Male won't fertilize eggs

[Kokoro]

I have 2 angels which seem to have formed a pair. The female spawns every 2 weeks or so, but the male (?) either won't acknowledge the eggs, or eats them. Before she spawns, he appears interested (they lock jaws, display, clean the spawning site, etc).

the female will usually let him get close enough to do his thing, but when he doesn't behave, she attacks him until i have to remove one of them

one thing i noticed last week was that after he had eaten all of the eggs, he was scooting along the glass where they had been

I am fairly sure i don't have 2 females, since their papillae are a different shape, and he is larger. Is there any chance he will learn, or should i give up, and try my luck with some new fish? (she's spawned 5 or 6 times by now, so i'm starting to think he'll never learn..)

[Merrilyn]

I'd separate them for a while, and condition them for at least a couple of months before trying them together again.

Egg eating is a problem with some males, and you don't want him to become used to doing that. Separating them for a couple of months may just break the habit.

Unfortunately some males never break the habit.

[DiscusMad]

how many times have they tryed it took mine over a year to figure it all out lol some are quick some are slow

[Kokoro]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will separate them for a while. They've been trying for a few months, so i guess they may learn eventually

The female actually spawned again the same day i posted. I was out at the time, but when i came home, the male didn't seem interested in the eggs, and the female was attacking him.

He wasn't looking so good, and i didn't want to move him, so i moved the female to a separate tank instead. He took no notice of the eggs for the rest of the day, but the next morning, he was picking out the white ones. Of course, they all turned white in the end, but this seems like progress.