Angelfish fry

Newman

Elite Fish
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
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Northern NJ
#61
dang you really cant just find another sword plant? any stores? that's unusual. then just remove the eggs, but for he first few days that original pair will still protect the area, and be very confused about where the eggs went >_<
 

Jan 13, 2010
3
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0
#62
thanks in advance

wow, thanks to you guys for all your posts! I am in the exact same boat, my angels have laid and fertilized eggs. (for the second time, they ate the first ones 2 weeks ago) I transfered the eggs to a tiny tank and now have approx. 50 wigglers. They are less wiggly today and are laying on the bottom fairly inactive however, there is a notable difference in their appearance. They are bigger and look like they have 2 tiny black eyes.

I live in the tinniest town without access to fish supply but have a friend bringing in some brine shrimp eggs (almost ready to hatch). So, what's the process to the brine shrimp thing? How much to feed? and I haven't a filter on this small tank but am doing daily water changes.

It seems they are slow to go through the stages. They started wiggling sat night and are just lying on bottom of tank today. When can I expect them to swim?
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
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Vancouver, British Columbia
#63
Mine were pretty inactive for the first few days. It took a week for them to really swim around and gobble up the food. There's lots of good info on hatching brine shrimp online - start now! I didn't start soon enough and probably lost some fry because they didn't take to the frozen baby brine shrimp. You will defnitely need a pump for hatching, and I highly recommend introducing some filitration to the hatching tank.
But then again, this is my first experience with angelfish fry.
And Newman, I have swords in that corner of my tank but they aren't very tall, and I have a really tall tank. The angels seem to like the higher surfaces. Any swords I found weren't any taller than what I currently have. Last time when I took the eggs out, it only took a few hours for the parents to have reintegrated with the rest of the tank. But it would be interesting to watch them continue to parent . . . will just have to monitor closely to make sure the males are just sparring, not really going for blood . . . .
 

beckyd

Large Fish
Mar 16, 2009
381
0
0
#64
Thanks Lauraf. Boy, you weren't kidding about trying to memorize which ones are which. I think I know my fish pretty well, but there are 6 black ones. Its hard to be sure! Now the little papilla thingy is gone, but I'm pretty sure I got her figured out. 'Her' because your guess is better than mine, and you're thinking its a she.

I have 12 eggs. Sounds like plenty to me:) The eggs are solid white today. How soon do they hatch? Although, from what you said about the eggs starting to wiggle, I should be able to predict when they are getting close. They are hanging out in a breeder box. I need to get a tank ready and I don't have a spare heater. I'll get that taken care of and a sponge filter. I should be good before they are mobile.

Yours are really cute! The parents are gorgeous. I hope they all manage to coexist. Mine are in a 55g. I got them as teeny little things, had them shipped to me. I didn't expect them all to survive and now I have too many. They are fine now, but I know I will have to part with some of them once I get multiple pairs for thier own safety. I really like them all and am sad that the day is fast approaching when I will have serious trouble in that tank:(

This thread has been invaluable to me for quick info.And I'm not the only one! Thanks to everyone for all the input:)
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
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0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#66
OMG! I just came home to find that the other pair settled for a sword leaf a little lower down in the tank and I GOT TO WATCH THEM LAY AND FERTILIZE! The female was trailing along the leaf laying about ten eggs at a time, then the male took his turn. Having never had angels breed for me before this month, seeing them 'in action' for the first time is extraordinary! I feel like singing the boom deeyada theme for the Discovery Channel ;)

I have a crappy video I just shot, but it's a mpg file that won't load. Any other way to post a video?
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#70
Okay, the link works. Sorry, it really is a crappy video. Would love some feedback from anyone on how to best photograph/record happenings in a tank with a wee digital camera . . . .
Back to my fry though - I think it's time to introduce them to something other than the bbs, given they have been free swimming for almost two weeks now. I don't feed my community tank with flaked food, but rather micropellets and frozen bloodworms. I tried pulverizing some of the micropellets and feeding them to the fry, but they were totally horrified. Should I try crumbled flake food, or am I to expect that these fry are so fixated on live bbs they will be prima donnas about anything other than that? What's the best approach to wean them on to 'adult' food?
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
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0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#71
wow. beautiful fishies , i have never seen golden/white Angels ever. BTW your plants look v healthy too, nice work. :)
Thanks! Here is a pic of my whole tank. It's not a great shot - I have to figure out what setting to use on my camera to show it in better detail. And I bought all four of these angels when they were very young and had very little gold on them at all - it really came out as they got older.
 

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beckyd

Large Fish
Mar 16, 2009
381
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0
#74
Laura, your tank is gorgeous! Great setup. My eggs look like they all have fungus today, so false alarm this time around for me. Next time I'll be more prepared because of this thread. That is SO awesome that you caught them spawning! Got a new videocam for Xmas, maybe I'll get lucky next time:)

Newman, they DID grow up fast! Weren't they just little dimes with fins about last month?? I knew the time for thinning them out was coming and now it is upon me. I can't decide what to do. My birthday is coming up and I am torn between a 180g that would allow me to keep them all and a special lens for my camera that I have been coveting for over a year. You know, I never expected them all to survive shipping across the country and to thrive into adulthood. And here they are, big, bold, and breeding! My other option is to split them and place another 55g under this one. The stand is built for it. That would leave them 6/6. I'll have to check aquavisor to see if that is adequate space. Even if it is technically, they are getting so tall! They really would look better and be able to move more is a significantly bigger and deeper tank. I don't know what to do. So many things I want, so little money...

How am I to part with any of them???
 

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lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#75
Gosh, thanks guys, Newman, I don't know if they are Koi angels - I don't even know what that means :) They were just pretty white juvie angels when I bought them.
The first pair's eggs have disappeared - I can see some transparent residue, so I'm assuming the eggs started wiggling while I was mesmerized with the spawning action of the second pair and didn't notice. I can't see any young fry in my tank, but I'd assume they all got chomped.
The second pair's eggs are still on their leaf, a translucent yellowish, with only about five that are opaque white (meaning that they didn't get fertilized, right?) Regardless, I won't introduce these eggs to the tank with my other fry - nature in the 39g will just take its course.
And yes, I can see how this tank might not be ideal for both pairs of breeding angels, but I don't know how to get rid of them! I'm going to get rid of the two rosy barbs and the von rios first. Plus the two alarming Chinese algae eaters that aren't even doing the job they were recently introduced to do (I'm going to post about that question on the plant forum soon.)
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#76
I think it's time to introduce them to something other than the bbs, given they have been free swimming for almost two weeks now. I don't feed my community tank with flaked food, but rather micropellets and frozen bloodworms. I tried pulverizing some of the micropellets and feeding them to the fry, but they were totally horrified. Should I try crumbled flake food, or am I to expect that these fry are so fixated on live bbs they will be prima donnas about anything other than that? What's the best approach to wean them on to 'adult' food?
Today I have fewer fry than yesterday, and found some disturbingly large bunches of detritus on the floor of the tank, that I'm thinking are dead fry that just started deteriorating rapidly. Was it the micropellets I introduced that might have caused this?
Sad, very sad . . . .
 

beckyd

Large Fish
Mar 16, 2009
381
0
0
#78
Paige, I got them from a breeder in MN off AB dirt cheap. They were dime sized. I thought they were cute when I got them. Needless to say, they have exceeded my expectations in every way. I am researching a 180g for them. I just don't think I can let enough of them go to keep them happy in a 55g.

Question about the eggs: Laura comments that the opaque white ones are infertilized. All the eggs I pulled turned opaque white and then got fungus. Remember how I said I didn't know who the other fish in the pair was? Then Laura thought the pic I posted was of the female. Is it possible I don't have a real pair yet? Could I just have a precocious female who spontaneously laid eggs on her own? Just curious.

Now that it happened, they all seem a bit edgy. There's alot of half-interested sparring and chasing going on. I am really feeling the pressure to spend some wishful tax return money.

Laura, so sorry your babies are not fairing well:( I hope some of them make it.
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#79
Thanks Becky, but I think they are okay! I think maybe my fry are just behaving differently now that they are older, and I probably was overly preoccupied with the weird detritus at the bottom. I am NOT going to try the powdered micropellets again - I think those were part of the problem.
If I am missing any fry, it is maybe one or two. Now they don't school, they all run (swim) around independently and it's very hard for me to estimate the numbers! I am still just feeding them the bbs; tomorrow I will have a wee bit of time to buy some flake food that I can powder and introduce with the live bbs to these fry.
Meanwhile, what to do with my four beauties in my community tank . . . . .
Becky, I don't know if angelfish females lay 'phantom' eggs - lots of other fish do, I believe. But it sounds like you didn't get fertilized eggs to begin with, and also, it sounds like you pulled the eggs into another container before the possible angel parents either got a chance to fully fertilize the eggs, and also for the eggs to develop a bit more fully with the help of the parents blowing and fanning them, and also picking off fungus with their mouths, which would, I now understand, be totally natural behaviour for the angel parents. For my first, unplanned, but sorta successful fry hatching, I actually waited until the eggs started wiggling, then moved the whole leaf they were on into another container with water from the community tank and then into the hatching 5g.
Maybe yours will start with the really intense spawning behavior again, and you can get it on your webcam!!!
Cheers,
Laura
 

lauraf

Superstar Fish
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#80
Wicked! My pair relocated their eggs within my community tank, by mouth! Very dilligent parents ;)
And upon closer inspection, the first spawn ALSO moved their brood - they didn't actually hatch and get chomped, they are just well hidden ;)