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Expert: Ron Coleman - 11/5/2009


Question
Hi,I have a juwel 26 gallon tank with 2 breeding angels, who are now laying thier 6th batch of eggs,and all in 12 weeks. After being fry 4 a few days they are then eaten by the adults, while they are laying another batch of eggs.. water qualiity is soft and acidic, temp 78 degrees. they are fed on liquifry for a few days then put on to calanus which is pulped.The angels themselves r feed on blood worm, tetramin dry food and calanus. I have 2 do a water change when the lights r out because the male goes crazy, and because its been ongoing for 12 weeks i now notice a large build up of planaria in the tank. Any advice would be thankful.

Answer
Hi Damian,
 Unfortunately this is a common problem with aquarium strains of angelfish. Sadly because of the way that they have been bred in the hobby, the ability to provide good parental care has largely been bred out of them. Your best bet is to keep trying.  

 As for the water, even though the male "goes crazy", I strongly suggest that you do the water changes because if you don't your water quality is going to rapidly deteriorate and then very bad things can happen.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>

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Ron Coleman

Expertise

I am an expert on cichlid fishes, particularly New World cichlids. My broader expertise includes the behavior, ecology and reproduction of fishes in general. (I am NOT an expert on Goldfish). Please do not use abbreviations, such as "my GT has a swollen eye" because I don't know what a "GT" is. The more clearly you can explain your question, the better chance I have of understanding what it is that you seek. I keep fishes both as a scientist and as a hobbyist and I currently maintain about 140 aquariums.

Experience

I am an Associate Professor at the California State University, Sacramento in the Department of Biological Sciences, and I run a website, called the Cichlid Research Home Page . I also write for many popular aquarist magazines, and I was editor of Cichlid News magazine for several years. I am a scientist and I spend my time teaching fish biology, ecology, behavior and evolution and doing research on the reproductive biology of fishes, particularly cichlids. I do research in the laboratory and in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico. My main interest is understanding the evolution of parental care in fishes. I am interested in encouraging greater public awareness, understanding and participation in science.

Publications
Cichlid News, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Science, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Copeia, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, AUK, Environmental Biology of Fishes

Education/Credentials
PhD (Toronto, 1993) MSc (Simon Fraser, 1986) BSc (British Columbia, 1983)

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