AngelFish - do I have a m/f pair

[amyb_70]

The header says it all I have a solid black angel I think is a male and cobalt blue angel which I think is female. Only reason I think think this is through a YouTube video explaining how to tell the differance. I'd rather hear your opinions as I read wiggles and it's clear some people really know their Angel facts. If a pair will we get wigglers. They are in a 29 gal tank with, 4 mollies, an unusual unique pleco ( I forget the true name). A small pleco ( which I can't find anywhere) neither pleco exceeds 4" as adults, 2 Cory cats, and lots of ghost shrimp. I'll show the best pictures I have of the angels and will show a picture of the pleco.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Fishobsessed7]

Long fin albino bristle nose?

 

[amyb_70]

That's what I was thinking. The fin is long and flows and there are 4-6 on the sides. Family owned business found a local breeder. She said they are usually pretty expensive.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Aces1980]

It hey look under a year abit young still to breed but if you see them picking at a spot like side of wood or slate that would mean their cleaning their nesting spot to lay their spawn but I would say black looks like female other picture isn't to good


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[amyb_70]

i think they make a beautiful pair

It hey look under a year abit young still to breed but if you see them picking at a spot like side of wood or slate that would mean their cleaning their nesting spot to lay their spawn but I would say black looks like female other picture isn't to good


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

Do you know at how old Angels start to lay their eggs, spawn or whatever the proper wording for Angels is. I took a couple more pix that i hope help. i thought the solid black was male(the first 2 pix) and the cobalt marble was a female (last 2 pix) but i am still fairly new at aquariums and fish keeping. I would love to have some babies, as i buy a mix of male and female when i do buy. i had guppy fry but so far lost all but 1. i have no clue how long they were there before i noticed them when doing a water change..

 

[Aces1980]

About 9 months to a year they can start to pair and spawn it's very hard to tell when their young that's why many buy about 6 to let them pair up. But I have seen 2 females pair up before that's nature. Usually best safe way is when their older their sexual organ will petrude out males will be blunt female will not. The old fin and bump on head trick that people say isn't true way to tell


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[amyb_70]

About 9 months to a year they can start to pair and spawn it's very hard to tell when their young that's why many buy about 6 to let them pair up. But I have seen 2 females pair up before that's nature. Usually best safe way is when their older their sexual organ will petrude out males will be blunt female will not. The old fin and bump on head trick that people say isn't true way to tell


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

thanks i was just going by what i have read about the shape of the belly area. but i guess only time will tell.. i have a very young pair of koi angels in my other tank and hoping the odds are good with one or the other.. my aquariums are only 29 gal and 20 gal long so it seems very unfair to put 6 in there. but ya never know i may and then sell them back to the family shop.. they are the only place in my area that will take in fish or aquarium items for store credit. thankfully they do..

 

[amyb_70]

well i appreciate the input and help but i am very saddened to say that i lost this beauty within the past hour. I am not sure what happened but i have a feeling it was a larger sailfin black molly, whom i have seen bully a few of the fish and she was a pretty slow mover especially compared to the molly... so beautiful she looked black marble at first but the more i watched her and the solid black i realized she was a dark cobalt blue.. I am pretty upset about this loss as i was hoping to create a beautiful breeding pair or even friends.. now i have a lone black angel who needs a beautiful friend. the part thats really got me is after reading and watching in fish stores i have noticed sailfins tend to go after angels and have a family shop that i trade fish in at, but the owner who takes the trades was not there today. had she been i wonder if my marble angel would still be here. :'(
i would love to hear from the gentleman here who an expert at angel fish keeping and breeding .. any tips, suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated. i want to keep them and provide them with a happy home, and possibly breed them, if not at least have a friend in the tank w/ the one i have.. now i am more determined to finding out the sex of this black one and if i am better off replacing the marble with a male or female... please chime in folks, help this new Angel girl...

 

[Aces1980]

Wow sorry to here that friend. I've pearsonally I've kept Molly's with mine and swords also but never had a problem with them my angels would chase them away. But again so sorry for your lose


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[amyb_70]

Thanks Aces. I have no clue what I do wrong. It seems like when I find a fish I really care for and
Attach to I lose them

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Aces1980]

Nah it wasn't your fault it happeneds I know the feeling friend


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[amyb_70]

It's really weird now the sailfin Molly is hiding by a piece of driftwood. I don't know how to tell the sex of some because they move soo darn fast. Whichever it is, it's a pretty large fish probably about 3-4". It is longer than the angel was. Thanks for the shoulder- Aces I appreciate it.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Aces1980]

Post a pic of Molly when you can so I can see if it's a male or female


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[amyb_70]

Aces i was so upset about what the Molly did I traded her for angels.
The black Molly was the culprit. I have a pic near driftwood but she blends in. I'll show you though.
I have 2 liertail Molly I am also worried about causing harm. I added my smaller angels in with the larger ones and idk what to do about the other large mollies. It's so frustrating when they are labeled wrong. I always seem to find out the hard way. My smaller tank has black Molly, balloon Molly and guppies with Cory's and Oto's.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Aces1980]

Molly looked like a female


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Aces1980]

Smaller I would put with them I would wait til abit bigger


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[amyb_70]

Hi. I traded the sailfins and leirtail mollies for 2 younger angels. So the only fish in that tank are angels. I'd like to add something ithr than an angel. But won't complain as I am very attached to many of the ones in that tank and getting attached. To the ones in my gal


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Aces1980]

Theirs many tetras you can put you can also put plattys and some swordtails some small guarmie


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Andy Sager]

well i appreciate the input and help but i am very saddened to say that i lost this beauty within the past hour. I am not sure what happened but i have a feeling it was a larger sailfin black molly, whom i have seen bully a few of the fish and she was a pretty slow mover especially compared to the molly... so beautiful she looked black marble at first but the more i watched her and the solid black i realized she was a dark cobalt blue.. I am pretty upset about this loss as i was hoping to create a beautiful breeding pair or even friends.. now i have a lone black angel who needs a beautiful friend. the part thats really got me is after reading and watching in fish stores i have noticed sailfins tend to go after angels and have a family shop that i trade fish in at, but the owner who takes the trades was not there today. had she been i wonder if my marble angel would still be here. :'(
i would love to hear from the gentleman here who an expert at angel fish keeping and breeding .. any tips, suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated. i want to keep them and provide them with a happy home, and possibly breed them, if not at least have a friend in the tank w/ the one i have.. now i am more determined to finding out the sex of this black one and if i am better off replacing the marble with a male or female... please chime in folks, help this new Angel girl...

Sorry to hear of your loss. It happens when you are dealing with live animals.
I've read through your thread and from the pics, they are really too small to make a real accurate prediction of gender. If you can get a larger, closer full profile pic, I can try to see if there are any outstanding traits for sexing. ( No guarantees tho on smaller fish. It's just an educated guess based on experience )
This is what I suggest:
The best way to get pairs of Angelfish are to buy and raise about 6-10 fish of the same age and have them pair off naturally OR buy large fish where the genders are fairly visible. So in your case, if you get another one the size/age of your current fish, 1 of 3 things can happen: 1- it will be the opposite gender and you will have a pair. 2- If they both are females, they MAY pair off but you will get no live fry from this but you will know they are 2 females. 3- if they are both males, since there are no females present to fight over, they should get along okay. This would be a winning scenario in my book either way.
So you will want to add the similar sized fish together. If you mix different sizes, the chances are greater that the larger ones will dominate the smaller ones. You also don't want to add a single Angelfish in the tank of an established Angel so if you do add only 1, move some decor around so that the tank looks different and all the fish have to establish new homes for themselves.

As for breeding info, the thread "Wigglers at last!!!!!" is an ongoing thread in the breeding forum by professional and hobbyist Angelfish breeders. Pretty much everything you need to know about breeding and raising them has been discussed on that thread. It might help you to read through it ( it's a long one) so you know what you are getting yourself in to.

Hope this helps

 

[amyb_70]

YAY, I got Andy to see my thread

Sorry to hear of your loss. It happens when you are dealing with live animals.
I've read through your thread and from the pics, they are really too small to make a real accurate prediction of gender. If you can get a larger, closer full profile pic, I can try to see if there are any outstanding traits for sexing. ( No guarantees tho on smaller fish. It's just an educated guess based on experience )
This is what I suggest:
The best way to get pairs of Angelfish are to buy and raise about 6-10 fish of the same age and have them pair off naturally OR buy large fish where the genders are fairly visible. So in your case, if you get another one the size/age of your current fish, 1 of 3 things can happen: 1- it will be the opposite gender and you will have a pair. 2- If they both are females, they MAY pair off but you will get no live fry from this but you will know they are 2 females. 3- if they are both males, since there are no females present to fight over, they should get along okay. This would be a winning scenario in my book either way.
So you will want to add the similar sized fish together. If you mix different sizes, the chances are greater that the larger ones will dominate the smaller ones. You also don't want to add a single Angelfish in the tank of an established Angel so if you do add only 1, move some decor around so that the tank looks different and all the fish have to establish new homes for themselves.

As for breeding info, the thread "Wigglers at last!!!!!" is an ongoing thread in the breeding forum by professional and hobbyist Angelfish breeders. Pretty much everything you need to know about breeding and raising them has been discussed on that thread. It might help you to read through it ( it's a long one) so you know what you are getting yourself in to.

Hope this helps

Hey Andy I was really hoping you would see this thread.. I read the entire thread 'wigglers', very interesting information and i cant believe how long that thread has been active. amazing.... i learned quiet a bit but it is a ton to absorb at once... i learned that i should get a piece of slate, and to keep going with the plants. and how important perfect water is, especially with angels..
One area i did make a mistake on you will see in the photos i have 3 probably half dollar size angels, 2 quarter size, and 1 dime and the other just over the size of a dime. so i didnt follow the 6 of same size. it was not really my intention to try and breed them but thought it would be great if i could.. I did replace the philippine blue marble angel fish for one that is very similar, and saw a beautiful koi angel that i just had to have... the medium quarter size long veil yellow and koi i got together and im really not sure why i got the 2 very small (what i call traditional) angels. i couldnt come up with any other fish that i thought would be nice in the tank and when i saw the youngens i just adored them... im so girly ... so if they pair they do and great... if not like you stated its going 1 of 3 ways and as long as they are healthy and happy so am i... i wont lie it would be awesome to get wigglers and survivors but it has taken months for me to keep guppy and get fry. i found 3 guppy fry and 1 black molly fry in my other tank this evening, and i am very proud of that. i would imagine it would take a pro to breed angels... so anyway living w/ my angels i have 4 cory cats, 1 albino long fin pleco, ghost shrimp and i am supposed to have a small pleco but i have not been able to find it in a couple weeks... its a mystery to me.. I did try and get some better pictures of the angels i have. i have no clue how old they are.. i am brand new with the angels i was kind of tossed into it when i girl at a LFS saw how upset i was that their sailfin mollys were attacking the angels to death so she pulled out the last ones and gave them to me for free... lucky right.