New to breeding Angels (not by choice) lol

[Mommystop]

I got two Glofish Angelfish and thought the chance of them breeding was small since I assumed they were both females based on their head shapes. I found out over the weekend I was wrong (possibly). I noticed the behavior during feeding time of one of the angels was drastically different (chasing off the tetras violently without actually even eating) when I turned the lighting up I realized they had laid eggs on the intake tube of the filter. I have had schools of other Glofish tetras and danios without any breeding so just assumed all Glofish were sterile since you can’t breed them. Also as I said I thought I had two females (no crowns) I tried moving the eggs to a jar with methylene blue but I believe they all died. I have some questions.

1. Can someone help me identify the male and female? One of the fish had their breeding tube still visible but the other did not. The solid one is bigger but was bigger when I got it and I just assumed it was older. The one with black specs had no breeding tube visible but eggs were laid and they were both fanning the eggs in turns. Solid one was much more voracious in chasing off other fish and hardly ate at all while eggs were in the tank. Is it possible they are confused and two females? Maybe the eggs were never fertilized and that’s the reason they all died. If you believe they are male and female can you let me know which is which?

2. I never expected to have a bonded Glofish pair and I might not be able to separate them before they spawn again. Is it cruel to separate them and re-home one of them? I don’t want to attribute human emotions to the fish but don’t know if they will get depressed and die etc.

3. I do have group of blue Philippine angels and was hoping they would breed at some point or I planned to keep a school of all males since I have heard this can be harmonious without a female to vie for. If they do pair off to breed, do you keep them in the bigger tank and then move the eggs on the slate to a separate one with the parents or do you do the jar method without the parents? I have a 20 gallon tall hexagon tank (24” tall) Do you just move them permanently to the 20 gallon or move them back and forth. I don’t want to stress them out every few weeks if it’s not feasible. I have heard mixed thoughts on 20 gallon tall being big enough for breeding pair.

I know I can’t sell the glofish and not sure I can keep them together and give that many away. Lol

 

[Uberhoust]

Breeding tube on the male will be smaller and more cone shaped, the female's larger and wider and cylinder shaped. I did not know they made glowfish angels, quite surprised.

It is quite easy to get the angels to breed, you must be doing something right, but it is much harder to get the fry to the juvenile stage. When I raised them I had to raise baby brine shrimp that have just hatched from eggs to feed the fry 3 times a day. In a community tank situation, it is likely that most of the fry will be eaten and the parents might even start eating them if the other fish become too hard for the Angels to control. I had no luck using commercial food, egg yolks, or infusoria to feed the fry, only nauplii (baby brine shrimp) worked. To raise the baby brine shrimp is a bit of work, I had to make 1 or 2 batches daily to keep the fry fed. Without separating the fry from the other fish, it is likely that you will get only a few to no juveniles.

If they breed once they will likely breed again. The eggs that turn white are dead, the ones that stay translucent will be good. You might find that all the eggs die because they don't get fertilized properly due to them being genetically modified fish.

I have a few posts on raising angel fry you can look up, I am at work now or I would give links. Have fun with it. By the way it is easy to breed enough fish that it can be difficult to find homes for all of them, this is why I don't breed them anymore.

 

[Mommystop]

Thank you for this! Any thoughts on gender? I have read more forums and am suspicious more and more that the might both be females. If the black spotted one is hormonal but not fully matured maybe she got confused. Lol looking more at the breeding tube I am more certain the solid one is female but would love thoughts. The tube can be seen in both pictures of the solid one. Never saw any sexual organs from the black speckled one but I thought if it was the male Maybe his goes away shortly after fertilizing the eggs? But now I am wondering if it’s a less mature female. I really don’t know how long the eggs were there due to lighting.

 

[Colin_T]

Female angels can lay eggs with or without a male and two females will lay eggs if there isn't a male present.

Males have a long thin ovipositor (egg laying tube).
Females have a short wide ovipositor.

Body colouration means nothing as far as sexing goes.

Male angelfish normally develop a more rounded head when in good condition. This is caused by a buildup of fatty tissue and shows the females he has a good place to eat.