# Holy crap I have baby angelfish and don't know what to do!



## Sudsybrew (Jul 2, 2011)

Never thought my angels would breed (actually hoping), but they are here. Woke up the other morning with eggs on my filter intake. Really didn't expect them to survive, but now there are itsy bitsy barely visible fish. The father is protecting them and won't let any other fish on that side of the tank. Not to mention, when we get close to the tank, he scoops them in his mouth and then regurgitates them when we leave (is this normal?) The tiny "fish" are hanging around the leftover eggs. Since I did not expect this,, I have no other tank available to put them in. A friend gave me a "cage" of sorts that you float in an existing tank, but it looks too early to break them away from the eggs. Am I right?

Any help is greatly appreciated as I know absolutely nothing. I bought some baby brine shrimp, but dont know how to feed it to them or if it is even time to. I dont want to starve them either. HELP!


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Hi sorry for the late response.The best thing you can do is let daddy do his job.Also,try to find a LPS that sells baby brine shrimp eggs,as when the fry start to swim they will need food.

Many baby fish will only eat moving things so its crucial to hatch food for them.Also the addition of some live java moss would do them wonders.They will be able to hide and munch on little organisms living in the moss.

It is normal for the father to pick them up.He isnt swallowing them,hes just moving them.After all,they dont have hands lol,so a mouth has to do.

Good luck.


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## Sudsybrew (Jul 2, 2011)

Thanks you so much for your response.

Forgive my ignorance, but how do I keep the rest of the tank inhabitants from eating the brine?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

its ok if they do.Just add enough for the fry to eat as well.You will need to feed them twice a day and hatch a new batch daily.It takes 24 to 36 hours to hatch them out.


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## mrouse (Feb 21, 2011)

I have to say........ How Exciting!


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## Sudsybrew (Jul 2, 2011)

It is exciting - just wish I knew what I was doing. 

Took my intake off and put it in a mesh cage in the tank with a java moss ball. No brine eggs at any of my LFS. we'll have to hope that they eventually eat the baby brine.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

You can order some online.Angelfish USA has great deals,95% hatch rate.They will also ship quick if you want to do that.Also you will have backup for if more fry show up,and even the adults will benefit from the live food.


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## Sudsybrew (Jul 2, 2011)

Update: Just got home and all are dead.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Awww,sorry to hear that.Do you know what happened?


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## Sudsybrew (Jul 2, 2011)

Absolutely no clue. Came home to find them all at the bottom of the mesh cage. Thanks for your help, though - maybe we'll have success next time.


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## GuppyNGoldfish (Mar 28, 2011)

With angelfish and chiclids you want to leave the fry in the tank with the adults. They will protect the babies. Get the brine shrimp eggs and hatch them yourself, its better than getting frozen brine shrimp. I bought my BBS eggs at Pet Supplies Plus. Ive also seen them at Petsmart. Make sure the fry have lots of hiding places, and make sure there is a netting over the filter intake so none of them get sucked up. You can use garden mesh, I dont know what size the squares are, but its very small and its made of plastic so it wont rust in your tank.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I don't have any experience with raising angelfish so please as other.

Has anyone tried cylopeeze?

how about boiled egg yoke?

(as alternatives to hatching brine shrimp).


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## Sudsybrew (Jul 2, 2011)

Well, Dam! The only reason I moved the dang fry away from the father was because the LFS told me he would eventually eat them. 

I thought I didn't want baby fish, but now I at least want to make up for my failure. What do I put in the tank to foster more "fish love"?

Thanks for the advise folks - yours is certainly better.


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## GuppyNGoldfish (Mar 28, 2011)

Ive tried egg yolk, its SUPER messy and the fish hardly ate it. You have to mash it up into really fine powder like substance. If you have any big chunks left over, you should take them out of the tank since they will go bad fast. Yes, the father will probably eat the fry after a couple weeks once they get better and he no longer needs to care for them. But for the first couple weeks I'd let the fish take care of the fry.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Agreed,the egg yolk is way messy and can cause your water params to go bad fast,killing all the fish.

Many adult fish will eat their fry,but usually cichlids are good at protecting them.Rams and angels are some of the best parents.

Never tried the cyclopeze,but have heard its good for weaning the fry onto other foods.Looks to be a highly nutritious food too.Perhaps you can try that as well.I would feed the parents well, as fry takes alot out of both and they will most likely breed again.You want them in the best of health so the fry can be healthy and you dont lose parents.


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## Sudsybrew (Jul 2, 2011)

I need the help of smarter folks than myself. My little fellas have laid more eggs today. Here is my plan for redemption - please correct me if I am wrong...

1) Leave them completely alone until they are swimming.
2) As I am an amateur, I do not have a separate tank. I plan to separate the swimmers into a mesh "corral" that resides in the same tank.
3) At that time, I will feed them newly hatched brine shrimp at least twice a day.

Please point out any holes in this plan or offer any suggestions. Since they laid the eggs today, I am assuming they will be swimmers in a little over a week?

Thanks for your help - I've felt really guilty about my last failure.


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