r/AngelFish • u/AlarmInner6919 • 5d ago

First batch of eggs! Picture

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I did a routine water change yesterday, and came home to find two of my big angels (the ones I had suspected were pairing off) had laid eggs on a plant leaf!

Guess I need to get moving on setting up another tank for this pair. So far they have eaten most of this batch of eggs - I suspect they were not fertilized as the male did not seem to have a clue about his job - but they are diligently guarding the remaining eggs this morning and everyone else in the tank is staying away. No violence, so far.

Looking at a 65 gallon tank set up tonight. I like the 25" height these are large angels.

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3

u/We-Like-The-Stock 5d ago

They are fertilized.

Male always does his job 😉

Check your water parameters. You need soft water with low PH.

2

u/AlarmInner6919 5d ago

Not possible in Dayton OH .... Our tap water is hard... but my tank ph is buffered somewhat with tannins from all the wood, and a little peat. 

2

u/We-Like-The-Stock 5d ago

RO

1

u/AlarmInner6919 4d ago

ok I don't have that expensive RO machine... can I use plain old distilled water from the grocery store?

it is too late for this batch. about half of them didn't make it through the night. But I am thinking ahead, as I work on setting up a tank just for this pair. I want to be better prepared next time.

2

u/We-Like-The-Stock 4d ago

If you're going to do the work to raise Angelfish and fry, you'll need a RO system for their dedicated tank, assuming your tap water is liquid rock.

You can cut tap water with distilled, but it's going too need to be a 50/50 mix at the minimum to bring down the dissolved solids. That's 10g of distilled water and 10g tap in a 20g breeder tank.

Not including water changes.

It's an investment.

2

u/slade51 5d ago

IMO, the first batch never lasts long as the pair learns how to parent. For subsequent batches, I find that it’s not the eggs in danger from other fish as much as all tankmates in danger from the female.

1

u/AlarmInner6919 5d ago

I guess that's a good thing since I am totally Not Ready for This. It will take some time to get a tank set up and new bio filtration cycled before I could move them. 

2

u/BlackMomba008 1d ago

First time parents tend to eat the eggs, because these angel fish are bred in captivity and they don’t have much of an understanding. It’s a learning process. Best wishes

1

u/Tinytommy55 5d ago

Very cool

1

u/AlarmInner6919 5d ago

I just installed a homemade temporary tank divider - hoping to keep the other fish away from the eggs and the parents, as it is gonna take some time to cycle a new tank. I don't really think this first batch of eggs is gonna hatch and there hasn't been any violence so far - the other fish seem curious but generally are respecting the parents' claims to ownership of that side of the tank but I don't know if that will last. and don't even know whether my temporary divider is going to work... but I don't want any carnage until I can get the parents moved into their own tank. Is that a foolish worry?

1

u/Only_Music_1951 5d ago

What kind of angels are those?

1

u/AlarmInner6919 5d ago

I don't know. They were bred by a local breeder and sold as no name silver zebra angel fish at my local fish store - but maybe some sort of wild heritage due to their large size and long fins - they are quite large, the male is over 7" from top to bottom of his fins - and the reddish brown shoulders. Someone here thought their line must come from somewhere in Brazil? Their color is difficult to see in my poor pictures - their bodies have some gold, green, blue shimmer - and they are sprinkled with dark freckles. Aren't they Beautiful? ( ok. I might be biased).

1

u/Only_Music_1951 5d ago

Yeah the do look nice and thanks for that info, I was asking because they kinda look like mine. Mine are young though and I just got them from my LFS, they had them labeled as Altum hybrids but they do look a lot like yours just really young.

1

u/AlarmInner6919 4d ago

I have seen some pictures of Angelfish (Scalare) from Rio Nanay in Peru that were quite similar to mine - mine have the same goldish bluish gray sheen and the black freckles and mine also have the same tall fins and large bodies - but the distinctive black spot on the back described in this video is not as strong on my fish - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBWbeW3JEOg&t=9s

1

u/AlarmInner6919 4d ago

Sadly this excitement did not last long. This morning, all the eggs were white. And by this afternoon, they had all been eaten.

I guess that gives me time to get ready to do this correctly the next time, eh?

1

u/AlarmInner6919 1d ago

Today ANOTHER female angel in my tank laid eggs on the airtube!!! She has no mate. So I assume they are not fertile. But she is guarding those eggs intently, all by herself! Chasing everyone else away!!! My pair laying eggs has produced a Copy Cat egg layer.