Pair Of Angels Fighting After Spawn

[jive_bunny]

Morning,

My pair of Angels which I have had for almost 2 years have been living quite happily with Cardinal tetra's and a snowball Plec in their 30g without any problems and lay eggs every fortnight. Unfortunately they do like to gobble them up after a few days but I did come close once with wigglers before they to were eaten.

Anyway the pair of angels are now fighting like two males would after another spawn. Lip-locking, violently ramming each other and tearing of fins. I have never noticed this in a pair before only with two males. This has been going on for a few days now, not constantly but for a few jaunts at a time. Will this die down and do any of you know why this might be occurring?

The other observation I have noticed is that the female seems to be sulking. When I go close to the tank she turns around and clamps her tail and when I move to a side view she turns the other way, I move back and she turns another 45’ degrees. If I then back away from the tank she unclamps her tail and carries on her motherly duties. Not sure if this is connected but haven’t noticed this before.

Also, will it be safe to add some melafix to heal their fins or will this cause any problems with their latest spawn?

Thanks in advance.

Jive

 

[BigIan]

are you planning to raise the spawn or just leave them to darwinism???

i can`t see the spawn being harmed by the melafix but it may be worth while removing the spawn to save the adults

 

[jive_bunny]

Me personally no. I read a few references that if you raise the eggs to fry and so fourth by yourself that when they then come to breed they loose the maternal instinct that they would of gained from their parents so I'd like the mated pair to raise them initially with me as the food distributor. I think though that I may have to eventually intervene as they have had so many attempts now they should of got it right. I do have spare tanks for possibly 100's of angels if needs be.

So my original question was with regards to the fighting - any ideas why this might be? Are they looking at a divorce?

 

[Tolak]

Angels do sometimes have aggression issues, paired or not. Some pair off, and get along fine. Some can get along for quite a long time, then start to battle. Some pairs only get along when actively spawning. I had a pair a while back that would lip lock twice daily every time I turned the lights on & off. I've come to the conclusion that there is no rhyme or reason to the behavior of angels.

A divider is a good idea, anyone dealing with cichlids should have one handy. It sounds like the female is taking the worst of the abuse, from her behavior. Dividing them for a while will give them both a chance to heal. Many people do this with more aggressive angel pairs, leaving them together only to spawn. Angels have been known to kill their partner, I've split up pairs before this happened. Left to their own devices would have resulted in half a pair. I either repair, or sell pairs like this. Temperment is a facet of breeding that is all too often overlooked.

I can't see melafix harming the eggs. I use a combination of 3 different anti-fungals when I pull spawns, this helps with the hatch rate.

I would go with a divider, and let the female raise the next spawn solo.