I have maintained a 30-gallon freshwater community aquarium for the past twenty years. Two years ago, I decided to completely tear down my tank and start over. Although I have kept freshwater angelfish in a community tank, I had not made any attempts to breed them. In fact, I am not real sure I even had a breeding pair, because I had not witnessed any spawnings. I decided I would like to breed freshwater angelfish and set up my new aquarium with this goal in mind.
I did a lot of research on the subject of breeding freshwater angelfish, both on the Internet and reading books on the subject, and I went armed with this knowledge to my local pet store to buy some angelfish.
There are three ways to obtain a breeding pair of angels:
1. Buy a pair which has already spawned and produced fertile eggs
2. Buy a number of angels and wait for them to pair off
3. Attempt to select a pair from a number of large angels, using your own jugment in sexing them.
Since I was working on a limited budget, it was not feasible to buy a pair that had already spawned and produced fertile eggs. Attempting to select a pair from a number of large angels, using my own judgment in sexing them, was out of the question, considering my lack of knowledge in this area. The second alternative, buying several and allowing them to select their own mates, was not only the less expensive, but also likely to produce more than one pair of mated breeders.
Usually the only difficulty freshwater fish hobbyiests have when it comes to breeding their angelfish is determing the fish's sex. It is almost impossible to distinguish between the sexes of the angelfish. Some experts' claim that once the fish becomes mature, the male will develop a small hump on its head. Others suggest that at spawning time the genital papilla will be pointed in the males, while the papilla will be flatter and rounder in the females. Usually the easist way to guarantee that you have mating pairs of angelfish is to buy a group of 6 juveniles. Using this method, you are bound to have fish of both sexes, and they will pair up almost immediately.
I had learned that when selecting potential breeding stock, you should look for strong, robust and active fish with long healthy fins and good contrast in color. I purchased four marble Angelfish that were about 1" long and placed them in my 30-gallon-high aquarium containing three large Amazon Sword plants.
Within 3 to 4 months, they had grown to about 3" in diameter and they seemed to be pairing off.
As it turned out, I had two breeding pairs. I am told it is uncommon to find two pair out of only four, and I considered myself very lucky indeed. Each pair alienated themselves from the other pair. Each pair seemed to be fighting almost constantly between the two of them, but should one of the Angelfish from another pair try to attack either one, the other came to its rescue.
Each pair hung out together at opposite ends of the tank, and they would chase the other pair away from their area if they came too close. Each pair claimed one of the Amazon Sword plants and started picking at them a lot. They spent a lot of time cleaning their desired spot for eggs. Their tubes were showing at this time, which was a good indication of spawning, but cleaning an area together is another good sign.
Obviously, I had done a good job at picking out a pair of breeders. A fantastic job when you consider I had unknowingly picked two pair.
