Protective Angel Female

[Bandit]

After my angels ate their eggs 2 times, the third time they laid eggs the female began to eat the eggs again and i decided to take the remaining eggs out. I built a egg tumbler and managed to succesfully hatch 90% of the eggs.

After the fry were free swmimming and eating for about a week i took them out and put them in a plastic container i have built, still inside the community tank.

They are now 23 days old and the female still protects them by chasing away the fish that comes near the container. My concern is she is suppose to lay eggs again this week will she lay the eggs or will she still try and protect the existing fry in the tank and forget about breeding?


Female Protecting the Fry Inside the Container
11533

Fry Inside The Container
11534

[HennieRoux]

Hi Bandit well done with the hatching, pity mom is a egg eater, this can be due to unexperience or just years of years of breeders, breading for a profit and raising fry without the parents, there for they just don`t know any better.

But back to your question, if the mother sees the fry as her own, she will not lay for a while, until her belly is swollen and baby`s is bigger she will then only lay, but once she has laid again, the older batch will be seen as a threat, and she will try and munch them, as she will protect the new spawn.

Off course fish are unpredictable, and I say this only out of my own experience, the thing is, you need to know if mommy is protecting them so she can munch them by her self, or protecting them cause of her natural instinct has formed now that she has seen the fry? You might want to let 1 or 2 out to see if she munches them or protects them? Sometimes they form a stronger bond with fry then with eggs, so you might be lucky and she might not eat the next batch of eggs?

Keep us informed, it will be interesting to know!

[A Bauer]

Hi Bandit congrats on hatching 90% of the eggs, could you tell us more about the egg tumbler you built.

Thanks
Aletta