When to move the babies

[tcampbell]

Hi,

I have a 10 Gallon tank with two angelfish. They seemed to make and had "practice" eggs before.
This time however the eggs were reall. Eggs appeared on the 5th, 7th were eyes and tail, 8th were moving in spot a lot, 9th really tell they are fish, 10th moving around but not free swimming.

Question is: When or do I remove them from their parents tank?
Only other thing in the tank are parents, 2 sucker fish (small), two cat fish (small) and one mollusc to clean glass. So I shouldn't have to worry about other fish eating the babies, just the parents, but they seem good at protecting them and attack at the tank glass when I approach tank.

Is it necessary to remove them now, as it might be difficult without losing some of them, or just wait until they are bigger then remove them.

Right now feeding them using Baby Brine shrimp (frozen or fresh) which my LFS gives me for free. Hard to feed them with the parents as they seem to eat it first, but since they aren't free swimming yet, I guess that means they don't need the food yet anyway.

Suggestions as there are about 50 to 60 babies in there now.

Thomas

[tcampbell]

Great place for the eggs eh? Haven't been able to Use the CO2 since. Whne they moved them to the leaf I turn on the CO2, only to return 3 hours later with the CO2 still on and the egss again on the diffuser with CO2 bubble going all around the eggs!!

[Justikanz]

They must have liked the CO2 as a way to fan the eggs... But did you say they moved the eggs? "question:

I would suggest you let teh parents raise the fries and see if they can do a good job. If they eat the fries, try another one or two more times and then move the fries (when they are free swimming) only after that and the parents still eat the fries. It is always better to have the fries grow up with the parents... And more fun for you too...

[gks]

Hi,

I have a 10 Gallon tank with two angelfish. They seemed to make and had "practice" eggs before.
This time however the eggs were reall. Eggs appeared on the 5th, 7th were eyes and tail, 8th were moving in spot a lot, 9th really tell they are fish, 10th moving around but not free swimming.

Question is: When or do I remove them from their parents tank?
Only other thing in the tank are parents, 2 sucker fish (small), two cat fish (small) and one mollusc to clean glass. So I shouldn't have to worry about other fish eating the babies, just the parents, but they seem good at protecting them and attack at the tank glass when I approach tank.

Is it necessary to remove them now, as it might be difficult without losing some of them, or just wait until they are bigger then remove them.

Right now feeding them using Baby Brine shrimp (frozen or fresh) which my LFS gives me for free. Hard to feed them with the parents as they seem to eat it first, but since they aren't free swimming yet, I guess that means they don't need the food yet anyway.

Suggestions as there are about 50 to 60 babies in there now.

Thomas

Angelfish lay hundreds if not thousands at a time, many will hatch but most will not survive through the first few weeks.

If the parents are guarding the eggs and frys, leave them be. Cover all viewing surfaces with newspaper/opague plastic sheets to minimise traumatising the parents. When they are shocked too frequently, they may end up gobbling up all the frys/eggs.

Beware, the sucker fishes and catfish do find the eggs and frys to be delicious delicacies (they are nutritious too). So the parents protection will be important for survival.

[bossteck]

Hi,

Last Saturday evening, I saw a pair of my angels laying eggs on a leave of my plant. The pair were quite aggressive in chasing other fishes away. So I left them alone, thinking I can remove the leave (plus the eggs) a few days later. Next day, I woke up, all the eggs were gone.

Tankmates were, 4-5 corys, 4-5 pencil fish, 8 other angels, 1 whip-tail cat, 3 rosy barbs. I wonder who ate the eggs and why the parents stopped doing their job after lights off.

So what I would like to ask is somewhat related to what tcampbell is asking... when do we remove the eggs? In my case, i guess the answer is as soon as the spawning stops... but is this usually the case?

Anyone has experience on this?

BTW, tcampbell, check out www.finarama.com

[Justikanz]

Erm, the parents need to sleep too?... And catfish are more active in the dark... Some people will actually leave the tanks lights on... But it stresses the parents a little... I would just let them be and see how things go...

[mickthefish]

thomas personally i'd leave the parents with the young for at least 2-3 weeks then remove the majority, i bred and supplied most of the shops in my area for 5 years with angels until i could see angels in my sleep so i give it a rest,
once the fry are free-swimming you will need loads of bbs and micro worms to bulk them up ready for the move.
a little tip when i used to breed them i used to rig up a small light at night, it seemed to give the pair confidence in looking after their offspring.
for the numbers youve quoted you will need a 3ft tank to raise them all in,
which should take about 3-4 mths then they should be ready for parting with.
hope this helps
mick

[tcampbell]

Thanks everyone and Thanks Mickthefish. I have already rigged up a small light near that tank that runs all the time, I noticed they seemed to lose track of the babies when the lights we off.

The first two times my angels laid eggs the eggs got eaten too. But I noticed it was the parents who did it. It seemed to be a "practiced laying" This time they ahve been protecting the eggs a lot. Though they move the eggs at least once a day, usually in mid afternoon and in the evening. And just tonight them moved them again.

They are free swimming officially tonight and the parents are chashing the babies all around the tank. I rounding them back up to one place.

I will look at adding a new 2 or 3 foot tank to maybe raise the angels. I will see how they go over the next week or so. My LFS has offered to give me a free supply of BBS daily so I can feed the angels, as they said theyalways hatch too much and just throw out extra anyway. Great deal for me.

[gks]

For the first couple of days, the free swimmming frys may feed on their remnant egg sacs and/or their parents' slime.

They start rummaging for food after about a week.

I am not so fortunate to have a generous LFS offering me free BBS or fish feed. I feed the frys "meshed" frozen bloodworm and finely crushed flakes. In addition, I avoid siphoning tanks with frys (as long as possible); I just wash the sponge filters every 7 to 14 days.

[tweety bird]

So what I would like to ask is somewhat related to what tcampbell is asking... when do we remove the eggs? In my case, i guess the answer is as soon as the spawning stops... but is this usually the case?

Anyone has experience on this?

if you want to breed them, shift your anglefishes to another tank ..because the other fishes and the parents will eat up the eggs once it is laid..in such environment, the mummy is also aggressive and may not allow the daddy to fertilise the eggs..

I think angle fish spawn frequently, my angle fish spawn about 3 times since this year May.. all eaten up either by the parents or the other resident ..

[tcampbell]

They are swimming all over the place and the parent just try to get them in one corner every once in a while.
Both the mother and father are working at this. No other fish really in the tank. Very small catfish (bottom feeders) and a few sucker fish but the parenst are always chasing them away.

They have just been really swimming around today and I have fed them BBS 3 times (some people mention 5 small meals a day, others 2 big ones). They eat quickly and I already see the read bellies. Hoping to pick up a new 2 foot or 3 foot tank with stand this week. Another LFS is closing out and have amazing sales on the tanks and stands left. I will see.

Would upload more pictures but it seems I have reached my upload limit and will have to wait until next week when i delate the pictures already.
It is amazing to watch the rapid growth! Though I would sure hate to be the parents.

[bossteck]

if you want to breed them, shift your anglefishes to another tank ..because the other fishes and the parents will eat up the eggs once it is laid..in such environment, the mummy is also aggressive and may not allow the daddy to fertilise the eggs..

I think angle fish spawn frequently, my angle fish spawn about 3 times since this year May.. all eaten up either by the parents or the other resident ..

Thanks for the advice!

[gks]

Just relocated one new pair of angelfish parents and their freshly laid eggs from angelfish-discus community tank to a 2-footer.

This is their third attempt inside the community tank; so they will likely to continue their mating rituals.

I didn't have the heart to disturb them but becaue the father is a really solid high-finned scalare (looks almost like an altum) so I am very curious to see their offsprings.

One main concern that I faced with breeding angelfish is the number of frys can be overhelming if you are successful in rearing them.