angelfish

[koi]

IS there an easy way to get them to breed and will two different age fish pair up? What water parameters do they prefer to induce breeding. What is a replacement for bbs for the fry?

[Sea-agg09]

Angel fish are cichlids from S.American Acid pools. Different age fish will probably not pair up, and the older will more than likely kill the younger fish. There really isn't an "easy" way to get them to breed, but it is fairly standard. Once fish have paired up, feed them well with very high quality food (live food usually), slowly drop the pH of the water to something more suitable (6.0 or so).

http://www.angelsplus.com/ArticleBreeding.htm

http://www.breedingangelfish.info/

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/breeding/angelfish.php

[nacra99]

IMHO,the easiest way to get them to breed is to leave them alone.
Some people mess with water and temps and foods and stuff which ultimately (IMHO) stresses them out. Just leave them alone, keep them comfortable with lots of stable clean water and regular feeding of high quality foods and (assuming you have fish of both genders) they will most probably pair up when they reach sexual maturity. It will be very obvious when they pair up as you will notice two angels hanging out by themselves all the time at one corner of the tank and chasing others away.

My angels breed in 100% houston tapwater. pH 7.8, GH 10. At a temp range anywhere between 75 and 80. Always pull eggs to be hatched away from the parents if you want a decent hatch rate, otherwise there is a high chance that it will be eaten within 24 hrs of being laid.

Two angels of different ages CAN indeed pair up only if BOTH of them have reached sexual maturity and are approx the same size. But like sea-agg mentioned, if you have large size differences, smaller ones may get picked on.

BBS is still the best thing out there. I haven't yet found anything readily available here that can compare. In asia we used to feed them moina (little daphnia), but it's a hassle to culture them in large enough quantities with most home setups. I have also tried microworms, but they tend to sink and the frys that hover at the surface can't get to them. Also, some microworms are two large for first foods. I have seen some fry with worms sticking out of their gills because they can't get the entire thing in. IMHO, start them on BBS for a week or two, then you can switch to microworms.

Good luck!

[koi]

I've never done bbs but i've heard its a pain.

[nacra99]

eh... it's alrite once you get the hang of it..
shameless plug...

http://www.ventralfins.com/livefood_BrineShrimp.html#heading3

[wesleydnunder]

IMHO,the easiest way to get them to breed is to leave them alone.
Some people mess with water and temps and foods and stuff which ultimately (IMHO) stresses them out. Just leave them alone, keep them comfortable with lots of stable clean water and regular feeding of high quality foods and (assuming you have fish of both genders) they will most probably pair up when they reach sexual maturity. It will be very obvious when they pair up as you will notice two angels hanging out by themselves all the time at one corner of the tank and chasing others away.

My angels breed in 100% houston tapwater. pH 7.8, GH 10. At a temp range anywhere between 75 and 80. Always pull eggs to be hatched away from the parents if you want a decent hatch rate, otherwise there is a high chance that it will be eaten within 24 hrs of being laid.

Two angels of different ages CAN indeed pair up only if BOTH of them have reached sexual maturity and are approx the same size. But like sea-agg mentioned, if you have large size differences, smaller ones may get picked on.

BBS is still the best thing out there. I haven't yet found anything readily available here that can compare. In asia we used to feed them moina (little daphnia), but it's a hassle to culture them in large enough quantities with most home setups. I have also tried microworms, but they tend to sink and the frys that hover at the surface can't get to them. Also, some microworms are two large for first foods. I have seen some fry with worms sticking out of their gills because they can't get the entire thing in. IMHO, start them on BBS for a week or two, then you can switch to microworms.

Good luck!

Agree 100%. I never monkeyed with the water chemistry, my angels always bred in straight tapwater.

Mark

[Lydia]

I have 3 angels that have seemingly "paired up" as a possible mating trio; all 3 showing spawning behavior; harmony between all 3 - WEIRD ! I've always had pairs. Don't know who is male/female. The larger one is very territorial goes to spawn site, cleans it. Swims, protects the 2 others, chases everyone else to corner. The other 2 aren't as territorial, don't chase others much if at all, both go to spawn site individually, clean, pick at it. They don't swim around as 3. Either the 2 smaller ones are together or the smaller ones take turns with the larger one. Haha - now I am open minded, but they are making this difficult for sure! I have been holding off moving everyone else out until I felt sure I had identified the "pair" - but can't wait any longer for safety of others. So will move everyone else and leave the 3 and see what happens. Comments - insight?