Mountain View Angels - Breeding Angelfish

Angelfish will spawn on just about anything as discussed earlier. The ideal place for them to spawn on is a piece of slate or a broad leafed plant such as an Amazon Sword. If you plan on artificially hatching the eggs, the slate is the best way to accomplish this. Simply tilt the slate against the tank wall away from any heavy current at an almost vertical position. Below is a picture of a breeding slate provided by Steve Rybicki of Angels Plus.

Angels will generally spawn every 7 to 14 days under ideal conditions. A female can lay from 200 to as much as 800 eggs or more at a time. The pair should have their own 20 gallon tank or larger with no other tank mates. The tank should be bare bottom meaning no gravel in the tank. Eggs, wigglers, and/or free swimming fry can get trapped in the gravel and die. This also makes the tank much easier to clean. Ideal temperatures for spawning is 82º to 84º F. Ph, Kh, and Gh are not very important. The key is that they remain consistent and not fluctuate rapidly. Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite should be at an absolute minimum. To accomplish this, I do daily water changes to remove any uneaten food or debris from the tank and a larger (about 40% to 50%) water change once a week. Sponge filters are the choice of filtration with Angels. They are great for biological and mechanical filtration and are easily cleaned. They also do not create a lot of current. Angels don't like very strong currents. If you choose to use a hang-on-back type filter be sure to use one a little undersized for the tank as too not create too much current. Below is a picture of a typical breeders sponge filter courtesy of Steve Rybicki.

Once a pair has formed they will begin cleaning a location they have chosen to spawn on up to 3 days prior to them spawning. Occasionally, they will lip lock and appear aggressive towards each other as well. This is normal behavior. They are seeing if their mate is strong, healthy, and suitable enough to mate with. Not all pairs do this but it does happen from time to time.
Just prior to them spawning, the Angels papilla will appear. The female will make several passes at the slate as to entice the male. After a few passes, she will begin laying eggs on the slate. The male will follow her, touching his papilla on the eggs fertilizing them. This can go on for several hours and is great to observe. This is also the best time to confirm their true sexes. Be cautious when observing them, if they are disturbed at all they may eat the eggs. It's best they are left alone without a lot of noise or traffic around the tank. Take a quick peak and then observe them from a distance. Here's a few pictures of a pair spawning. The Gold is a female and the Gold Marble is a male. If you look hard you can see the eggs near the top of the slate.

Parent Raising

Parent raising fry isn't difficult at all. The hard part is leaving them alone and letting the parents raise their babies. This may take several attempts before they get it right. Some Angels never raise their own spawns and will eat every spawn that they lay. Some pairs parent raise their very first batch. (I've only been lucky enough to have this happen once.) It's best to give them 15 to 20 tries before giving up on parent raising. I will explain how to artificially raise the spawn in the next segment.
After 48 hours the spawn will begin to hatch. If you look closely you will see little tails wiggling all over. At that point they are called "wigglers." During this stage the fry have a spot on their head that is sticky and they will stick to just about anything. The parents will try and keep them in one spot and will move them around the tank several times. Occasionally they will mouth the wigglers to clean them off and move them where they want by spitting them back out. Five days after they begin wiggling they will become free swimming. It's at this point (free swimming) you will want to start feeding the fry. Not while they are wiggling. You will need to feed them Baby Brine Shrimp. It's best you start hatching Baby Brine Shrimp 24 hours before the wigglers become free swimming. I will explain how to do this later in this article.

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