Should I leave angelfish eggs with the parents, or should I raise the fry separately?
Our angelfish spawned today. My question is whether I have to leave the eggs with the parents. I know that the parents supply the eggs with fresh water and clean them. My brother-in-law told me I should put the leaf with the eggs into a breeding container and aerate them gently from below with a membrane pump with reduced output and an airstone. Now I do not know what to do. There are other carnivorous fish in the tank. Is there a risk that the eggs will be eaten? Or do the parents eat the eggs as well? We have another tank (30 liters), in which we have only baby fish (Guppy, Molly, Ancistrus catfish). Can we put the eggs/fry into this tank?
Hello,
I generally recommend leaving the eggs with the parents in case of species that care for their offspring. On the one hand, this is the only way to enable to live their parental care behavior, on the other hand it is often reported that juveniles of species that guard their fry which were raised without their parents do not care for their own offspring well later on.
Basically there is the risk that the eggs are eaten. But this can be reduced if you leave a little (!) light on at night in the room, allowing the angelfish to orientate and fend off predators.
It is normal that angelfish eat their first egg clutches - this occasionally happens, especially if the parents (in particular angelfish!) are yet inexperienced. This gets better after a couple of tries.
I recommend transferring the angelfish fry only after the care behavior by the parents ceases or becomes weaker, for the above mentioned reasons.
Best regards
sera GmbH
Dr. Bodo Schnell