Angelfish Breeding

[Corbin S]

Hi, my name is Corbin and I just have a question about Angelfish breeding . I have two angels that have been in the same tank for a year, it’s a 55 Gallon community. They’ve never had a problem with each other . I added them in with two other angels that I had to move to my 75 because these two were pushing them to the side so I thought they would become a pair . Well recently , one of the angels laid their first batch of eggs.  Of course they were eaten , but she laid . My first question is , will an angel lay without having a breeding partner ? Second , the female had gotten so aggressive to what I thought was the male , and has almost pushed it to where it can’t come out or it attacks it again, I’ve  read that sometimes female angels will be aggressive toward males to like test their worthiness , but these two have gotten along so well the past year up until recently . 

[Fish Folk]

It's sometimes hard to diagnose what's going on without spending a lot of time watching the Angels interact. Fish do different things, too, when they feel you're not around watching. Setting up a camera on a tripod and walking away can reveal hilarious insights. 

Yes, females _can_ lay eggs without a partner. It's not typical . . . but possible. Unless you've watched pars spawn before, you could be incorrect about your presumption of their sex. Angels anymore are hard to sex unless you catch them in the breeding act. If you set up a piece of angled slate leaning on the side of your 55 gal, you'll probably learn within a few weeks what's going on. You can try doing a 10% water change daily to get them going. Also, feed quality live or frozen foods to prep them for spawning. 

Remember that Angels are _cichlids_ and have big personalities that tend to come out when moved to new tank. Usually, the trick for getting Angels to breed is to move them to a new tank. 

If you're interested in an old thread on breeding angels, click this link below. Hope it helps!

 

[Brian]

Simple answer 

yes a female will lay eggs without a male.

but don’t give up on them just yet.  A young pair may need several spawns to get it correct.  Also sometimes fish get spooked in the dark.  I have a pair of discus that I need to leave light on until the fry found parents and started to feed.  Also.  Maybe reduce water flow, especially if the spawning is near filter inlet/outlet.    
attached photos of tank looks like with light on 24/7  turns out great fry food

good luck

[Maggie]

@Brianthose babies are so adorable! I don't think I've ever seen a photo of baby discus before. 

[Brian]

Thanks