Success?

[SIC]

Well, it finally happened. In my show tank (centerpiece of my living room) I have a group of 10 scalare angels. I've raised these to adulthood from tiny (dime-sized) youngsters that I picked up from a local breeder. The largest of these are my three silver pearl-scale angels. These span approx. 8" from the tip of the dorsal fin to the tips of the pectorals.

Yestersay, while I was doing a water change and adding to my plant stock I noticed about 80 small, whitish eggs spread across a leaf of one of my Amazon swords. As this is my first success at getting angels to spawn, I left them there. One of the fish in the spawning pair is guarding the eggs ferociously, but a few have been eaten by others all the same.

My question is for anyone here that has had success in breeding angelfish. Next time, should I leave the eggs alone, or should I move the entire plant (eggs and all) to a seperate tank? And if so, what type of filtration and food would be best for angel fry?

 

[fishmaven]

Okay, I'm confused. Most people would measure from the tip of the dorsal to the bottom tip of the anal OR describe a coin-sized body. The pectorals are the side "paddle" fins.
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Now, fertilized eggs are opaque. Unfertilized eggs turn white. The parents normally pick the white ones off to keep the others from turning white. Typically, the first couple of times the fish spawn you don't get any wigglers (fry).

Re moving or not: it depends on whether you really want to play with raising the fry.

If you choose to do so, prepare another bare-bottomed tank for the babies using water from the main tank. It needs to be the same temp or slightly higher. When the tank is ready, submerge a jar or pitcher completely, pluck the leaf from the plant with the eggs and place it into the jar. Lift the jar and place the jar into their new home. Place the leaf upright against something. Place an airstone near the leaf adjust to low bubbles. The idea is to have water movement near the eggs but not strong enough to knock the eggs from the leaf. Crumbled flake food is probably okay until you get used to the system. Start feeding as soon as the fry drop from the leaf. feed really sparingly and clean the bottom of the tank before adding new food.

If you still have connections with the breeder, give him/her a call. Share your experience, including your uncertainty about raising the fry. It's likely they'll be willing to offer advice and possibly food for your babies.

 

[SIC]

Thanks for the info! And that was my bad...I meant anal fins.
And I do plan to raise fry from future spawns, would a 20 gal. work as a nursery tank?

 

[fishmaven]

Sure a 20g HIGH would do fine. Using the 20g long would result in bent fins on the fish as they grow. Remember to leave room for the jar of water in the baby tank as you prepare it.

 

[GOOBERFISH]

 

[SIC]

Well Fishmaven, you were right. The eggs that were'nt eaten by other fish during that first night did turn completely white. Thanks again for the info!

 

[fishmaven]

Don't worry about it. If you have a compatible pair they'll spawn again. So many times, in fact, you'll get tired of it. Eventually some tanks end up with adult angels and babies, co-existing, with only ocassional casualties.

 

[SIC]

One last question. How long does it usually take for healthy, fertile eggs to hatch?

 

[fishmaven]

One last question. How long does it usually take for healthy, fertile eggs to hatch?

Not long. My memory says a day or two.

If you're really serious about this there are a few things to remember.
1. spawn size is normally about 400 eggs.
2. if the tank is smaller than 30 gallons you'll probably only get about 50 babies unless the eggs are removed from the parents.
3. don't feed the babies just cause they're not on the leaf or slate or whatever. Wait until the group is free-swimming. The GROUP not just one or two.
4. do water changes on the babies daily to remove uneaten food. Use a piece of airline tubing. The water changes, should be continued as the babies grow. They'll grow slower if you don't do water changes.
5. if your purpose in raising the fry is to trade or sell the babies, they'll command a higher price if they're a salable size. Few people want to buy an angel smaller than a quarter sized body. Because the store can sell that size for more, you'll get more.
6. when you get ready to sell, bag up about six in several bags. Don't just pick the largest, get a good representation of the group. Visit several stores and offer them to the buyer. If you don't know who that is in the store, skip that store. Someone else normally offers less. You might prep your visit by making an appoinment to deal with the buyer.

BTW, numbers 4,5 and 6 work for any species you want to sell or trade. The water changes get them bigger faster.

 

[SIC]

Thank's a ton! This info will help me out a lot. I'm lovin' this site so far. I've learned a lot from some of you in a very short amount of time.

And (for the record), the tank my angelfish reside in is 75 gal., but once my spawning pairs are identified, they might just get moved to a large tank of their own.

Thanks again,
---SIC---