unclenedsfishfactory.com

Hi,

I have a pair of angelfish in my 45g community tank who are acting as if they are about to spawn. They spawned about a month ago right before I left on vacation, but I moved the eggs and none of them made it.

I'd prefer to raise the fry in my 45g community tank, where the parents are now. Will this work, or will the parents hurt the other fish? There are a total of 4 angelfish, 2 pearl gouramis, and a school of zebra danios in the tank. The tank is well planted, but last time they spawned all of the other fish were cowering at the other end of the tank. If this doesn't work, what are my other options? I don't mind if I lose some of the fry, but I think it'd be fun to raise some of them and watch the parents take care of them.

Thanks,
Josh

generally
you are best off putting the pair in their own tank
...say a 20 gallon high
not even any snails
(snails can't eat the fry but they can eat the eggs)

If you let them breed in the tank with all those other fish
the other fish will eventually eat the eggs or fry
...but it's fun to watch the parents defend the area
sometimes they can kill the tank mates
if they go really nuts

professional breeders typically have the 2 parent angelfish in their own tank
offer them a 2'x12" glass strip for them to lay the eggs on
then they move the glass strip to another set up
to assure near zero losses

Thanks for the reply!

I don't have the space for a 20g right now. I do have a cycled but unoccupied 10g, but I'm guessing it's not big enough for 2 angels? The angelfish are still relatively small, I'd say without fins they're ~1.5-1.75 inches.

I'm mostly just afraid of them killing their tankmates. Is there anything I can do to help prevent this? What do you recommend as a longterm solution?

-Josh

For a couple of years I had a pair of angels routinely spawning in a 55 gal tank with a variety of other fish.

I allowed the pair to protect the spawn until they were just free swimming. Then I siphoned out all the fry I could get and placed them into a 10 gal tank with water from the 55 - bare bottom, a few Java fern pieces.

I used a sponge filter and fed them newly hatched brine shrimp. I'd grow them out in a 20 high and when they got to the size of a half dollar or so, I'd ask Ned if he needed small angels.

Hey Ned!

The pair spawned twice since I posted last. The first time I put them in their own 10g when they started defending a corner of the tank, and they raised the fry for about a week after they were free swimming before the parents got a little too hungry and they all "disappeared". They spawned again yesterday afternoon back in the big tank, and within minutes of the lights turning off either the SAEs or the other 2 Angels had a feast.

I'm going to be shuffling around my tanks soon, and I was thinking of replacing one of my 10g tanks with either a 15g or a 20XH, so that I can use a taller tank for breeding the angels without buying a new stand.

Do I need to go to the 20XH, or will the 15 be enough (since it's a fair bit cheaper)?

Do you have either of these in stock? If not, how long before you could get one of them in? I'm planning on making a trip probably the weekend of the 8th.

Thanks a lot!
Josh

20XH is in stock
15H will be here this Friday
either is fine

Ned,

I'd also like:

3 or 4 bags of Eco-complete, and

AG VERSA TOP 24” TWIN TUBE $26

(It's for a different tank, I know it won't fit on the 15).

Do you have this in stock? If not, when can you get it?

Thanks!
-Josh

3 or 4 bags of Eco-complete, and

AG VERSA TOP 24” TWIN TUBE $26

both are in stock