about all the seperate tanks that were needed.

Bookmark is on the home machine. I'll try to remember to post it later.
 
Often the parents don't get it right on the first few tries. Also, if you are worried about them getting sucked into the filter, put a sponge around the intake--AquarClear filter sponges with an X cut into them work well!
 
Angels often will be very careful about tending to their eggs, and will often only eat them if they are unfertilized or fungused. Sometimes the parents will be excellent parents as well, as we have members on this board who let the parents do the work and raised the babies.

You can let them give it a few more tries, because sometimes the angels are NOT good parents and then it is good to remove the eggs and take care of it yourself.

Happy hatching! :)
 
Hey all....

Thanks for the advice. Actually, I found a book on Amazon that describes the breeding process, and one of the guys at my LFS bred them for years, who has also given me some tips as well. My lady-friend has given me a used pair of panty-hose to put over the filter intake, so I'm sure I'll find a way to do it eventually. That's the best way to learn, right?

Much appreciation,
--Aquabear
 
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