Breeding Angelfish

Raising Juvenile Angelfish

When the angelfish fry are seen swimming in a "cloud" it is then time to transfer them to a rearing aquarium. To do this, siphon out all the water that you can from the hatching jar without sucking up any fry. Then quickly pour the remainder into the prepared rearing aquarium, or follow the directions for using a Spawn Rearing Jar. Be ready with a small container of the aquarium water to rinse any fry out of the hatching jar that didn't make it on the initial pour. The aquarium they go into should contain 100% fresh aged water with an "active" sponge filter. The aquarium should be sized to the number of fry in the spawn. Aquariums anywhere from a 2.5 gallon to a 10 gallon tank wil be able to handle different size angelfish spawns.

In an aquarium that is too large, the fry may seem frightened and will huddle on the bottom in a corner. They will have difficulty finding the food and will likely have problems. In the first week of their life, a smaller aquarium appears to give them the secure surroundings they desire. When they have grown to fill this space (maybe only a week or two) they are then split up into "grow-out aquariums". This is probably one reason the spawn rearing jars are so successful. After you move them to a larger tank, make sure they have plenty of space, and frequent partial water changes are done regularly. There is nothing worse than "chopped" dorsal fins and stunted, thin little angelfish. If you want to know how they should look, put just a few in a larger tank and take good care of them. Most of the poor juvenile angelfish we've seen came from being crowded, overfed and having insufficient water changes. The following would be a very general guideline for angelfish stocking levels. It will vary according to water parameters, amount of water changes and feeding technique.

Nickel size bodies	1 angelfish per gallon
Quarter size bodies	1 angelfish per 2 gallons
Silver dollar size bodies	1 angelfish per 3 gallons
Stock ready to be paired	1 angelfish per 5 gallons
Full grown breeding pair	20 gallon tall

Feeding angelfish fry is simple - feed newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Brine shrimp that has been hatched for even 12 hours may be too large for some baby angelfish to eat. It's also less nutitious than when first hatched.  We've never had a spawn of angelfish that was not able to eat properly prepared baby brine shrimp right away. We use the Utah brine shrimp eggs, which in our opinion are the best in the world. Check here for more details on hatching brine shrimp eggs. Do not give angelfish fry their initial feeding until they have been transferred to the rearing aquarium. It is best to let them acclimate to the change for at least an hour or two before feeding. They still have a partial yoke sac and can go for one to two full days after free swimming before food is essential.

One key to raising angelfish fast, are small, frequent feedings. The object is to keep food in their stomachs most of the time, but to not give them too much at any one feeding. This is likely to foul the water, so great care has to be taken when feeding. Water changes up to 90% also will help to eliminate many problems. There are some out there, touting micro feeds that are suppose to replace live baby brine shrimp with equal or better results for angelfish. We have tested almost every one of these and even sell a few, but none have not performed as well as newly hatched live brine shrimp or microworms.  We are convinced that no matter what the marketing hype says, none ever will.  We don't think they even come close. In addition to that, most are quite expensive. Little or no money would be saved even if they worked well.  They also cause water quality to crash, making massive water changes essential.  Who needs all this extra work?  Not us, and probably not you.

After 3-4 weeks of age, we add crushed fish flake food, Fry Starter #1 and Micro-Grind fish food, in small quantities, to the juvenile angelfish diet. As they age, we gradually increase the amount of dry food. After a couple weeks of them eating this well, we add freeze dried fish foods to complete their diet. Properly cared for, juvenile angelfish can easily have a body the size of a dime at five to six weeks of age. We typically switch them completely to flake foods, freeze-dried foods and pelleted foods at about 4-6 weeks of age.

Additional Information on Breeding Angelfish

You will find many other places on this website that will give you additional hints on raising and breeding angelfish. Check out the Breeder Quality Angelfish pages, General Care and Frequently Asked Questions.

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