Dantum Angelfish Tank

I've moved all 6 of my dantum Angels from their community tank into a 4ft tank. They share this with 5 dwarf catfish. The catfish are hardly ever seen, so shouldn't interfere with the Angels breeding at all. My intention is to keep the eggs and fry in with the parents. I'm not wanting to breed for numbers to sell, just a few extra for myself. If anyone has experience with this, please feel free to advise if there is anything I should be doing differently. I'll post pics of progress and spawns as they occur.

 

Thanks @Reedfish. I hope I don't regret not taking the cats out when I had a chance.

 

Looks stunning @Broder but... agree with @Reedfish... those cats are sly when the lights go off!!

 

Thanks @MariaS. I'll be sure to have some zucchini on hand when they spawn. That should keep the cats busy. Will just have to play it by ear.

 

Insane nice Broder

 

Thanks Charles. I call them Charlie's Angels.

 

Can I ask a stupid question - would keeping the lights on all the time keep the cats away until the eggs are hatched ?

 

It might keep them away. i don't know if that would freak the Angels out a bit though? Anyone bred Angels with lights on 24/7?

 

When my severums spawned in the commuity tank, i left a small light on next to the tank at night but.... it didnt help.... the eggs still vanished....

 

Thanks @MariaS. May I ask what type and size cats you had then? I'm just weighing up taking a chance with mine versus the disruption of emptying the tank again. One of my angels is already taking strain, so want to avoid capturing them all out again if at all possible.

 

@Broder, I dont have cats only loaches but my eggs disapeared
Cesar had read somewhere to leave a small light on so we tried it but as I said I think the loaches had a feast

 

I hear you @Reedfish, but my aim for now is to see if any fry will survive at all. First prize for me would be to watch the parents raise them. If this fails, I'll remove eggs and raise in a separate tank. That ceramic bonsai pit is the closest thing I could find resembling a spawning cone.

 

First spawn... Ironically I was about to do a water change and catch out the plec and ancistrus left in the tank. Guess I'll have to leave that for now. Still gonna leave the eggs in the display to see what happens though.

 

Really need nice Broder, if you were closed I would have specially setup a tank and grabbed some if these from you.

 

Haha.. You sound as eager as I am for these to hatch and swim. I've only ever been able to get them to free swimming stage up to now. I'd love some advice at this point whether it's even possible to let parents raise young in a tank with other adult Angels present? Will feeding be a problem? Guess I'll play it by ear. If none of this spawn survive, I'm going to try to follow the guidelines here: http://www.angelsplus.com/ArticleBreeding.htm

 

I had an angel pair in a community tank once. The parents were super parents, they would keep the little ones in a tight school and quickly return a stray one to the school.

No other fish even dared coming close to these to parents with their young ones. However with time some do go astray and get eaten by others.

The male once jumped out the tank to try and keep me away.


Only way to really gaurentee a good spawn is to separate them to a breeding tank of their own. Normally I would remove the parents once the school breakes up and each little one start going his own way.

 

Thanks @Vis. That helps a lot to know that it's possible. These parents are great so far. Fanning eggs and not eating them is good no? When should I start hatching brine shrimp?