OT : Help my angel fish laid eggs !?

vaknitter · 02-27-2010, 11:19 PM

I've always had fish tanks and have had live bearers so this egg laying thing is new and perplexing. We have such a diverse population on here I thought maybe someone could help me...I have only 1 angel fish and it was given to me. Otherwise I have all tetras, shark, pleco, gourami's. It has laid eggs on the filter pipe and is vehemently defending said eggs. Will they hatch? Do I need to pull the pipe and clean it off ??? The aggressiveness is really disrupting the balance in my tank.

offgridgirl · 02-28-2010, 04:48 AM

Here to help! Yes we had a breeding pair of Angel fish for years.
No, these eggs will not hatch without a male to fertilize them. GO FIND A MALE in the local store(get two mature fish and wait for two to pair off. Then remove the other fish),quickly!! Clean the tube off of all the eggs. The rest of the fish are fine in the tank it is only the eggs that she is defending. Ghost fish will eat the eggs!!

We had 300 eggs every two weeks. If you want to breed and sell the fish then you will need a few things. We paid for all our fish supplies and dog food by selling quarter sized babies.

Here is what we did. We got a real plant with wide leaves for the "momma" to lay the eggs on and then the Male would fertilize. We then cut the leaf with the eggs and stuck in a 5 gallon tank, weighted down and coated the water with Methylene blue. It an anti-fugal agent to stop the eggs molding. Also, you have to grow live brine shrimp. You buy eggs and put in salt water on a warming tray with a light at one end. A small bubbler also helps...3-4 days you have brine shrimp. When the tails appear from the angle eggs start growing brine shrimp. You have to have two trays going of brine cuz the angel babies will be hungry. Clean the tank with the angle eggs of all Methylene blue,once the eggs have hatched and remove the leaf with any eggs noy hatched. Change the water in the tank regularly and move the fish to a forty gallon tank. No rocks in any of these tanks as it traps too much poo and will kill the fish. Always have water that is very clean and with out containments. We use bleach and let the water sit.

GOOD LUCK and let us know if you get babies.
PM me and send me your email if you want more help!
ALOT OF work but also very rewarding!!

vaknitter · 02-28-2010, 05:43 AM

That you very much for your reply, but I don't want babies. I want to make her aggression stop (all my fish have gone into hiding and when I feed the tank she runs them all off). I've had angels before and never seen this behavior. Always thought you had to have perfect conditions for them to lay eggs.
Been there done the baby fish thing with live bearers (at one point I had maybe 7-8tanks) and that is not what I am going for with this tank. I want a nice stable community tank. I'm more thinking if this single angel is going to make a habit of laying eggs and bring aggressive I am going to find her a new home.
Is she going to get bored with hovering over these eggs? Can I just clean them off and she will forget about them? Will she continue to do this or is it a one time deal ?

Mike · 02-28-2010, 07:23 AM

Get a Jack Dempsey, that will take care of her aggressiveness

I would think if you cleaned off the eggs she'd forget about them.

Knitting_Guy · 03-01-2010, 01:18 AM

Egg layers should always be in a separate tank than live bearers exactly for this reason. As mentioned, no they will never hatch as it takes two to Tango, but her behavior may get even more aggressive as she realizes that fact. It's just instinct.

The best thing to do would be to remove her to another tank for a while and then either clean out the eggs or allow the other fish to eat them. It might even be good if she were to remain in her own tank or in a tank with others of her own kind (egg layers).

offgridgirl · 03-01-2010, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by vaknitter

Is she going to get bored with hovering over these eggs? Can I just clean them off and she will forget about them? Will she continue to do this or is it a one time deal ?

Yes she will continue to be aggressive and will continue to lay eggs,even without a male.

If you don't want to do the breeding thing, then get rid of her.

A happy calm tank is GOOD thing!!