breeding angels How long to stay with parents??

[jim from sydney]

Hi guys :lol:

1. How long should babs stay with the parents???? Assuming ofcourse that the parents will look after them, and not eat the fry.

2. Can the fry be moved to a smaller tank so that it is easier for them to find food??

3. Also what to feed them...only brine shrimp?? and for how long before other food can be given, and then what kind?????

4. I believe we have some experts on this forum, (LR where are you??)
i was hoping that if one of them could produce a sticky on the breeding and raising of these little creatures????pretty please???

[Merrilyn]

Hello Jim.

Your nice peruvians should be just about breeding age now, so I suppose they are pairing off.

There are a couple of ways you can approach the breeding of angels. Unlike discus, they don't need to be with their parents for food, but I have to admit it is a lovely sight to see them with their brood of 200 fry swimming around them, so we'll start with the natural rearing method.

PARENT RAISING. It's important to wait till your prospective parents have bonded strongly. Angels, more so than discus, will fight to test the suitability of the partner. Jaw locking is common, as is chasing and biting.

Move your pair into a breeding tank of their own. Water should be soft and slghtly acid and a temp around 28 - 29 degrees. I like to offer them several spawning sites. Usually a discus breeding cone, a magnetic glass cleaner (a favourite spot with my pairs) and a spare filter intake firmly suctioned to the side of the tank. I also like to cover three sides of the tank, so they're not so easily distracted.

They select their site, and begin vigorously cleaning and biting at the chosen spot. This can go on for up to 24 hours before they actually spawn. Spawning is the same as with discus, with the female making runs up the cone and the male following behind fertilizing them. They will hopefully now guard and fan their eggs for the next 60 hours or so, till the eggs hatch. Angel fry seem to hang from the cone for a long time, up to 5 days before they become free swimming. The parents may move them several times during this this time.

Begin feeding the fry with newly hatched baby brine shrimp, introducing finely ground dry food after a couple of weeks. The fry grow very quickly, and one day you will look in the tank, and notice they have sprouted 'wings' and are starting to look like little angels.

Parents can be removed at any time after free swimming. The fry don't rely on the parents for food, only protection from predators.

ARTIFICIAL REARING - You can either leave the parents in the community tank to spawn, and remove the eggs, or move the pair to a breeding tank, and take the parents out after they spawn.

You'll need to add Methylene Blue to the water to prevent the eggs getting fungus. Remove it with water changes after the eggs hatch. It doesn't seem to have any detrimental effect on the fry at all.

Feeding and raising is just the same as with discus fry. Small meals as often as you can manage, and a water change every day, being sure to remove any uneaten food.

Angel fry are a lot tougher than discus fry, and seem to grow at a much faster rate. Take the plunge and try breeding them. It's a lot of fun.

[wickedglass]

we remove the angels at wriggler stage, put them in a jar suspended in a tank till free swimming and then let them loose in a small tank. bbs is fine as soon as they're swimmers, good filtration and vaccing the crapp off the bottom are essential. once they're bigger we move them to a 4.5 ft to grow out.

[jim from sydney]

LR thanks a great sticky

now hoping for them to get on with things

[jim from sydney]

Parents can be removed at any time after free swimming. The fry don't rely on the parents for food, only protection from predators.


Hi M

i have the last batch still in with the parents now 2 weeks old and going great guns. parents and babs are getting on great.

parents spawned again last night, does this effect the previous batch ???

i dont like to take the old batch out as i did this once before and they all died, i took those away from the parents after 4 days.

Jim

[Merrilyn]

Jim, I'd remove the eggs and transfer them to another tank for artificial rearing.

The problem is that the older fry would eat the younger fry, and the parents may decide to eat them all. :?

[jim from sydney]

M

thanks for that....wouldnt want to loose them

what about moving the older fry into a larger tank by themselves and keep the eggs with the parents................the latter proved to be ok before

that way the older ones can have a more space as well. they dont need the parents anymore, correct ????

alternatively i have 20 discus now 7 weeks old in a tank by themselves....could i move the older fry in with them????? there is plenty of room in the 80 liter tank.... for a while anyway

thanks

[Merrilyn]

Either would do Jim. Just so long as you separate them.

I think you'll find the parents will stress out when you go catching all their babies, and may eat their eggs.

Angels don't make very good parents.

[jim from sydney]

M

you mean ok to mix them with the young discus??????


guess this one ?????? look closely

[Merrilyn]

LOL okay, now you've got me stumped.

I have absolutely no idea.

Is it a blue ram? The colours are confusing me.


Hmmmm mixing discus fry with angel fry. Well, as you know I have done it, but honestly if you have the tank space, they are better kept separate. I've sometimes used a couple of angel fry to encourage discus fry eat, but they are greedy feeders, and I think a large number of them would out compete your discus fry for food.

Best to keep them separate if you can Jim. Also discus fry are less tolerant of ammonia and nitrate levels than angels.

[jim from sydney]

M

thanks will keep them apart.

No, wrong guess....try again


see u.

[Merrilyn]

Hmmm that's teasing Jim.

Give me a hint.

[jim from sydney]

i am alive and "home grown" and fish love me, pity i get eaten quickly, i suppose it is because i am so tinyand tasty

[Merrilyn]

Ohhhhh that's given it away.

Has to be a pic of a baby brine shrimp. :P

[jim from sydney]

correct...............isnt it a beauty??????????///