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Do Angelfish Breeding Pairs Stop Eating While Protecting Eggs/Fry?


Sequoiaval
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I have a pair of angelfish who paired off and got too aggressive in my community tank so I set them up in their own tank. They had good appetites for about ten days and laid their first batch of eggs. I left the eggs alone (most didn’t seem viable, which is fine as I’m not looking for more angelfish), the parents didn’t eat them and spent a few days guarding them. However, they stopped eating as soon as the eggs were laid. I have been testing the water parameters and done twice-a-week 50% water changes so all is pristine and the new tank was well cycled and has gravel, plants and sponge filters transferred from one of my other tanks. 

I removed the eggs yesterday as I was concerned about them not eating but as of this morning, my normally voracious angels still aren’t eating. 

Is it normal for angelfish parents to stop eating while guarding eggs? I’ve not been able to find anything addressing this online.

Thank you! 

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Just an anecdotal answer -- ours still ate when they were guarding, though maybe a little bit less. They are distracted, and concerned to guard their eggs. Do you feed live baby brine shrimp? They might eat that rather than normal flake food. If you're planning on raising fry . . . you'll need to make some!

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Hi and thank you so much for responding. It’s helpful to know they SHOULD be eating at least a little.

I have been feeding them frozen blood worms or brine shrimp at night and flakes or freeze dried foods in the morning. I’ll definitely grow some live food if I decide to let them get that far as I already suffer from Multiple Tank Syndrome.

It is possible their new tank location is stressing them so thank you for that suggestion. I’ll cover their tank and turn down the lights and see if that settles them down.

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2 hours ago, Sequoiaval said:

Is it normal for angelfish parents to stop eating while guarding eggs? I’ve not been able to find anything addressing this online.

My angelfish always eating vigorously while guarding eggs. Feeding live foods usually helps.

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