Keeping and Breeding Freshwater Angelfish

Freshwater Angelfish are one of the more hardy cichlids. Angelfish prefer to live in groups and should be kept in groups of 4 or more. They are very easy to keep and can tolerate a range of water conditions. This being said it is always good practice to maintain the most optimal conditions in a tank to ensure the Angelfish are always healthy and happy.

Optimal tank conditions is water with a temperature ranging from 72-79 degrees and pH range of 6.8-7.5. The tank should be no smaller than 20 gallons and should be tall enough to allow plenty of space for the long fins of Angelfish.

When water is kept clean and optimal with regular water changes, angelfish will be healthy and add their own unique beauty to any aquarium.

Breeding freshwater angelfish is not all that difficult. To get them to breed it only requires that a few things are done by the aquarium owner. The first of these things and most important is to get a breeding pair.

Angelfish like to pair up on their own so placing a male and a female together is not going to bring the desired breeding results. The best way to get a breeding pair to to keep several juveniles together in an aquarium and let them grow up together. As they mature a male and female will naturally pair up. Once this has occurred then they must be separated from the rest by either moving the pair to a new tank or the others.

With a breeding pair now established and in their own tank inducing spawning is only a matter of good tank maintenance. A breeding pair of Angelfish will spawn often in a tank that is cleaned regularly and has optimal water conditions.

The pair will spawn by first choosing a flat surface to lay the eggs. The female will make several passes along the chosen surface laying her eggs. She is followed by the male angelfish who passed closely over the eggs fertilizing them. At the end of this both parents will guard the eggs and protect the fry once the eggs have hatched. Freshwater angelfish are good parents and rarely do they ever eat the eggs or the fry. A young pair may on occasion, eat their eggs after spawning but they usually stop after the first or second spawning.