Surprise angelfish eggs

MyLittlePleco

Firstly, sorry for being fairly inactive on this site, but I've been working on a "secret" project which will feature in the saltwater section of this site.

Anyway. On to some action. So here I am enjoying an average summer day at home when I walk over to my 50 gallon tank, and lo and behold: eggs on the leaf of an Anubias which I purchased less than a week ago with 2 of my angelfish standing guard.





They pretty much own half of the tank now. Which course of action would you recommend?

1- Read up on angelfish breeding articles and wait for the fry to hatch and attempt to grow them.

2- Act like nothing ever happened.

3- Remove the eggs to avoid the risk of other fish getting hurt.


To be honest, I'd like to attempt growing out the fry in the community aquarium, but I'm not sure if that's even possible, given that the other fish would probably eat them the moment they hatched.

Thanks in advance.

PS: They are fairly territorial, but the aggression is confined to pecking other fish when they get close and perhaps chasing the occasional stubborn fish once around the tank. I should probably remove the eggs once the parents start getting overly aggressive, right?

Beaches

WOW that is a lot of eggs...Congratulations!

I don't have experience with Angelfish or their fry, so hopefully others will comment, but if you really want to try and raise them, I would go with option 1. and I agree that if the parents aggression becomes severe, I would intervene.

Great pics. btw!

MyLittlePleco

Bad news. The angelfish couple were getting too overly aggressive, and I'd rather not spend a lot of money on another tank, considering I've got 2 tanks running already.
Basically, one zebra danio just disappeared. Assumed dead and wedged somewhere between the driftwood.
One of my rams got hit really badly by the male angelfish (the biggest one, he's pretty much a hulk) and is now bent to his side and cannot swim at all.

The eggs have been removed and the parents have been put in a separate container in the aquarium to prevent any further harm they might cause to other fish. The ram has also been put in a separate container in the tank.

I'm debating putting down the ram, because quite frankly, it looks like a very painful position he's in. Then again, he will accept food from my hands if I can position him correctly and he still has total control of his pectoral fins (the front fins). He is not paralyzed, since he can still twitch his tail around ocassionally, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high for him. He is breathing at a marginally more rapid pace, but not fast enough to be considered very close to death.

As some of you might know, the rams are one of my favourite fish in this tank. To be frank, they're pretty cheap and in high supply at most LFSs over here, but I've grown attached to them, so I think I'll let this little guy fight his own battle and help in any way possible.

GwenInNM

Oh, that's too bad! What a bummer. Are the eggs in this seperate tank with the parents? Sorry that happened. I hope your Ram makes it. I like mine too.

Gwen

MyLittlePleco

I just wiped the eggs off the leaf. The other fish loved them. Figured if the parents laid eggs once, then they must be a mated pair and will lay eggs at least once a month in favourable conditions. I'll probably release the parents back with the other fish in a few hours and see if they're still aggressive.

The worst thing about this is that the aggression really wasn't confined. The parents had to contend with 6 zebra danios, 5 boesemani rainbowfish, 2 rams and 2 other angelfish to protect their eggs. They were doing a splendid job of it, too. Then just as I was watching the tank this ram gets too close and gets charged at by the male angelfish. That's it, just one hit.

BarbH

Sorry to hear about your ram If you decide you want to try later on raising angels you can always place the pair into their own tank, a 29 gallon is the minimum recommended for a breeding pair if trying to parent raise. However you will need something else to grow the fry out in, either additional tanks, or I have seen people use storage containers for grow outs. With the storage containers I have seen people say to make sure that the container is rated as food safe.

Christople

how would a pair fair in a 38 gallon split so it would be a 19 gallon. And is there any way to tell what gender they are while they aren't breeding?

BarbH

From the research that I have done on breeding angels, on sites that are dedicated to breeding and raising angels, the recommended minimum for a breeding pair is 20 gallon tall and that is if you are going to raise the eggs and fry articially. My personal opinion is that I would not keep them in that type of setting for long term, although others may have differing opinions on that. If you want to try to do parent raising, then the extra room is required. As for telling the sex of angels the only sure way is when they get ready to spawn. I have seen people talk about determing the sex by the shape of the head, or also by the angle of the anal fin from the body. Until the fish spawn and we are able to see their papillia, it is some what of a guessing game

Christople

i would raise them artifically and the dimensions are 24''h 12''w 18''l, the water quality wouldn't pose a issue because I have live plants, and do regular wc, plus it is a 38 gallon split so...

BarbH

Might work, the 18 length is about 6" shorter than the standard size for a 20 high, although the height is good. If you decide to try it I would watch the fish for signs of stress,it may or may not work. What are you planning on doing with the other side?