Surprise angelfish fry

[angelcraze]

I've been kinda busy lately, and just got home to feed my fish, and........to my surprise...........I had angelfish fry!!!!  I thought the young couple has eaten their eggs.  This is the first time I have attempted to let the parents hatch and raise the eggs.  I am curious as to how long they will take care of them.

I just don't know how to feed the fry.  They are free swimming, but still confined to a leaf by the parents.  Do I toss powdered fry food in anyway, or do the parents feed them?

[Shawn84]

If you can set up a 10-20G tank with a sponge filter and carefully move the fry and mother in to the tank. You can feed them finely powder fry food or baby brine shrimp or micro worm. Congrats on the fry. The fun begin now on keep them alive

[angelcraze]

Thanks!!!

But why do you figure I should move the fry with the mother?  You think the male will eventually eat them?

[wrm130]

I am curious about this as well.  Once the eggs have hatched is the mother' presence really necessary?

Also, even if the eggs are unhatched, as long as they are sheltered from predation and good flow is provided, is the mother necessary?

[Shawn84]

You don't need the mother there to raise the fry. There is a theory out there that having the mother with the fry is beneficial for them. Some say angelfish can imitate discus where the mother secret a milk like substance that help raise the fry. Though its not a confirm thing. Your choice really in moving the mother. Also feed them sparingly 3 times a day. Once they are free swimming and keep up with the water change to maintain the water parameter.

[Dan]

I have a question...how do you tell the Mother from the Father?

[Shawn84]

One way of telling is the direction of the tube. Also you can try this method. Male tend to have a bump on the head while female is usually flat.

[angelcraze]

For sure, the only real way of telling the difference is the breeding tube, the female's is noticeably fatter and blunter than the male's.  (The male's is skinny and pointy) The female's belly will fatten up with eggs before spawning.  The males generally grow larger, but this isn't always the case, the same as the bump on the male's head, although common.  Behavior is the same, aside from actual spawning.

[Peekay]

I think one of my angels is gravid for the first time!  I see your fry are on a leaf... have you ever given them a spawning slate, or do you just let them find a leaf? 

A plant is easy enough to move, I guess... but if they choose the wood in my tank.. not so much!

[angelcraze]

Most of the time, my angelfish will spawn on a leaf (I have a few pairs), but this pair actually spawned on the intake pipe of my filter, not an ideal place!!!!!  I notice that often the mother and father will move their "wigglers" (when the eggs start to hatch)  Angelfish, from my experience like to find a vertical surface to lay their eggs, like a spawning slate leaning on the glass vertically, or a long amazon sword leaf.  Mine spawn on real or artificial plants, but prefer live.  They will find any place to spawn if they are ready, even the glass, but if you provide a special cone, slate, leaf, etc........they will most likely choose that.  You will notice the female will get very fat, and the pair will start to clean off the surface in preparation to lay eggs.  You will later see their breeding tubes, then they will be ready to spawn.  Good luck, it's rewarding to see the fry.