Help....quick! Angel fish babies...

12/12/2005 04:05:59 PM · #1

Momma and Pappa Angel fish are eating them up! Going to try and move some over to a second tank...what will I feed them?

Kids are calling the pet store now. Talk about pandemonium (sp?)!

OK...gotta run for now. I'll check back in a bit. Thanks!

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

12/12/2005 04:09:38 PM · #2

If she's still poppin' 'em out, get a little breeding tank. They're small and plastic and you just stick them in the regular tank.

milo655321

Nikon D70

Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX

12/12/2005 04:10:12 PM · #3

I don't raise fish myself, but do you have any plants in the aquarium in which the babies can hide?

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

12/12/2005 04:11:16 PM · #4

Someone was talking about this in chat the other day and said that baby angelfish eat baby brine shrimp. Have fun! :)

mesmeraj

12/12/2005 04:12:36 PM · #5

you need to remove daddy ito another tank all together
the babies really should be in a breeding tank its like a small safe tank inside the mommas tank.
They need to be seperated post haste or youll have no babies left. They can't just hide in weeds etc.

KaDi

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO IF for Pentax

12/12/2005 04:13:57 PM · #6

Originally posted by mk:

If she's still poppin' 'em out, get a little breeding tank. They're small and plastic and you just stick them in the regular tank.

This is the best choice--Momma Angel's gonna have a fierce hunger. If you have to run to the store to get one, remove some tank water to a well-rinsed and dried, *plastic* bowl and put the babies in there until you can get the breeding tank. Cover it with a tea towel and keep it in a warm, but not hot, place--a desk lamp with an incandescent bulb aimed over the top will help keep the temperature up for a little while--but expediency is of the essence!

Good luck! And let's see the pics! Not a usual event in most households!

Nobody

Pentax K-S2

12/12/2005 04:23:33 PM · #7

This may sound like a dumb question, but is she eating the hatched babies or the eggs?

Angelfish (both the male and female) regularly clean the eggs and destroy (eat) the ones that aren't viable. They usually are very good parents.

If they are eating those that have hatched, by all means move the parents. That usually isn't necessary with Angels though.

If they are eating the eggs, you may need to get some Methyl Blue (I think that is the right name) to help ensure that they remain viable.

Good luck!

theSaj

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

12/12/2005 04:24:37 PM · #8

How big are the babies, if they're really really small they'll probably eat things you can't see. If they're a little bigger they might eat some baby brine shrimp. Even some very small crushed flake food.

DrAchoo

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

12/12/2005 04:25:43 PM · #9

Second dumb question. Do you really want the babies? What are you going to do with them? I'm sure if they all make it they will overcrowd the tank, won't they?

tcmartin

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

12/12/2005 04:28:02 PM · #10

Sell them to the pet store. Good lesson for the kids. In fact I'll take two!

CalliopeKel

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

12/12/2005 04:41:41 PM · #11

Im an angelfish breeder. I have 3 tanks of new fry now, and a big tank of baby angels at various stages of development.

The parents will need to be in a tank by themselves to successfully raise the fry, otherwise tank mates will devour them. Angel parents are extremely protective of their babies. But do a great job and handling the fry. You will have to feed the fry fresh baby brine shrimp for atleast 3 weeks (i do it for a month or more) because most other foods are too large to fit into their mouths. You can start trying ground up flake food after 2 weeks. They do sell frozen baby brine shrimp online, but I suggest getting a hatchery. Brine Shrimp Hatchery

If this is the first spawn, the parents may not have the hang of it yet, or have been stressed to the point where they feel like they have to eat the fry. But remember, sometimes they suck them into their mouths to protect them, but will then turn and spit them out somewhere later. You wont know till you get further down the road here.

You can email me directly if you have any questions. After I post this I will try and upload a pic of my latest fry with their parents. Oh, you will need to wrap a sponge or filter cut up and wrapped around your intake tube or the fry will get sucked up into the filter.

Good Luck,

Kelly

Pics - Angel Fry

More
Hard to see, but the babies are all over the tank, they are about a week old here.

Message edited by author 2005-12-12 16:49:49.

KaDi

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

12/12/2005 05:06:06 PM · #12

Originally posted by CalliopeKel:

Im an angelfish breeder. I have 3 tanks of new fry now, and a big tank of baby angels at various stages of development.
Pics - Angel Fry
More
Hard to see, but the babies are all over the tank, they are about a week old here.

Yet again, proof that DPC'rs know something about everything! (...and have the photos to prove it!)

Now, who has the winning lottery #'s for Wednesday's NYS drawing?

theSaj

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

12/12/2005 06:09:12 PM · #13

I was so bummed...I bought my first new aquatic specimens in a few months. Two small shrimp. One died/got eaten/???. The other went for the great escape and managed to get out of the tank and onto the floor. He dried a nice crunchy dry.

12/12/2005 06:21:37 PM · #14

Ok...what a fiasco! First time baby fish parent and all. ;^)

Problem with living out in the country is the nearest store is 20-30 minutes away minimum.

The parents were certainly eating the fry. The fry were still stuck to the glass and as one wiggled free - suck - in it went to a waiting mouth.

Sounds like the pet store fish guy wasn't up to speed 100%, the breeding tank they had (or least what was shown to me) was for confining the parent fish, then the fry could escape out small vents in the breeding container. I didn't want to try and isolate the parent angel fish for 3-4 weeks (or until the fry were big enough to be safe) so I opted to transfer the fry (using a small gravel vaccuum tube) in a separate container (1 gallon goldfish tank - it's clean). I'll have to transfer tank water to it to keep it fresh. I do have an extra aerator. Picked up some frozen brine shrimp for the next two days (bought a shrimp hatchery - but that's 48 hours to the first batch). Gave the fry a small amount of frozen brine and it looked like they were feeding (they're SO TINY!).

I think the biggest challenge here is going to be to keep the temperature up. Should have bought an extra temp gauge and forgot. I'm putting a heat lamp on a timer for now...

We do have an extra 10 gallon tank that I can setup, but it will take a while to get it going.

I try to be optimistic most of the time, having some doubts about this working out though - so unprepared for this!

Thanks everyone for the unbelievably FAST response! Way to go DPChallenge community!!!

edit - typo.

Message edited by author 2005-12-12 18:23:10.

Kivet

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

12/12/2005 06:22:48 PM · #15

My 10 gallon tank for a while had just guppies in it. Guppies are alot like rabbits, about 35 babies once a month and I had 8 moms and 3 dads, you can guess how that turned out in a very short amount of time. The first couple batches I seperated them and made sure none were eaten. Then I gave up. I had alot of guppies in a little bit of water. Ended up giving them away to the pet store and anyone else that would take them. A fun enlightening experiment but not recomended to anyone who doesnt have a big tank.

KaDi

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

12/12/2005 06:38:32 PM · #16

Originally posted by glad2badad:

Thanks everyone for the unbelievably FAST response! Way to go DPChallenge community!!!

<>We members of DPC do not warrant the comments we make for veracity, authenticity, or accuracy. This may be due to overdoses of flu medication...or the fact that some of us are just plain messed up. Use advice at your own discretion....and remember, no matter how it turns out, you'll still have a photo-op.<>

12/13/2005 10:55:31 AM · #17

Well, the babies survived the night in their new home. How many weeks of this before the daily hovering is over? ;^)

Here's a photo of one of the parents as it hovered next to the newly hatched fry. As soon as one of the fry came off the glass, bam! Gone!

I've cropped this image down some (about half) - it's not technically sound I know (shutter 1/13 hand-held, slight pp noise reduction). Hope you enjoy it anyway. ;^)

For any of you aquarium enthusiasts...yes, there is a substantial algae build up on the glass. I let the sides go for the algae eaters. Although nobody could get close to that side of the tank without being aggresively chased off by the pair of angelfish. It's a 55 gallon community tank, heavily planted with double-tube grow lights.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

01/28/2006 08:01:07 PM · #18

A double update. The first batch of babies didn't make it. :( And, we almost burned the house down trying to raise them! Had a heat lamp setup on a timer. One of the kids put the lamp on the floor, bulb down on the carpet, and the timer kicked in. Fortunaltely I was home (telecommuting), went downstairs into the main house and smelled the melting carpet. Burned right thru the carpet and was near the wood subflooring by the time I found it!

Second part of the update. We have babies again! This time they are staying in the community tank. Mamma and Pappa are busy keeping the youngsters schooled up...fun to watch. ;^)

The latest kid picture:

Should have saved this for the 'Romance' challenge? ;^)

Cam

Sony DSC-F717

01/28/2006 08:51:17 PM · #19

Ã� never saw the 1st post. Interesting stuff.

Good luck with the second batch, nice pic.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

01/28/2006 09:02:45 PM · #20

congrats. I used to love breeding cichlids. They have the best parenting skills.

coolhar

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

01/28/2006 10:22:24 PM · #21

Neat looking angels Barry. How do you account for the parents change in attitude, got any idea?

01/28/2006 10:48:38 PM · #22

Originally posted by coolhar:

Neat looking angels Barry. How do you account for the parents change in attitude, got any idea?

One of two things; I heard/read where the first time around the parents can panic and eat the fry - OR - the fish owner can gain more knowledge and find out that maybe the parents weren't really eating them the first time after all! ;^)

It sure looks like they're eating them, but if you watch they'll gather up to 10 fry that have wandered off, them spit them back out in the main area. Very cool!

01/29/2006 08:42:07 AM · #23

Pretty good sized school of fry survived the night...could be going in the right direction this time! ;^)

loriprophoto

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

01/29/2006 10:57:08 AM · #24

I used to raise Cichlids as well (Convicts and a few others) and also Oscars. Learnt a real lesson about algae eaters though in the Oscars tank, the Oscars eventually laid their eggs on a flat rock in the tank and the algae eaters ate the eggs!!!! After waiting literally years for the first batch it was heartbreaking! The Cichlids are wonderful parents too. Good luck with your new brood.