Angelfish first spawn

[plecoman]

My angelfish just spawned a couple of hours ago on my intake tube. I had taken the slate out and forgot to put it back in. I'm just going to let them do their own thing this time. I put a prefilter over the intake tube, but they could probably still get pulled into it when they drop down off the tube. I still have 3 big female pleco's in there that will probably make nice work of the eggs anyway. I'm going to remove all the fish except for the pair of angels later. Next time they spawn I'll see if they are going to be good parents then. They are keeping a good eye on the eggs for now, but I doubt any will survive if they hatch. I don't really know how to take care of angel fry, so I have a lot to learn. Any pointers will help! ;D

[angel]

Here's what I learned from reading and from Joe. Take the intake tube, or whatever they lay on, out to a small container--a gallon jar or a 2.5 gallon tank will do. When doing that, do everything you can to not lift them out of water at all times. Even seconds in the air can kill the eggs. Put a drop of methylene blue in the container and an airstone. Keep it warm. The eggs will hatch in 2-4 days. The warmer the water is the faster they hatch. 80 degrees is ideal. Once they do hatch, they'll be wigglers. Don't feed them at this time, they're eating from their eggsacks. I like to move them to a 10 gallon at this point, because I can suck them up with a turkey baster. Either now or when they first start to swim, which will be another 3-4 days. Keep the 10 gallon at 80 degrees with a bare bottom and filtered in the same way you do any other baby fish, with a sponge filter or a sponge around the intake. Change some of the water and clean the bottom of the tank and sides as needed. Every couple of days will do. Feed them baby brine shrimp 3-5 times a day. The more feedings, the faster they grow. Baby brine shrimp can be hatched at home, or bought frozen at PetSmart or Franklin Aquarium. I keep frozen on hand and use that most of the time because I'm so busy with kids and stuff that I can never remember to make the BBS daily so they're constantly small. In a couple of weeks, they'll start looking like angelfish. At that point, chop up bloodworms really small with a razor blade and feed them. This helps them grow. Thanks again to Joe! If I've forgotten anything please add or correct me!

[mikew65]

I've never had much luck hatching them on intake tubes, I think there is too much bacteria present. You could use some heater suction cups and PVC pipe for them to lay on isn't as dangerous as slate! The eggs hatch in 48 hours @ 80 degrees and will be free swimming and ready to eat on the 7th day after the spawn. I use a capful of regular Peroxide in the container to prevent fungus on any bad eggs. I've not had any issues with lifting the eggs out of the water to move them to the container, just have the container ready next to the tank. I would probably get ready for the next time which should only be a week or two away as you will have 100's of them anyway!! Mike

[plecoman]

Well we had bad luck with this spawn! We got up the next morning to find the parents eating the eggs. There only a few that were white looking which I guess meant they had fungus on them. The others were looking good, but the good looking eggs were the one's that they were eating. All gone now! Darn parents! We'll I removed all the other fish and put the slate in the tank. Next time they spawn I'll see how they do again. If they eat them again, I'll take care of them after that. Thanks for all the advice! Does anyone know why they would be eating the good eggs?

[angel]

Because they taste good

[angel]

Fish love caviar. They spawn because of instinct but they eat because of food! It's a tasty meal and after all that spawning and fanning they're hungry as all get out.
By the way, I just came upstairs to hear the news from "snailman" and tell him the angels here spawned again .I pulled the eggs to a 2.5 gallon tank as usual.
Oh andddddd
there are two male plecos here with red triangles on their heads.

[angel]

really sorry they ate them. it happens so often with fish! get em next time.

[plecoman]

I've got to come by your house again and see how you take care of the angelfish. Seeing is better than hearing. LOL.... I'll call, if you don't mind, and see when would be a good time to come by. Tomorrow I'm going to pick up some L134's in Georgia.(Leopard frog plecos) I'm getting five of them that are around 1 3/4" long. I hope to get at least a pair or two out of them. Oh, it sounds like your pleco males are getting mature! That's great! ;D

[thorace]

keep us updated on those leopard frog plecos i would love to add 1 of those to my family of plecos....

[angel]

Very cool! I've never seen those. Bet they're interesting.
Sure come by anytime.

[angel]

Speaking of angelfish fry, they're wigglers today

[plecoman]

My angelfish are spawning again. I just walked by the tank and they are busy. I hope they don't eat their eggs in the morning again! It's been 11 days since their first spawn.

[angel]

Mine didn't make it. We had a death in the family and I didn't take care of them as I normally do.

[plecoman]

I'm going to give mine another try at being good parents. If they eat the eggs again, I'll probably take over the next time. I'm going to be busy moving tanks to the garage soon, if all goes well with the heat out there. The guys are suppose to start tomorrow re-wiring my electrical in the garage and running the heat and air vents through the wall. I'm also going to have them run hot and cold water through the wall as well. I'll give it a few days, now that it's getting cold again, and see how well this is going to work before I start setting up tanks out there.

[angel]

That's great news