Expert: Lauren - 11/8/2009

Question
I recently noticed hatched baby angel fish in my tank. I quickly transfered mom and dad to a temp. tank until i am fully asured the father will not take up an appitite for the helpless babies. at the moment mama is going quite crazy being without her new family. would it be safe to allow her back into the tank, or would this love affair with her children soon turn out to be a murder scene? please help! Thank you.

Answer
It is normal for the parents to eat the eggs from their first spawning, and if this happens the female will usually deposit eggs again after just a few weeks

If you allow the parent Scalare to accompany their offspring in the aquarium, the parents will keep the eggs clean and protect them from mould. If the eggs are kept without the parents, you must use fungicide to prevent fungus attacks. Make sure that the water temperature in the raising tank is the same as in the parent's old aquarium. An air stone in the raising aquarium will make it easier to maintain high oxygen levels. Keep the water quality good by frequently removing any dead fry and left over food. Regular water changes are also a must. Typically, a lot of the Scalare fry will die. You might have to remove dead fry from the aquarium three times a day or more. During the first three weeks, water changes can be necessary as often as once a day.

As mentioned above, it is quite common for Angelfish to eat their eggs or fry, especially during the first few spawnings. This is why most Angelfish breeders place the eggs in a special aquarium without any adult fish. It is however very fascinating to watch an Angelfish pair taking care of their own offspring. You can for instance remove some of the eggs, and let some stay with the parents. If you leave the eggs to hatch with the parents, the parents will spawn again after 2 or 3 weeks and the already hatched fry will use the eggs as food. When the fry is 5 or 6 weeks old you will see them eat from the skin and fins of their parents. This behaviour can make the parents very weak and even cause them to die.

Some Scalare individuals are more aggressive than others, and will not be able to raise their own offspring. They will always eat their offspring or at least chaise them away. Such individuals can usually be singled out as early as during the courtship period, since they are extremely aggressive and sometimes even injure a fish they wish to breed with. For instance, it is not that rare for Angelfish to suffer from severely injured mouths after the courtship period.

hope this all helps