Female Angelfish will lay eggs once every seven to ten days once they reach maturation. It’s difficult to tell the difference between male and female Angelfish. Sometimes you can only know after you have observed the mating process.

Two or more Angelfish in a tank pose a risk of having fertilized eggs on a bi-monthly basis. If this is not something you want, you can take steps to prevent it. For those that do wish to breed their Angelfish, there are certain things you can do to help your fish out.

So keep on reading to learn how you can help your Angelfish to lay eggs!

Keep in mind that Freshwater Angelfish and Marine Angelfish have different ways of breeding and will require different conditions when laying the eggs.

How do you know if your Angelfish will lay eggs?

Whether or not your fish will lay eggs depends upon the sex of the fish. Females lay eggs, males fertilize them.

It isn’t easy telling the difference between a male and female, but they do have some differences that can help you identify the sex. However, even experts can be incorrect, because those differences are quite subtle and require vigilant observation to see.

Female Angelfish:

• These fish tend to have a wider papilla that can be blunted on the tip;
• When the fish is gravid, you can see the eggs in the papilla;
• Females tend to be less aggressive and territorial than males; and
• The female is the one who lays the eggs.

Male Angelfish:

• The papilla on males is long and comes to a point;
• Sometimes they will develop nuchal bumps on their forehead, just above their nose;
• They are more territorial; and
• The males will swim over the eggs and release their sperm after the female is done.

Typically people tend to own Freshwater Angelfish as they are smaller and require less maintenance.

However, once you determine the sex of the fish you have you can decide whether you want to continue dealing with the eggs every couple of weeks.

Sometimes people will have several Angelfish in one tank. While this makes a beautiful addition to your tank, it may make it difficult to prevent fertilized eggs. The more fish you have, the more difficult it is to determine the sex of each fish.

Egg Laying: The differences between Freshwater and Marine Angelfish

Freshwater Angelfish are monogamous couples. If there are several Angelfish in the tank and you see one pair laying and fertilizing eggs, they would be a couple. They will both become more territorial once the female is gravid.

If you have Marine Angelfish, this won’t be as simple. Some species of Marine Angelfish can switch sex. The dominant fish in a group will be the male. At any point this can change, depending on whether another fish becomes more dominant.

In that case, the female would change to male and the male would change to female.

It won’t be as easy to differentiate between the Marine specimens. Depending on the species, they may have a harem as well.

In the wild, Marine Angelfish have a mating season that is determined by the temperatures in the water. They will likely lay eggs every day during this season. However, in captivity their eggs may not come as regularly.

If the temperature and size of a saltwater tank aren’t correct, it will affect the ability of the fish to breed. It is more difficult to breed Marine Angelfish than Freshwater Angelfish because of this.

How do I prevent my Angelfish from laying eggs?

Female Angelfish will lay eggs consistently once they reach maturation, especially if the eggs are removed from the tank. We explain more on that in this article: Do female angelfish lay eggs without males?

If you don’t want eggs, you may want to only keep fish that are younger or try to ensure you only have male fish.

Again, this may be difficult if you own Marine Angelfish.

Another solution may be to remove the Angelfish you do have for a short period of time and allow the other fish in the tank to eat the eggs. There are several different species of fish that can live with Angelfish and fish eggs is a good dietary supplement for them.

Talk to your pet store, they will know which fish will live with them best.

Finally, you can try scraping the eggs out before the male has a chance to fertilize the eggs. This process could prove counteractive, though. If the eggs are removed every time, the female may lay eggs more often.

How do I help Angelfish fry to survive?

The Angelfish babies, known as fry, have a very short gestation period inside the egg. After about two days you can look at the eggs and see the tails of the fry moving. After approximately four or five days the fry will hatch out of their eggs and begin to swim and move around.

Generally, Angelfish that are new to breeding will eat the first eggs they lay. They may do this two or three times before they allow the fry to survive. This is normal behavior, there is no need to worry unless it continues.

Try not to keep other fish that may eat the eggs with the Angelfish if you wish to breed them.

Angelfish prefer horizontal surfaces to lay their eggs on. If possible, include smooth rocks or other flat surfaces in the tank decorations. Also, beware that the Angelfish may move the eggs to another location once they have been fertilized.

Don’t panic if you can’t find the eggs. Just look for the parents, they won’t venture far from their babies.

Maintaining the temperature and cleanliness of the tank is very important. If the water is too cold or too warm, it may affect the fry’s ability to survive or even hatch.

If you own Marine Angelfish, keep an eye on the saline level in the tank. If not closely monitored it may prevent the fish from laying eggs or allowing the eggs to survive.

The post How Often Do Angelfish Lay Eggs? appeared first on Water World Craze.

It is easy to determine if your female koi fish is carrying eggs. You only have to take a look at her appearance, behavior, and the behavior of your male koi fishes. When it is the spawning season, it is highly likely that the eggs have been dropped and the males are busy fertilizing them.

Would you like to manage the population of your koi fishes in your pond? Do you want to take the fertilized eggs in a controlled environment to protect the koi babies? Whatever your purpose is in knowing if the female koi is carrying eggs, this is a great article for you, so keep on reading!

Koi Fish “Pregnancy”

Technically, female koi fishes cannot get pregnant as they do not give birth to live young. Instead, they form eggs inside their bodies and drop them during the breeding season for the males to fertilize.

Therefore, there is really no mating behavior that happens as the males fertilize the eggs once they are separate from the female.

However, what happens during the spawning season is that the males will encourage the females to drop their eggs. So how long does a female koi fish form and carry her eggs? You might be surprised that they will form the eggs for a year.

Meaning, if they start forming eggs this spring, they will then drop the eggs next spring. The spawning usually starts when it gets warmer and for some breeders, they believe that koi fishes follow the phases of the moon in order to trigger a spawn.

Going back to the female koi fish who just dropped her eggs during the spawn, that is actually there is to it. She will leave the eggs behind and let the males do their thing.

In fact, she might even come back for the eggs just to eat them, or if there are already hatched ones, she might eat the fry.

After dropping the eggs, she will then move on to forming new eggs in her body. Once a year has passed, she will drop them again and the cycle goes on and on.

Importance Of Knowing Pre-Spawning Behavior

It is important to know the behavior of your koi fishes before they start spawning. This is the case as you might want to be on the lookout for dropped eggs or even separate the females with eggs in order to prevent egg fertilization.

The thing is the “pregnant” females usually get beat up when it is the spawning season as the males will aggressively bump against them to encourage them to drop their eggs.

Therefore, if you have females that are weak or recently got injured before the spawn, it is a good thing to pay attention to their behaviors “pre-spawn” so you can separate her.

Most importantly, as koi fishes are cannibalistic, you can easily predict when the eggs may drop even before they spawn. In this way, you can easily look for the eggs in order to let them hatch in a safer environment.

Here are some of the behaviors of your koi fishes before they spawn:

• Males will chase after the females
• Females eat as much as they can and forage for food after feeding session
• Females will hide in rocks and plants
• Both the male and female actively swim around the pond

How To Tell If A Female Koi Fish Is Carrying Eggs – 4 Facts That Will Help You

It is definitely easier to determine if your female koi fish is carrying eggs than trying to determine the gender of your koi fishes. The reason for this is that it is apparent in their appearance as to whether or not they are carrying eggs.

One might say that the female might just be plump, but a female who is carrying eggs will not just be plump, but there will be a noticeable bulge. This is good news as you do not need to catch the female in order to be sure, you can simply look at them from your pond.

Also, doing so will not stress them, so it is a win-win!

1. Age

We mentioned earlier that you might get mistaken when it comes to differentiating a plump female koi fish and one who is carrying eggs. Knowing their age will surely help in this case. The general rule is, their age is directionally proportional to their size.

The size is important as once they reach a certain size, it is an indication if they are already sexually mature. For females, they are considered sexually mature when they are three to five years of age. By this time, they would have grown to 10 inches long.

Given that clue, if you see a plump female but she is short of 10 inches, then this simply means that she was able to eat a lot and she is not carrying eggs. On the other hand, if you see a plump female who is at least 10 inches long, then she is carrying eggs.

2. Appearance

This is the most important aspect since like what we mentioned earlier, females who are carrying eggs look so obvious. She will look bloated, but it is as if the bloat is just showing on one side. Usually, breeders observed that this “bulge” looks more apparent on the left side.

The biggest clue is that she will appear larger than male koi fishes. Given that male koi fishes naturally are smaller, but this time the gap in their sizes will be more obvious. We show you in this article how to tell your koi fish’ gender in detail!

This is such an important factor as if you see a female koi fish look this way, but she is shorter than 10 inches (which means that she is not carrying eggs) it is highly likely that she is suffering from a disease or she has parasites.

The timing is also important in this aspect. So if you see a juvenile female having this appearance after the spawning season, then the chances are high that she might be sick.

On the other hand, if a female koi fish looks this way and it is spawning season and she is 10 inches long or even more than that, then she is simply carrying a lot of eggs.

3. Behavior Of Male Koi Fish

If it is hard to spot the females as usually when they are already carrying eggs, they try to evade the males, you should avert your observation to the males.

If the males are actively swimming around the pond and forming pairs, it is highly likely that the female koi fishes in your pond are filled to the brim with eggs.

Researchers and breeders found out that even before the spawn, the males try to find a pair. This pair is actually another male. They do this so that come spawning season, they can bump against the female on either side which will make it easier for the female to drop her eggs.

More than that, some breeders have also noticed that males do a “practice bump’ against juvenile females. There is not much research about this behavior but a lot of people theorize that the males are simply gearing up for the spawn.

4. Cleaning Behavior Of Female Koi Fish

This is such an ironic behavior of the female koi fish as the logic behind doing so gets defeated by her actions afterward. Here is what happens:

Once the female koi fish successfully formed eggs inside her body, she will then start looking for good places to drop her eggs. This can be the sides of the pond, plants, or rocks. Once she finds a good place, she will then start “cleaning” the area in preparation for the dropping of the eggs.

She does this so that the eggs will stick properly to that area and will not be harmed. Such a caring mother, am I right? But this is where the irony happens.

As koi fishes are cannibalistic, after the female koi fish drops her eggs and swims around the pond, she might pass by her eggs and eat them.

As you can see, there is really no point in keeping the area clean to ensure the eggs stick properly and away from harm, as they themselves will eat their own eggs. Oh, koi fish logic can sometimes be funny.

What To Do If You Do Not Want To Breed Koi Fish

It is important for you to know if the female koi fishes are carrying eggs especially if you are not interested in breeding koi fishes or if you want to control the population of the fishes in your pond.

You can prevent this from happening by separating the female fishes who are carrying eggs before they spawn. You can simply use a collapsible fish net so that she will not be stressed.

On the other hand, you can try to divert the trigger of the spawn by covering your pond and tweaking the water temperature. Keep in mind that warm temperature can trigger a spawn, so keeping it cool during the day time will help.

What To Do If You Want To Breed Koi Fish

In such a case where you are serious in breeding your koi fishes, knowing which females are carrying eggs are truly essential. In this way, you can follow their activities and know exactly where they dropped their eggs.

Once fertilized by the males, you can then collect the eggs so you can hatch them in a different area, away from their cannibalistic parents. On the other hand, if you want to have a peaceful spawn, you can then separate the female who is carrying eggs and also two males.

You can then put them in a ‘breeding pond” and let them do their thing. In this way, the female will not get as beat up compared to when she gets left behind in the big pond for numerous males to bump against her. Lastly, once the eggs are fertilized, you should also separate the eggs.

The post 4 Signs Will Tell You That Your Koi Fish Is Pregnant appeared first on Water World Craze.

So, can guppies get pregnant without a male? The answer to this question is no. While it can appear that your female guppy became pregnant on their own, they can actually store sperm from a male guppy. This means they will have mated with a male guppy and stored this sperm for up to 10 months.

Let’s learn more about how female guppies can get pregnant and the signs that you should look out for.

Can Guppies Get Pregnant Without A Male? Here Is The Truth!

Like a lot of species, a male guppy is required for a female guppy to become pregnant. Although, it is easy to understand why many people may think guppies can get pregnant without a male.

It has been found that a female guppy is able to hold sperm from a male guppy for up to 10 months. More research is needed, but there is the possibility that they can store sperm for longer than this.

This means that they can be away from male guppies for a long time before we realize that they are pregnant. This can make owners wonder whether it happened on their own.

But, as they can hold the sperm for extended periods of time and then become pregnant, they can almost choose to make young guppies.

They are able to do this with different sperm at the same time and they can choose the best time for fertilization. This means that they can be pregnant for several months in a row, with the result being you suddenly have a lot of guppies!

Guppies are known as livebearers. This means that the female guppy gets pregnant from a male guppy and the egg inside develops into a fish. The gestation period is around 28 days. Although, the female guppy may still be pregnant if the water temperature is too cold.

Stress can also delay the process of birthing the young guppies. You can expect a guppy to have anything from two babies up to 200 at one time.

Being able to store sperm has many advantages for guppies and their survival in the wild. Females typically live longer than males do; around two years compared to just three to four months.

This means that female guppies can ensure the survival of the favorable genetics of a male after they have died. They can also choose to populate in different environments and continue guppies inhabiting that environment.

How to Identify a Female Guppy

Today, it is not so easy to tell a male and female guppy apart. Modern breeders have made it difficult to quickly tell a female guppy and it is not all down to color. Some features you should look for to tell if a guppy is a female include its shape and size.

Females to tend to be bigger, but the caudal and dorsal fins can be smaller than a male guppy. Other ways to identify a female guppy include:

• Males are slender and long – females are rounder and bigger
• Males can be more colorful – females can be plainer
• Males have wide and long caudal fines – females can be shorter and not as wide
• Males have a long anal tail fin – females have a shorter anal fine that is a triangle

How to Know if a Female Guppy is Pregnant

You may be wondering how you can tell if your female guppy is pregnant. There are some common signs that you can look out for. You will find those female guppies have a gravid spot. This is found underneath and it is a dark coloration.

When they are pregnant, you will notice that this gravid spot is darker in appearance. This can be maroon or black color. It will also appear larger in size and grow as a stomach would. There is the possibility that you can see the young fish growing through the guppy’s skin.

Another sign that a female guppy is pregnant includes the abdomen becoming square in shape. This indicates they may be about to give birth. Of course, this change in body shape is due to the fry growing.

(By the way, if you see that your male guppy looks like it is pregnant, this can be a sign for disease. Read more on bloated guppies here!)

Also, look out for signs of behavioral changes in female guppies. This can include seeking places to hide in the tank or a change in their eating habits. These are signs that a female guppy could be ready to give birth.

In addition, she may start to rub against plants in the tank and even shake.

An important thing that you should do when you discover that your female guppy is pregnant is to ensure she is not stressed. This can happen if there are too many other fish around. It may be best to use a breeding tank.

This will allow your pregnant guppy to enjoy her own space and ensure stress does not stop her from giving birth. You can move a female guppy into a breeding tank toward the end of pregnancy.

Just make sure to remove her again so avoid the female guppy eating the fry when they are delivered. They are very small and other fish will want to eat them too. It is best to separate them until they are bigger.

Related Questions

Should I have more female guppies than male guppies? It is best to have more female guppies in your tank. Male guppies can chase and harass the female guppies. Normally, a 2:1 ratio of female to male guppies is recommended so that fish are not stressed in their environment.

Can Guppies live in the same tank as other fish? You are able to keep a variety of fish, which can include guppies. Other fish they can live with include corydoras catfish, dwarf loaches, Endler’s livebearer, molly, neon tetra, and glassfish.

The post Can Guppies Get Pregnant Without A Male? appeared first on Water World Craze.

This will depend on several factors, including the water conditions, how healthy the fish are, and how many fish there are in the tank. But generally, you can expect Angelfish to lay between 100-1000 eggs.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the different factors that will influence how many eggs she will lay, as well as how many you can expect her to lay with each batch.

Factors That May Influence the Number of Eggs

There are several things you will want to consider that will have an impact on the number of eggs your angelfish will lay and that will end up surviving to adulthood.

Whether you keep the angelfish in a breeder tank or a community tank

If you’re not particularly interested in breeding angelfish, you might be more likely to keep them in a tank with other angelfish or different fish breeds. But keeping them in a community tank could negatively impact the number of eggs that will be laid.

This is due to the fact that the other fish in the tank could end up eating your angelfish eggs and fry. So, you may want to keep your angelfish in a special breeding tank to make sure that their babies stay safe and that more of the eggs will survive.

And, of course, making sure that the tank is large enough for your angelfish is key in reducing stress, which will also have an impact on how many eggs your fish will lay. Once again, angelfish need to be placed in a larger tank.

The size will depend on how many fish you intend to keep. If you want one or two, make sure it’s at least 30 gallons, and if you want more, you should aim towards 55 gallons or larger.

Having adequate water conditions

The condition that the tank’s water is in will impact the behavior of your fish on many different levels, including when it comes to their breeding capabilities. You should make sure that you keep the temperature of the water between 72 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

Keeping a heater in the tank will ensure that the temperature remains stable, as fluctuations could also disturb your fish. Having a temperature that is too low will result in your fish not breeding as often and making them not as hungry.

But keeping the temperature too high will decrease your angelfish’s lifespan and affect their babies. You must also make sure that the levels of ammonia and nitrogen are as low as possible because these can be toxic to fish if the levels are too high.

Change the water frequently to get rid of bacteria, debris, and waste. Making sure that the water gets changed rather frequently will ensure that your fish will be able to successfully breed.

Your angelfish’s health

This might be difficult to determine on your own. If you’re buying them from a breeder, you will be able to get a better look at which ones will be more likely to produce quality offspring.

There are some angelfish that will have issues breeding according to their genetics, and then there are others that have better chances for the same reason.

If you want to keep an eye on the angelfish’s physical traits, you will want to look out for angelfish that are larger in size, round bodies (make sure the fish is taller than longer), fish that don’t have bumps on their heads of twists in their fins, and angelfish that are not aggressive.

Angelfish that carry all of these characteristics tend to be more successful at producing the most offspring, but this does not mean that angelfish with characteristics that slightly deviate from these will not have babies.

• In this article, we show you how hardy angelfish usually are and what you can do to keep them healthy! Read it here!

How experienced your angelfish are

If this is the first breed for your angelfish, you might notice that there will be fewer eggs than in later breeds. This is due to the fact that angelfish tend to learn about parenting through trial and error.

It’s totally possible that first-time angelfish parents will eat the eggs the first time, and then eat the fry the second time. This might make you worried, but it’s generally because they aren’t sure what to expect or because they want to protect the babies from the other fish in the tank.

But generally, after a few batches or so, your angelfish parents will stop eating the eggs and fry and allow their babies to grow into adulthood.

Number of Eggs Angelfish Typically Lay

Angelfish, surprisingly, are very good parents and you will find that they are highly attentive towards their young.

So it’s not a surprise when you find out that angelfish tend to lay several batches of eggs throughout their lives and that many of their babies in later matches survive to adulthood.

An angelfish tends to reach sexual maturity when they are eight months old. The average range is between 6 to 12 months. This is when your angelfish will start to look for a mate and have babies.

The average lifespan for an angelfish is 10 years, provided that they are well taken care of and the tank conditions are perfect.

Let’s look at some of the more specific numbers, including how often angelfish tend to lay eggs.

Per laying:

It is very possible for a female angelfish to lay anywhere between 100 and 1000 eggs during each batch. This will depend on the size of the fish itself, as well as some of the other factors we listed above.

How many batches will the fish lay?

This will depend on what you do with the eggs after they’ve been laid. If you want to breed angelfish, then you should remove the eggs from the parents to make sure that all the eggs will hatch.

If you have removed the eggs, then it will generally take your angelfish between 7 to 14 days to lay another batch of eggs. If you keep the eggs with their parents, the angelfish will not lay any more eggs until all the eggs have been cleared away, which might take some time.

Generally, it is safe to assume that angelfish will have quite a lot of babies throughout their lifetime. And again, angelfish are known for being great parents, and after a few tries, they will pay a lot of attention to their young and be highly protective towards them.

Don’t be worried if your angelfish have not produced a lot of eggs the first few times; you will see all the babies they will produce within three or four batches.

Related Questions

How do angelfish mate?

Angelfish mate in a rather unique manner. Once a male and female have paired up and selected a spot for the babies to be born, the female will then lay the eggs. The male fish will follow and fertilize all the eggs, which will result in offspring.

How do I know if my angelfish are male or female?

It is rather difficult to tell the difference. You can look at their tubes- the male’s tube will be more pointed than the female’s. Male fish tend to have larger heads, whereas female fish will have more rounded heads. Females also tend to have larger bellies. But even still, it might be difficult to notice these differences.

Can female angelfish lay eggs without the male?

It is possible for a female angelfish to lay eggs without a male present. However, these eggs will not be fertilized and thus, will not produce babies. You will be able to tell that these eggs were not touched by a male fish because they will grow opaque in color.

The post How Many Eggs Do Angelfish Lay? appeared first on Water World Craze.

What if you want to take your breeding game to the next level and breed guppies with other fishes?

Guppies can breed with other fish. However, this is highly discouraged as the behavior of hybrid fishes are unpredictable. Also, the fry may be weak and can die as this does not naturally happen in the wild. On the other hand, there are some fishes that were proven to be compatible with guppies.

If you are considering breeding your guppies with your other fish, then this is the article for you! On the other hand, if you are worried that your guppies might get accidentally pregnant with other fishes in the tank, then keep on reading to see what can happen.

Technically speaking, yes, guppies can breed with other fish. But this does not happen intentionally. Male guppies will always be inclined to think that they should only breed with female guppies. The same goes for the females.

This is also primarily the reason why guppies are so successful in terms of breeding. Their DNA dictates a certain blood strain in terms of choosing breeding partners. This may not guarantee against inbreeding, but it surely helps against interbreeding.

So, what happens when you notice that your female guppy’s fry is inherently from another fish, for example, a betta? These can be some of the reasons:

• There is a mismatch in your community aquarium. There might be fewer females than males. This also applies to other fishes. If the betta does not have a pair, then most likely he will go after the female guppy.
• The female guppy has neurological issues or a birth defect that led her to think that she bred with a guppy.
• Conditions in the tank are somehow set to “extreme breeding mode” that even the other fishes wish to breed with a different fish.

As you might have noticed, the reasons that we stated are extreme conditions. This goes to show that if you do not force your guppies to breed with other fishes, then they will not do so.

Guppy Logic When It Comes To Breeding

Let us go into the minds of your guppies for a little while to further widen our discussion. Even though guppies breed like crazy, they are still motivated by their blood strains. This is the reason why guppies tend to breed with their own “breed.”

For example, the Poecilia reticulata which is the common guppy will choose not to breed with a Poecilia wingei which is an Endler guppy. The reason behind this is that they want to keep a pure-blood strain.

This thinking does not mean that some guppies think that they are elites, but frankly, it is for the survival of their breed. Breeding with their own kind will result in healthier and stronger fry.

On the other hand, scientists have observed that every once in a while, guppies will breed with another breed of guppies as a process of blood infusion. This process is done as some kind of a test to see how good their blood strain is.

As you can see, even guppies are adamant with breeding with other guppy breeds, more so breeding with other fishes. Thus, further reiterating that it is only with deliberate manipulation can these fishes interbreed.

Effects Of Guppy Interbreeding

As we have mentioned earlier, guppy interbreeding is not really considered a taboo. However, it is highly discouraged in order to preserve the quality of the guppies that you have. Here are some of the effects of guppy interbreeding.

Inferior Fry

There are a lot of breeders who claim that when they tried breeding their guppy with other small fishes, the fry is usually weak. This is even the case when they used breeder boxes or separated the fry.

The weak babies were also reported to refuse food. Therefore, they cannot sustain themselves in order to survive. There are also some breeders who shared that the fry will even fight among themselves.

This is bad for the littlest baby as surely he or she will lose the fight. In the event that they do survive, it will just be for a while. For some unknown reason, they just end up dead even though they are in a separate tank.

Bullying

In the event that the hybrid babies survive, they will surely be bullied in your community tank. There is a slight chance that this will not happen, but researchers are veering towards the negative.

The reason behind this is that neither fishes in the tank consider them as their own. It is as if there is a new type of fish that has been added to the tank. Therefore, the other fishes will be wary against the hybrids or even aggressive towards them.

Usually, guppies are not aggressive fish as we explain in this article.

Stress

Stress can be felt by all parties which are the guppies, the other fishes living in the community tank, and the hybrid babies. The long term residents of the tank may feel different towards the hybrids and they will feel that they will need to compete for more food and space.

The same goes for the hybrid babies, as they feel unwelcome, it will be harder for them to eat peacefully and even forage. Even when they try to hide, other fishes will still be aggressive towards them.

Therefore, if you plan on breeding hybrids, then they should be housed in a separate tank. In this way, all of your fishes will not be stressed.

Incapacity To Breed

This is only applied if you are still planning to house the hybrid babies in the community tank. Even though they share half of the blood of the fishes that are present in the tank, the males and females will still refuse to breed with them.

Further, even the hybrids may or may not refuse to breed with their own. The reason behind this is still unsure, however, researchers theorize that this is due to the inconsistent blood strain.

The other hybrids also detect this, so they are unsure as to whether it is okay to breed with another hybrid.

Fishes That Can Breed With Guppies

• Mollies (have shown a lot of breeding success)
• Endlers (a bit hard as they can be smaller than guppies)
• Platies (has a history of breeding failures)
• Swordtails (not a lot of success in producing healthy fry)
• Bettas (extremely rare to interbreed, except for extreme tank conditions)

The post Can Guppies Breed With Other Fish? appeared first on Water World Craze.

But how does it affect their reproductive cycle? Will female angelfish lay eggs without a male?

Yes, female angelfish will lay eggs without a male. They will lay it vertically on anything they deem fit – a piece of wood, filter, decorative items, and even on the glass of the aquarium. They will guard it and fan it even in the absence of a male and if they do not fertilize, they may eat it up or forget about it completely.

Now, how often would a female angelfish lay eggs in the absence of a male? What should you do with the eggs if there are no males to spawn? We will answer all of that and everything in between.

Mating Rituals Of Angelfish

Breeding Behavior

It is difficult to tell apart which angelfish is a male and which one is a female. This is why people are generally advised to breed them in pairs of even numbers.

If you take an odd number of fishes, one of them can be left lonely or bullied by others. They generally reach their sexual maturity between the age of 6 to 12 months.

They are generally known to be monogamous and often find their ‘one’ in their younger years. This is one of the reasons why it becomes difficult to breed two adult angelfish, as they are not always receptive to a new partner.

However, there are always exceptions where they give in to their condition and mate with any new partner you introduce for them.

It is not always a pretty picture when you witness their mating ritual. Unlike with us humans, there is no gentle declaration of love with a quaint commitment to each other.

They chase each other and get into a fight before they get into the idea of spawning their young together. This is the time when you get to see which one is a male and which one is a female.

Differentiating Between Male And Female

A male angelfish might have a larger, high, and more noticeable crown whereas the female will have softer features. This is not true in every variant of angelfish.

Also, females are generally shorter, rounder and wider than the males. Next, look at their breeding tubes which would be just under their fin. This will be visible more prominently during spawning.

A female has a blunt and shallow breeding tube whereas a male will have a pointed breeding tube. The differences are very subtle and it will take a trained eye to catch a difference in a second. A female angelfish will lay eggs even if she doesn’t find a male to complete the process.

• In this article, we answer the question if angelfish are able to change gender, and we show you the differences between male and female angelfish with pictures. Read it here!

The Fate Of Eggs – With And Without A Male

Generally, a female angelfish will be swelling with the eggs she will lay in the beginning. If she has a partner, she will spawn every 7-10 days. If she doesn’t have a partner, it gets a little difficult to predict how many times she will lay eggs.

Without A Male

It is observed by some pet parents that a singular female angelfish will lay eggs every 2 weeks. The range will vary from fish to fish.

A single and beautiful angelfish who has just laid eggs will fiercely protect it and fan it. It is in their parental instinct to do so even in the absence of a male partner.

This will continue for a couple of days and then she will give up on that idea altogether. The eggs will start to turn white and grow fungus on it. In some cases, she eats them up so you don’t have to do the cleanup. A fertilized egg looks brown in color.

With A Male

If a female angelfish has a partner and they are done with their mating ritual, they will quickly find a place to lay their eggs. They will clean the place rigorously and then lay their eggs on a vertical piece of an item they find to be safe and secure for their fry.

They both will take turns to fertilize and hatch the eggs. They will also take turns in ‘fanning’ their fry. The fanning is supposed to provide the right amount of water current to the eggs so that the chances of spawning successfully increase.

After they are hatched a little and they observe their fry, they will hang them vertically till their offspring can swim independently.

What To Do With The Eggs – Hatched And Un-Hatched

Un-Hatched Eggs

A lone male angelfish wouldn’t pose such a problem. But if we have an egg-laying female fish, with or without a partner, we would have to be proactive about the decisions we take for the eggs.

If you have a single lady in the aquarium, dispose of the eggs when it’s done guarding and being protective over eggs. That would be the best time to clean it up.

Hatched Eggs

If you have a couple and you want to ensure that they bear offspring, then you would need to make sure you provide the right kind of environment for them. Make sure that fishes that can potentially gobble up their fry are kept away from them.

Also, a regular filter might be too powerful for them and suck them away. Get a sponge filter that will gently clean the aquarium without hurting any fry. They will become independent in about a week and you can switch to your regular filter.

We recommend checking out the Hygger Aquarium Double Sponge Filter for that!

A fry’s diet should have newly hatched brine shrimp and should be fed 3-4 times a day. After they become big enough, they can have regular fish food that you provide for the rest of your angelfishes in the tank.

Should You Get Them A Male Partner?

It is often recommended that you breed them in pairs since the beginning. Pairing them up in adulthood becomes difficult. They might bully their new partner and not accept it at all.

Some are willing to have a new partner. Some will ruthlessly send you a message that they need no man in their life (by killing the new partner).

It gets a little tricky to decide if they should get a partner. Angelfishes are quite adaptable to solitude and do not necessarily feel lonely. But the same cannot be said for all of them.

If they already had some experience in companionship, they might feel a little off without their partner.

Nevertheless, you will never know unless you introduce them to a new partner. Some will like one and dislike another, some will not like to be bothered at all. It is not a necessity to get them a partner unless you feel like it.

The post Can Female Angelfish Lay Eggs Without A Male Partner? appeared first on Water World Craze.

This is also the reason why they are called “scatterers.” You will find out more about this in this read.

Koi fishes do not give birth to live young, instead, they do ‘spawning” meaning, they deposit eggs. They are called egg scatterers as they scatter their eggs in different areas. They know when it is the breeding season and the male encourages the female to drop eggs so he can fertilize them.

It is actually very interesting to know the things that they do in order to reproduce. At the same time, unlike other fishes, the process is a bit lengthy and even aggressive. So if you want to learn how they mate as well as the entire process of laying their eggs, then keep on reading!

Preparation For The Spawn

Even before the breeding season comes, the males and females will already exhibit behavior that they are preparing to reproduce. For the males, they begin to have white spots on their pectoral fins. As for the females, their belly area gets swollen.

Both of them also tend to eat more. This usually happens a month before they do the spawning. Usually, they breed around spring even though the weather is not that warm.

If you are going to encourage them to breed, you should take note that the temperature of the water should be around 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is not actually for their benefit, but once the water temperature reaches this stage, the females will know that it is a good time to drop their eggs as the temperature helps the eggs to develop and eventually hatch.

Another trigger to their spawn is the stages of the moon. They usually begin to spawn when it is the phase of the full moon. The females will usually scatter their eggs during the break of the day.

You will know that their spawning time is near when you see the males are chasing around the females. At the same time, the females are sucking on rocks and plants. They will also rub against the sides of their pond. They do this as a way of “cleaning” the space for their eggs.

1. Formation Of Eggs

The eggs inside the females approximately take a year in order to fully develop. So for example, the eggs that were formed this spring will be dropped on the next spring.

Keep in mind that the eggs that were produced are not yet fertilized, they need to be dropped so that the males can fertilize them.

Once the eggs are dropped, new eggs will again try to form which will then be dropped on the following year. The peak of egg production is when the females are four to six years old. As for the males, they are already sexually mature from three to five years of age.

There are instances when they participate in spawning when they are younger. However, the chances of successful egg production and fertilization are much higher when they join the spawn at the ages that we previously mentioned.

2. The Koi Fish “Bump And Grind”

You might think that the mating ritual of your koi fishes looks like a dance. For some, it is as if the males are harassing the females. What really happens is that the males will bump and nudge the female in order to encourage her to release her eggs.

When it is about spawning, it is actually best when there are two males and one female. In this way, the two males can do the “bump and grind” on either side which will lead the female to drop the eggs easier.

In such a case where there is only one male, you will notice that the male will swim back and forth on either side and bump the female. Once the eggs are dropped, they will then release their sperm to fertilize the eggs.

3. Dangers Of Spawning

The “bump and grind” mating ritual that we talked about previously may sound fun, but it can pose a risk to the females. As the males are pretty aggressive when they bump against the females, it may cause injury and stress.

You might see a female losing scales. This also happens to the male. There is no need to worry as their scales will grow back eventually, but this poses a risk as fish with a lack of scales are highly susceptible to more injury and illnesses.

Further, if they get scratched against the sharp and hard edges of the pond, this may cause permanent scarring. Try to manage the water conditions of the pond during this time so that diseases and parasites will not get to your koi fishes while they are still trying to mend their lost scales.

Prevention Of Spawning

For some owners, they simply cannot stand to see their koi fishes look that way for the sake of reproduction. Therefore, they tweak their pond water conditions so that the koi fishes will not go into breeding mode.

They do this by keeping the temperature of the water low and they also cover the pond for many hours during day time. As we have discussed earlier, the triggers for breeding for koi fishes are temperature and light, once you manipulate those, they will not start a spawn.

Further, there are also some breeders who strip the females of their eggs. On the other hand, they just simply let the eggs be fertilized in a controlled setting.

However, these things can only be done by professional breeders. So if you are just a casual owner of koi fishes, then you can simply stick with manipulating the conditions of the water to be on the safe side.

What Happens After Spawning

The eggs that are dropped are actually sticky and they stick on the surface that they landed on. You will know that the eggs are healthy when they look translucent. In comparison, infertile eggs have a milky and solid color.

After a week since they have been dropped and fertilized, the eggs will start to hatch. As the koi babies or fry are not that strong to swim around immediately, they will hide in the plants and rocks.

What is interesting is that they will live off of the yolk sac that they were attached to when they hatched.

This is the case as the newly hatched fry tend to stick on the sides of the pond. As they cannot swim properly yet, they cannot hunt or forage for food. At the same time, they are trying their hardest to evade predators.

Once their yolk sac is fully consumed, that is the only time that they try to leave their hiding place, and by this time, they have grown a bit larger.

It is good to note that koi fishes can be cannibalistic and might eat the eggs or even the newly hatched fry. Therefore, it is a good idea to separate the eggs or fry once you see them.

More than that, some of the fry who are already a bit bigger will also try to eat the other babies that are still weaker or smaller.

We explain everything about koi fish eating babies and what you can do in this article!

The post How Do Koi Fish Give Birth? The Spawning Process Explained appeared first on Water World Craze.