After successfully breeding angelfish myself a number of times, I\u2019ve got to say, angels aren\u2019t the hardest to breed, but it does take some serious labor to get the fry raised up so they can be rehoused.<\/p>\n
Breeding angelfish is really fun and extremely rewarding, but it\u2019s quite a commitment to raise the fry.<\/p>\n
So, today I\u2019ll go over the ins and outs of breeding angels and raising their fry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An Outlet for Fry<\/strong><\/h2>\nBefore you start breeding angelfish, make sure that you have a solid way to rehome the fry that you breed.<\/p>\n
Angelfish can produce a hundred babies with each spawning and each breeding pair will spawn every week and half to two weeks for several months a year.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a lot of babies that will take up a lot of space and require quite a bit of care, especially the first two weeks of their lives. It\u2019s impossible to keep them all.<\/p>\n
I hate to think of someone starting to breed them, not having a way to rehome fry, and then flushing them to get rid of them all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Getting a Breeding Pair<\/strong><\/h2>\nAcquiring a breeding pair is the first big hurdle to breeding angelfish.<\/p>\n
The most surefire way to get a breeding pair is to buy a proven pair from a private breeder. This can be quite expensive, and difficult to find, especially for the more exotic varieties.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t want to lay down the money for a proven pair, your best bet is to buy a large group of juvenile angels, at least six or so, put them into a 55 gallon (208 liter) or larger tank, let them grow up together and then wait for them to pair up on their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good idea to get fish from several different breeders so that you get males and females that are not all related to each other. I would suggest sourcing from a few different private breeders since big box stores often use the same fish wholesalers.<\/p>\n
The fish should be fed a varied diet of high quality flake foods, occasional baby brine shrimp and bloodworms. Good nutrition will help the fish grow more quickly and get them conditioned for breeding.<\/p>\n
As well, I highly recommend doing 50% weekly water changes<\/a>. Fish excrete hormones and pheromones into the water column that, if allowed to build up in the water, can inhibit fish growth<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\nAn excess buildup of nitrate can also greatly stunt fish growth and negatively impact fish health. Water changes remove built up nitrate, hormones and pheromones, helping fish to be healthy and grow more quickly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even with excellent care, you may have quite a wait before you get a pair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Angels don\u2019t become sexually mature until they are at least six months old. I\u2019ve had groups that didn\u2019t show any interest in pairing up until they were almost 18 months old.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most breeders sell their fish that are a few months old, so it can take a while for the fish you buy to become sexually mature and pair off.<\/p>\n
Sexing Angelfish<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhen they are juveniles, males and females look pretty much identical. How I wish you could easily tell them apart at 3 months old!! It would have made my life SO much easier!<\/p>\n
But, at least, once they\u2019re mature, angelfish are fairly simple to sex.<\/p>\n
First off, males are substantially larger than females. I\u2019ve had pairs where the male appeared to be almost 50% bigger than the female.<\/p>\n
Secondly, males have a slightly different head shape. It\u2019s a bit subtle to discern, but once you\u2019ve seen it several times, it becomes more obvious.<\/p>\n
Males\u2019 heads have a much more pronounced outward curve from their dorsal fin down to their nose.<\/p>\n
The females\u2019 head does curve from the dorsal fin to the nose, but it\u2019s a completely smooth curve without the slight outward hump that males get.<\/p>\n
Once you can identify males and females, it\u2019s still important to wait for fish to pair up. It\u2019s generally not as simple as putting a male and female together. Angelfish won\u2019t just automatically breed because one of each sex is present. Some pairs of fish live together for years and will never breed.<\/p>\n
Watch for Pairing Behavior<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce your group of fish have started to become sexually mature, you may start to see some of them display pairing behavior:<\/p>\n
\n- Chasing<\/strong> \u2013 the pair will start to stake out a territory and will begin chasing off other fish. The pair will move away from each other to chase off another fish, but they will continually move back to be near each other.<\/li>\n
- Picking<\/strong> \u2013 both fish will start to pick clean a vertical surface in the tank. They\u2019ll do their best to clean off any algae or other gunk on it. This gives their eggs the best chance of sticking as the female lays them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Usually when you see this behavior, it\u2019s a safe bet that those two fish have become a mated pair, and you can move them to their own breeding tank.<\/p>\n
Breeding pairs will need their own tanks. Yes, it\u2019s possible for them to lay and hatch eggs with other fish in the tank, but it is incredibly stressful for the parents. And the other fish in the tank will eat the babies once they are free swimming.<\/p>\n
Setting Up a Tank for Angelfish Breeding<\/strong><\/h2>\nTank Size<\/strong><\/h3>\nIt\u2019s important to make sure you put your breeding pair in a large enough tank.<\/p>\n
Some commercial breeders put each pair in a 20 gallon high tank, but I really think this is much too small unless you plan on doing water changes at least twice a week.<\/p>\n
I would recommend putting a pair in at least a 30 gallon, but I think a 40 gallon is even better. This makes sure that you have plenty of water volume to prevent rapid and drastic swings in parameters. Plus, this gives the fish plenty of swimming room when they\u2019re not tending eggs.<\/p>\n
Filter\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\nIf you\u2019re going to breed angels, I highly recommend using sponge filters, especially for fry tanks. They\u2019re relatively cheap, easy to set up and simple to maintain.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t create a huge amount of flow, which is important for fry and grow out tanks. It\u2019s fine to use hang-on-the-back or canister filters for tanks that have adult angels, as long as the flow isn\u2019t excessive, but tiny fry and juveniles can easily get sucked up by strong filters.<\/p>\n
You want your baby angels to be putting their energy into growth, not constantly trying to swim against dangerous current in their tank.<\/p>\n
Hands down, Hydro Sponge are my favorite sponge filters. I have used this brand for decades. I tend to get the pro version that has coarser sponge. They don\u2019t get clogged up as fast as the finer sponge.<\/p>\n
I also like that you can add on a diffuser to these sponge filters, making them much quieter than other brands.<\/p>\n
No products found.<\/p>\n
If you need to use a canister or hang-on-the-back in a tank, I highly recommend at least adding on a sponge pre-filter to the intake. This will prevent fry from being sucked into the filter.<\/p>\n
Heater<\/strong><\/h3>\nAngelfish originate from the Amazon where water temperatures are very, very warm.<\/p>\n
Unless your room temperatures stay over 78\u00b0F (26\u00b0C), you will need a heater in your tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I have always kept my angel breeding tanks between 78\u00b0F-80\u00b0F (26\u00b0C-27\u00b0C).<\/p>\n
I ran an extensive experiment comparing popular heater brands. Without a doubt, the Fluval E Series heaters are the best, most reliable heaters on the market. They are now the only heaters I buy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five of my eight aquariums are heated. Four of those have Fluval E Series heaters. And the only reason that the fifth doesn\u2019t have an E Series is because there\u2019s nothing wrong with the Fluval M200 that\u2019s been in there for years. But, when I do need to replace that M200, I\u2019ll be getting an E Series to replace it.<\/p>\n
To see our in-depth comparison of aquarium heaters<\/a><\/p>\nLights<\/strong><\/h3>\nAngelfish don\u2019t have any specific lighting requirements. You can pretty much use whatever kind of lighting you want.<\/p>\n
But, if you want to grow plants in the tank, I highly recommend getting some Hygger plant lights.<\/p>\n
Yes, there are fancier, more expensive brands than Hygger. But now that I\u2019ve been comparing lights for years, Hygger has become my favorite.<\/p>\n
Not only do I get ridiculous plant growth, but the fish look amazing <\/em><\/strong>under these lights. And Hygger lights are way cheaper than a lot of their competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n ![\"hygger](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51eEnbvJEbL.jpg\"\/)
![\"hygger](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51eEnbvJEbL.jpg\")
\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n hygger Advanced LED Aquarium Light with Timer, 24\/7 Lighting Cycle & DIY Mode, Full Spectrum Fish Tank Light for 30-36 in Freshwater Planted Tank <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nLast update on 2025-01-09 \/ Commissions Earned \/ Images from Amazon Product Advertising API<\/p>\n
Lid<\/strong><\/h3>\nI prefer to keep a lid on my angelfish tanks.<\/p>\n
It helps keep the lights from getting splashed, cuts down on evaporation and helps keep heat from escaping, which saves electricity.<\/p>\n
Also, every once in a while, a young angelfish will get a wild idea and try to jump out of the tank. It\u2019s not often, but it does happen.<\/p>\n
Substrate<\/strong><\/h3>\nAngels do not have specific substrate requirements. I\u2019ve kept them on gravel, sand, inert planted substrates and even in bare bottom tanks.<\/p>\n
I would just caution against using planted substrates that put out ammonia or nitrate unless you have prior experience with them.<\/p>\n
Plants and Decor<\/strong><\/h3>\nOK, so you don\u2019t have to have plants and decor for angelfish, but I recommend giving them at least something to hide behind for when they feel stressed.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re growing out juveniles so they\u2019ll pair, I would recommend giving them a fairly normal tank decor wise: plants (live or fake), rocks, driftwood and or resin decor. This gives them hiding places and can give squabbling fish a break from each other.<\/p>\n
Some folks keep their angel pairs in almost completely bare tanks. Others keep them in fully planted tanks that look like a jungle. Both kinds of setups can be successful.<\/p>\n
I personally kept my breeders in fully planted tanks. I think it helped reduce stress, especially while they were guarding eggs or small fry.<\/p>\n
But, it did sometimes make catching fry more difficult. However, I felt like that trade off was worth it.<\/p>\n
Breeding Slate<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn the wild, angelfish lay their eggs on some sort of vertical surface in the water: a rock, a leaf, a sunken log, a tree root, etc.<\/p>\n
In an aquarium, angels will lay eggs on plant leaves, filter intakes, decor, sometimes even the glass.<\/p>\n
Most of these are very inconvenient if you want to harvest eggs or wrigglers from the tank.<\/p>\n
A breeding slate is great for both you and the fish. Slates give the parents a smooth, angled surface that makes it easy for the female to deposit eggs on and for the male to then fertilize.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A slate can also be easily removed from the tank when you want to harvest eggs or young fry.<\/p>\n
Slates used to be made almost exclusively of actual slate stone, but these days, you can find ones made of ceramic or even plastic.<\/p>\n
Some people also use the ceramic cones that Discus breeders prefer.<\/p>\n
I like these hang-on-the-side plastic breeding slates because they\u2019re easy to put in different positions in the tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I also like that they\u2019re not down on the bottom, making it easier to vacuum the substrate during water changes.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n
\n ![\"Hang](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/21TKm87WltL.jpg\"\/)
![\"Hang](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/21TKm87WltL.jpg\")
\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n Hang on Top Angelfish & Discus Breeding Slate. Green Acrylic Simulates Amazon Sword Leaf Providing Spawning Surface for Egg Laying. Fish Room Tested & Breeder Approved. Made in USA <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nLast update on 2025-01-08 \/ Commissions Earned \/ Images from Amazon Product Advertising API<\/p>\n
The Breeding Process<\/strong><\/h2>\nOnce your pair are settled into their new tank, they will hopefully start breeding.<\/p>\n
The expectant parents will choose a nesting site and start picking at the surface to get it free of algae.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll see them start to hover around this area almost continually, leaving it only to eat.<\/p>\n
Once she\u2019s ready, the female will glide very close to the surface, depositing lines of eggs as she moves in an upward motion. The male will then move along the surface, releasing sperm to fertilize them.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ll take turns, going back and forth this way until the female is out of eggs. This process can take several hours.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important not to disturb the pair while they\u2019re in the process of laying eggs. If it\u2019s time to feed them, but you see that they\u2019re still laying eggs, just skip feeding them for right now, and add food later. I can tell you from experience, the parents will be very hungry after they\u2019ve finished laying, so just offer them a snack once you see they\u2019ve stopped laying and switched to guarding their clutch of eggs.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the male doesn\u2019t get close enough the first few times the pair lays eggs, resulting in unfertilized eggs. He usually gets better after the first few attempts. Give the pair three or four attempts before giving up on them.<\/p>\n
Hatching Eggs<\/strong><\/h2>\nOnce the pair have laid their eggs, they\u2019ll stay close to them, guarding them against any potential harm.<\/p>\n
They will aggressively chase off other fish, shrimp or even snails that come near the eggs. They\u2019ll go after your hand (don\u2019t worry, they can\u2019t actually hurt you), a net, a gravel vacuum or anything else that moves close to their nest.<\/p>\n
Over the next few days, the parents will pick off unfertilized eggs. Unfertilized eggs will become bright white, like a sheet of paper, while fertilized eggs will remain a sort of pale yellowish milky color.<\/p>\n
Normally, the female will eat the unfertilized eggs. This is a really good thing because the bad eggs rapidly start to break down and grow fungus that can easily spread to the good eggs.<\/p>\n
After 2-3 days, depending on temperature, the eggs should hatch and wrigglers should emerge.<\/p>\n
At this stage, the fry stay stuck to the surface they were laid on. They have an attached egg sac that they feed off of for several more days.<\/p>\n
If Your Angelfish Pair Eat Their Own Eggs<\/strong><\/h2>\nSome angelfish will eat their own eggs after they\u2019re laid, even perfectly good ones that have been fertilized.<\/p>\n
If your fish eat their first, or even their second, batch of eggs, this could just mean that the male didn\u2019t do a great job of fertilizing them.<\/p>\n
Give the pair a chance to figure out how to lay their eggs properly. But, if batches of eggs keep getting eaten again and again, then you may need to pull the eggs as soon as they\u2019re laid.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll need to keep a close eye on the pair when they lay. As soon as the two stop making passes back and forth across the breeding slate, pull it out and immediately put it in another tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s best to use a small tank, something like a 5 or 10 gallon. It\u2019s best to heavily, heavily aerate the water with an airstone, making sure that there is a strong flow of water constantly going over the eggs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To keep down fungus, add methylene blue. This strong blue dye does a great job to cut down on bacterial and fungal growth.<\/p>\n
Just do your best to keep it off your hands and clothes, it stains like crazy!!<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll need to change the water out daily. Make sure to use a dechlorinator.<\/p>\n
Raising Fry<\/strong><\/h2>\nFry Tank<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhile fry are very small, all you need is a 10 gallon (39 liter) tank. The smaller size makes it easier to make sure that the baby fish can find the food you give them.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good idea to have a separate tank set aside for raising your angelfish fry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most parents that don\u2019t eat their eggs will happily raise their own fry but, if you want to speed up how often the parents will lay eggs, you\u2019ll need to remove the babies when they\u2019re very young.<\/p>\n
Also, if you have the parents in a planted tank, collecting the babies once they can evade you becomes a major<\/em><\/strong> hassle, believe me. I once spent an entire day chasing 3 month old angels around with a net until I caught them all.<\/p>\nFry tanks don\u2019t have to be fancy. You mainly just need a sponge filter, a heater and a little bit of decor, like a fake plant so the babies have a little cover to hide around if they feel insecure.<\/p>\n
You can make it more elaborate, if you want, but these basic elements are all you need.<\/p>\n
Hang-on-Front Hatchery<\/strong><\/h4>\nAlternatively, for the first few weeks, you can keep your angelfish fry in a hang-on-the-front hatchery.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve raised many batches of fry in this Fluval hatchery, but you do have to modify it slightly.<\/p>\n
You attach a small air pump (sold separately!) to the lift tube on the hatchery. This pulls water from the main aquarium into the body of the hatchery. At the other end of the hatchery is a little return drain that spills water back into the main aquarium.<\/p>\n
This drain has a small grate that\u2019s meant to keep baby fish from swimming into the main aquarium. But, the slats on the grate are too big and newly hatched angels can easily pass through it.<\/p>\n
To fix this, I wrapped mesh from an old fish net around the grate and kept it in place with a few dots of super glue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I also highly recommend that you install both a non-return check valve and a control valve on the airline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The check valve stops water from back flowing into the pump if the power goes out and the control valve lets you control how much air is going to the bubbler, which in turn controls how much water is going into the hatchery.<\/p>\n
I like these little USB powered air pumps for the hatcheries. You don\u2019t want too big of a pump, and these are perfect.<\/p>\n
\n
Acquiring a breeding pair is the first big hurdle to breeding angelfish.<\/p>\n
The most surefire way to get a breeding pair is to buy a proven pair from a private breeder. This can be quite expensive, and difficult to find, especially for the more exotic varieties.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t want to lay down the money for a proven pair, your best bet is to buy a large group of juvenile angels, at least six or so, put them into a 55 gallon (208 liter) or larger tank, let them grow up together and then wait for them to pair up on their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a good idea to get fish from several different breeders so that you get males and females that are not all related to each other. I would suggest sourcing from a few different private breeders since big box stores often use the same fish wholesalers.<\/p>\n
The fish should be fed a varied diet of high quality flake foods, occasional baby brine shrimp and bloodworms. Good nutrition will help the fish grow more quickly and get them conditioned for breeding.<\/p>\n
As well, I highly recommend doing 50% weekly water changes<\/a>. Fish excrete hormones and pheromones into the water column that, if allowed to build up in the water, can inhibit fish growth<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n An excess buildup of nitrate can also greatly stunt fish growth and negatively impact fish health. Water changes remove built up nitrate, hormones and pheromones, helping fish to be healthy and grow more quickly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Even with excellent care, you may have quite a wait before you get a pair.\u00a0<\/p>\n Angels don\u2019t become sexually mature until they are at least six months old. I\u2019ve had groups that didn\u2019t show any interest in pairing up until they were almost 18 months old.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most breeders sell their fish that are a few months old, so it can take a while for the fish you buy to become sexually mature and pair off.<\/p>\n When they are juveniles, males and females look pretty much identical. How I wish you could easily tell them apart at 3 months old!! It would have made my life SO much easier!<\/p>\n But, at least, once they\u2019re mature, angelfish are fairly simple to sex.<\/p>\n First off, males are substantially larger than females. I\u2019ve had pairs where the male appeared to be almost 50% bigger than the female.<\/p>\n Secondly, males have a slightly different head shape. It\u2019s a bit subtle to discern, but once you\u2019ve seen it several times, it becomes more obvious.<\/p>\n Males\u2019 heads have a much more pronounced outward curve from their dorsal fin down to their nose.<\/p>\n The females\u2019 head does curve from the dorsal fin to the nose, but it\u2019s a completely smooth curve without the slight outward hump that males get.<\/p>\n Once you can identify males and females, it\u2019s still important to wait for fish to pair up. It\u2019s generally not as simple as putting a male and female together. Angelfish won\u2019t just automatically breed because one of each sex is present. Some pairs of fish live together for years and will never breed.<\/p>\n Once your group of fish have started to become sexually mature, you may start to see some of them display pairing behavior:<\/p>\n Usually when you see this behavior, it\u2019s a safe bet that those two fish have become a mated pair, and you can move them to their own breeding tank.<\/p>\n Breeding pairs will need their own tanks. Yes, it\u2019s possible for them to lay and hatch eggs with other fish in the tank, but it is incredibly stressful for the parents. And the other fish in the tank will eat the babies once they are free swimming.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to make sure you put your breeding pair in a large enough tank.<\/p>\n Some commercial breeders put each pair in a 20 gallon high tank, but I really think this is much too small unless you plan on doing water changes at least twice a week.<\/p>\n I would recommend putting a pair in at least a 30 gallon, but I think a 40 gallon is even better. This makes sure that you have plenty of water volume to prevent rapid and drastic swings in parameters. Plus, this gives the fish plenty of swimming room when they\u2019re not tending eggs.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re going to breed angels, I highly recommend using sponge filters, especially for fry tanks. They\u2019re relatively cheap, easy to set up and simple to maintain.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t create a huge amount of flow, which is important for fry and grow out tanks. It\u2019s fine to use hang-on-the-back or canister filters for tanks that have adult angels, as long as the flow isn\u2019t excessive, but tiny fry and juveniles can easily get sucked up by strong filters.<\/p>\n You want your baby angels to be putting their energy into growth, not constantly trying to swim against dangerous current in their tank.<\/p>\n Hands down, Hydro Sponge are my favorite sponge filters. I have used this brand for decades. I tend to get the pro version that has coarser sponge. They don\u2019t get clogged up as fast as the finer sponge.<\/p>\n I also like that you can add on a diffuser to these sponge filters, making them much quieter than other brands.<\/p>\n No products found.<\/p>\n If you need to use a canister or hang-on-the-back in a tank, I highly recommend at least adding on a sponge pre-filter to the intake. This will prevent fry from being sucked into the filter.<\/p>\n Angelfish originate from the Amazon where water temperatures are very, very warm.<\/p>\n Unless your room temperatures stay over 78\u00b0F (26\u00b0C), you will need a heater in your tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n I have always kept my angel breeding tanks between 78\u00b0F-80\u00b0F (26\u00b0C-27\u00b0C).<\/p>\n I ran an extensive experiment comparing popular heater brands. Without a doubt, the Fluval E Series heaters are the best, most reliable heaters on the market. They are now the only heaters I buy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Five of my eight aquariums are heated. Four of those have Fluval E Series heaters. And the only reason that the fifth doesn\u2019t have an E Series is because there\u2019s nothing wrong with the Fluval M200 that\u2019s been in there for years. But, when I do need to replace that M200, I\u2019ll be getting an E Series to replace it.<\/p>\n To see our in-depth comparison of aquarium heaters<\/a><\/p>\n Angelfish don\u2019t have any specific lighting requirements. You can pretty much use whatever kind of lighting you want.<\/p>\n But, if you want to grow plants in the tank, I highly recommend getting some Hygger plant lights.<\/p>\n Yes, there are fancier, more expensive brands than Hygger. But now that I\u2019ve been comparing lights for years, Hygger has become my favorite.<\/p>\n Not only do I get ridiculous plant growth, but the fish look amazing <\/em><\/strong>under these lights. And Hygger lights are way cheaper than a lot of their competitors.<\/p>\n Last update on 2025-01-09 \/ Commissions Earned \/ Images from Amazon Product Advertising API<\/p>\n I prefer to keep a lid on my angelfish tanks.<\/p>\n It helps keep the lights from getting splashed, cuts down on evaporation and helps keep heat from escaping, which saves electricity.<\/p>\n Also, every once in a while, a young angelfish will get a wild idea and try to jump out of the tank. It\u2019s not often, but it does happen.<\/p>\n Angels do not have specific substrate requirements. I\u2019ve kept them on gravel, sand, inert planted substrates and even in bare bottom tanks.<\/p>\n I would just caution against using planted substrates that put out ammonia or nitrate unless you have prior experience with them.<\/p>\n OK, so you don\u2019t have to have plants and decor for angelfish, but I recommend giving them at least something to hide behind for when they feel stressed.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re growing out juveniles so they\u2019ll pair, I would recommend giving them a fairly normal tank decor wise: plants (live or fake), rocks, driftwood and or resin decor. This gives them hiding places and can give squabbling fish a break from each other.<\/p>\n Some folks keep their angel pairs in almost completely bare tanks. Others keep them in fully planted tanks that look like a jungle. Both kinds of setups can be successful.<\/p>\n I personally kept my breeders in fully planted tanks. I think it helped reduce stress, especially while they were guarding eggs or small fry.<\/p>\n But, it did sometimes make catching fry more difficult. However, I felt like that trade off was worth it.<\/p>\n In the wild, angelfish lay their eggs on some sort of vertical surface in the water: a rock, a leaf, a sunken log, a tree root, etc.<\/p>\n In an aquarium, angels will lay eggs on plant leaves, filter intakes, decor, sometimes even the glass.<\/p>\n Most of these are very inconvenient if you want to harvest eggs or wrigglers from the tank.<\/p>\n A breeding slate is great for both you and the fish. Slates give the parents a smooth, angled surface that makes it easy for the female to deposit eggs on and for the male to then fertilize.\u00a0<\/p>\n A slate can also be easily removed from the tank when you want to harvest eggs or young fry.<\/p>\n Slates used to be made almost exclusively of actual slate stone, but these days, you can find ones made of ceramic or even plastic.<\/p>\n Some people also use the ceramic cones that Discus breeders prefer.<\/p>\n I like these hang-on-the-side plastic breeding slates because they\u2019re easy to put in different positions in the tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n I also like that they\u2019re not down on the bottom, making it easier to vacuum the substrate during water changes.<\/p>\n Last update on 2025-01-08 \/ Commissions Earned \/ Images from Amazon Product Advertising API<\/p>\n Once your pair are settled into their new tank, they will hopefully start breeding.<\/p>\n The expectant parents will choose a nesting site and start picking at the surface to get it free of algae.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll see them start to hover around this area almost continually, leaving it only to eat.<\/p>\n Once she\u2019s ready, the female will glide very close to the surface, depositing lines of eggs as she moves in an upward motion. The male will then move along the surface, releasing sperm to fertilize them.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll take turns, going back and forth this way until the female is out of eggs. This process can take several hours.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important not to disturb the pair while they\u2019re in the process of laying eggs. If it\u2019s time to feed them, but you see that they\u2019re still laying eggs, just skip feeding them for right now, and add food later. I can tell you from experience, the parents will be very hungry after they\u2019ve finished laying, so just offer them a snack once you see they\u2019ve stopped laying and switched to guarding their clutch of eggs.<\/p>\n Sometimes, the male doesn\u2019t get close enough the first few times the pair lays eggs, resulting in unfertilized eggs. He usually gets better after the first few attempts. Give the pair three or four attempts before giving up on them.<\/p>\n Once the pair have laid their eggs, they\u2019ll stay close to them, guarding them against any potential harm.<\/p>\n They will aggressively chase off other fish, shrimp or even snails that come near the eggs. They\u2019ll go after your hand (don\u2019t worry, they can\u2019t actually hurt you), a net, a gravel vacuum or anything else that moves close to their nest.<\/p>\n Over the next few days, the parents will pick off unfertilized eggs. Unfertilized eggs will become bright white, like a sheet of paper, while fertilized eggs will remain a sort of pale yellowish milky color.<\/p>\n Normally, the female will eat the unfertilized eggs. This is a really good thing because the bad eggs rapidly start to break down and grow fungus that can easily spread to the good eggs.<\/p>\n After 2-3 days, depending on temperature, the eggs should hatch and wrigglers should emerge.<\/p>\n At this stage, the fry stay stuck to the surface they were laid on. They have an attached egg sac that they feed off of for several more days.<\/p>\n Some angelfish will eat their own eggs after they\u2019re laid, even perfectly good ones that have been fertilized.<\/p>\n If your fish eat their first, or even their second, batch of eggs, this could just mean that the male didn\u2019t do a great job of fertilizing them.<\/p>\n Give the pair a chance to figure out how to lay their eggs properly. But, if batches of eggs keep getting eaten again and again, then you may need to pull the eggs as soon as they\u2019re laid.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need to keep a close eye on the pair when they lay. As soon as the two stop making passes back and forth across the breeding slate, pull it out and immediately put it in another tank.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s best to use a small tank, something like a 5 or 10 gallon. It\u2019s best to heavily, heavily aerate the water with an airstone, making sure that there is a strong flow of water constantly going over the eggs.\u00a0<\/p>\n To keep down fungus, add methylene blue. This strong blue dye does a great job to cut down on bacterial and fungal growth.<\/p>\n Just do your best to keep it off your hands and clothes, it stains like crazy!!<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need to change the water out daily. Make sure to use a dechlorinator.<\/p>\n While fry are very small, all you need is a 10 gallon (39 liter) tank. The smaller size makes it easier to make sure that the baby fish can find the food you give them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good idea to have a separate tank set aside for raising your angelfish fry.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most parents that don\u2019t eat their eggs will happily raise their own fry but, if you want to speed up how often the parents will lay eggs, you\u2019ll need to remove the babies when they\u2019re very young.<\/p>\n Also, if you have the parents in a planted tank, collecting the babies once they can evade you becomes a major<\/em><\/strong> hassle, believe me. I once spent an entire day chasing 3 month old angels around with a net until I caught them all.<\/p>\n Fry tanks don\u2019t have to be fancy. You mainly just need a sponge filter, a heater and a little bit of decor, like a fake plant so the babies have a little cover to hide around if they feel insecure.<\/p>\n You can make it more elaborate, if you want, but these basic elements are all you need.<\/p>\n Alternatively, for the first few weeks, you can keep your angelfish fry in a hang-on-the-front hatchery.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve raised many batches of fry in this Fluval hatchery, but you do have to modify it slightly.<\/p>\n You attach a small air pump (sold separately!) to the lift tube on the hatchery. This pulls water from the main aquarium into the body of the hatchery. At the other end of the hatchery is a little return drain that spills water back into the main aquarium.<\/p>\n This drain has a small grate that\u2019s meant to keep baby fish from swimming into the main aquarium. But, the slats on the grate are too big and newly hatched angels can easily pass through it.<\/p>\n To fix this, I wrapped mesh from an old fish net around the grate and kept it in place with a few dots of super glue.\u00a0<\/p>\n I also highly recommend that you install both a non-return check valve and a control valve on the airline.\u00a0<\/p>\n The check valve stops water from back flowing into the pump if the power goes out and the control valve lets you control how much air is going to the bubbler, which in turn controls how much water is going into the hatchery.<\/p>\n I like these little USB powered air pumps for the hatcheries. You don\u2019t want too big of a pump, and these are perfect.<\/p>\nSexing Angelfish<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Watch for Pairing Behavior<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Setting Up a Tank for Angelfish Breeding<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tank Size<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Filter\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Heater<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Lights<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
\n hygger Advanced LED Aquarium Light with Timer, 24\/7 Lighting Cycle & DIY Mode, Full Spectrum Fish Tank Light for 30-36 in Freshwater Planted Tank <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nLid<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Substrate<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Plants and Decor<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Breeding Slate<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
\n Hang on Top Angelfish & Discus Breeding Slate. Green Acrylic Simulates Amazon Sword Leaf Providing Spawning Surface for Egg Laying. Fish Room Tested & Breeder Approved. Made in USA <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Breeding Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Hatching Eggs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
If Your Angelfish Pair Eat Their Own Eggs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Raising Fry<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Fry Tank<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Hang-on-Front Hatchery<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"Fluval](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51xLzTR+fEL.jpg\"\/)
![\"Fluval](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51xLzTR+fEL.jpg\")
![\"Aquarium](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41iq7fsg8WL.jpg\"\/)
![\"Aquarium](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41iq7fsg8WL.jpg\")
![\"Brine](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/31oPrWMXXcL.jpg\"\/)
![\"Brine](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/31oPrWMXXcL.jpg\")
![\"Clscea](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/31K28+hPZ0L.jpg\"\/)
![\"Clscea](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/31K28+hPZ0L.jpg\")