angel spawn discussion

[fluidic]

hey, i was just curious about getting my angels to spawn, got a few reasons for this - i wanna see what genders they are, and i've got a bit of a problem on my hands - i've got three angels, and my biggest one's always bullying the other two. also, is there a way to tell what gender they are without spawning them? i'll upload some pics of my biggest angel tomorrow if you wanna take a look, it's actually in the feb fotm thread.

[herbaz]

You can't really tell for sure what sex your angels are till they spawn, I've had a few and the only way I knew was when they spawned.

[fluidic]

I'm also curious about how they pair off, I've got three angels and I'm guessing they're all males. Do I just keep adding more to the tank until I get a pair, seems like that could get expensive.

[herbaz]

From my understanding, there's a mathematical chart that outlines the probability of getting a breeding pair. I recall it saying that with 2 angels, you've got a 50% chance, and it jumps to around 98.9% with 6 angels. I took the plunge, bought 6 angels, and eventually ended up with 2 breeding pairs – it worked out for me.

[Seabuddy]

Honestly, I'd advise against breeding angels, they can get super territorial when spawning and have been known to attack other fish while protecting their young, so I wouldn't recommend breeding them in a community tank, it's just not worth the risk.

[herbaz]

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend breeding angels in a community tank, they can get extremely territorial and will attack other fish to protect their young. I'm actually having to rehome four angels tomorrow to try and put an end to the chaos in my tank. They seem fine with other fish for the most part, but when it comes to eggs, they go on high alert. What's worse is that my angels are constantly fighting each other, with one pair acting like the tank police, always on the lookout for a fight.

[fluidic]

Maybe in the distant future when my other fish have passed on, I'll consider breeding them then. Thanks for the info guys