Angelfish: First Spawning

(This is so I don't lose this info for future reference.)

Day 1: December 25, 2010: Between 6:00pm and 7:00pm.

Conditions before spawning:

Due to a body injury on the male fish, I was administering an antibiotic / aquarium salt treatment. (See other post.)

The temperature was raised to 27 Celsius for the past 3 days.

Added today 1 tbsp of aquarium salt after having added approx. 4 L of fresh water (to top it.)

Added 12 ml of Melafix by API. (this is the 4th day of dosing and 2 tbs of aquarium salt was added on day 1 of treatment.)

Parameters:

Temp.: Stable for 4 days at 26-27 Celsius.

pH: Stable at approx. 8.0

Ammonia: Not tested. Usually 0.

Nitrite:L Not tested, usually 0.

Nitrates: Not tested, usually approx. 5.0 ppm.

Note, I took out the carbon for antibiotic treatment.

Observed behavior prior to spawning:

Pair locked mouths and sparred occasionally. Female sustained light injuries to pectoral fins. (She is a veil variety Angelfish.)

A few hours prior to spawning, the pair thoroughly cleaned one leaf of Java fern which was positioned on an angle. The female pushed on it downwards as hard as she could, as though to test its rigidity and resistance. Both male and female took part in the cleaning process. A newer, cleaner and healthy Java fern leaf was selected as a spawning site but unfortunately, very close to the filter intake.

Both fish had breeding tubes out for a few days. This morning, the female's breeding tube was completely out and pinkish in color instead of whitish has previously observed. The male tube is very small (...) but a more extended then usual.

I did not witness the mating ritual but saw that the female had sustained minor injuries to the pectoral fins (mainly shredding) and both had sustained minor injuries to the mouth region. The male also showed minor shredding of the caudal fin. Approx. a 100 eggs had been laid on the selected and previously cleaned site. Both fish take turns to hover close to the eggs and fan them as expected.

Other inhabitants, two small glowlight tetras, are kept at bay without excessive aggression.

Fed the pair an extra meal of frozen brine shrimps to provide protein after spawning.

Fish show more sign of aggression,or alertness, then usual towards me as I approach the tank.

08:20pm: The male makes more passes on the eggs and touches them with his papilla. I do not know if the eggs are fertilized or not. Eggs look whitish but still semi-translucent.

Note: if eggs turn completely white within 24 hours, they were not fertilized and should be removed to avoid decay.

First spawning! =)

Angelfish tending to their very first spawning together. Female (right) is a veil variety. Male (left) is regular. It will most probably fail as the young parents learn to care for the eggs.

Day 2: December 26, 2010

09:00am: The majority of the eggs are still there. Only a few have turned white. They are smaller and have turned a very bright, opaque white. The other eggs might be fertilized. Will know in 12 more hours. Parents are still locking mouths and battling. Minor mouth injuries have been sustained.

10:30am: The female mostly, comes to fan the eggs periodically. She seems to be picking out ONLY the white, unfertilized ones, while the viable ones remain undisturbed. While the parent fans the nest, the white ones, which do not stick properly to the leaf surface, are plopped off and consumed.

Day 3: December 27, 2010.

The male attacked the female last night and wounded her chin slightly. She remained hidden behind some plants for a good while. This morning, all eggs had been consumed and the spawning site is empty. This was to be expected.

Angelfish "Melafix" Treatment in Progress.

Day 9: Added another dose of "Melafix" and a half table spoon of aquarium salt. Behavior seems normal. Note that the fish I believe to be the male seems very "fat." I will reduce feeding to insure that they do not become constipated. Water is not pristine due to the carbon cartridge being removed for a week.

Day 8: Performed a 25% water change as instructed on the "Melafix" package. The side wound seems much better and is no longer red. However, it still seems white and the injury above the eye is still very white and unchanged. I added another dose of "Melafix."

Day 7:AM: This is normally the last day of treatment and the last dose to be administered tonight. I am happy to report a layer of scales growing back on the side wound. However, the white injury above the eye is still unchanged and the tail spot remains. I might prolong the treatment for an additional 3 days. Note, I will need to perform a 25% water change tomorrow before adding any more antibiotics. (Or switch the treatment to "Pimafix", an anti-fungal agent.)

Day 6: AM: Most of the eggs had turned white and all eggs were consumed. Injuries were sustained by the female due to attack. Original wounds on the male seem less red. Spot on the tail is no longer red but still apparent and white.

Day 5: Continued dosing Melafix everyday. Some of the eggs have turned white and are unfertilized. (See other post.) I do not know whether the treatment has affected the pair's fertility.

Day 4: Wound seems less red. Note: in the meantime, the Angelfish have spawned and now both fish show minor injuries to fins and mouths due to mating behavior and aggression. (See other post on spawning.)

Tested:

pH: Approx 8.0 instead of 7.8.

NH4+: Traces instead of 0.

I cannot perform a water change as I am in the middle of a treatment.

Day 3: The glowlights are still in the Angel tank as their behavior went back to normal after a while and they returned to their regular spot. Again, I'll know tomorrow, and I might transfer them at that time.

December 22, 2010

Tank 3: Angelfish Treatment in progress.

This is the first time I have ever attempted to treat a potential infection on a wounded fish. I spoke to the expert I bought the fish from. I did not quarantine as the main tank is relatively small and there are few inhabitants. I did not want to cause more stress or potential injury to the wounded fish.

Symptoms: Red open wound which started as a white patch or a scrape. Also a whitish wound above one of the eyes. Small white dot (not Ich)with a little red dot, on the caudal fin. Behavior is unchanged. Energy level and appetite are unchanged and other inhabitants are unaffected. Which made me think it was an infection post physical injury on that fish.

Treatment: Gradually raised the temperature from 25 to 27 Celsius. Added aquarium salts (first day: changed 10% of the water and added 2 tbsp of salt and third day, one more) to help in healing open sore. Dosed "Melafix", a broad spectrum antibiotic to slow down and eliminate surinfection, according to package instructions. "Melafix" will be dosed everyday for 7 days.

Observations:

Day 1: Now the interesting part is, when I added the meds, the behavior of all the small inhabitants (Pair of Glowlight tetras and 3 pencilfish) changed completely. They all started acting as if I just put them into a brand new environment and they were visiting the surroundings as if in a new tank all of a sudden. However, the larger, perhaps more advanced, Angelfish did not react to the "new environment" whatsoever. I thought this was interesting.

However, as to avoid further stress for the small and more sensitive fish, I transferred the 3 pencilfish, which seemed to be a lot more affected by the treatment, into my 10 gallon tank with all the plants and all the algae. I will know tomorrow if it was too late and the damage was done. (One of the pencilfish is dead.) I took a chance..

22 Dec 2010 - Injury

22 Dec 2010 - Injury. It looks pretty bad here but it's not that bad.. I hope.

22 Dec 2010 - Injury.

22 Dec 2010 - Small injury above the eye.

Current Tanks - Last Update Sept 2011

Why this Blog? Because I'm a complete fish geek, albeit still an intermediate freshwater fishkeeper (I like to say I'm an advance beginner, but there's no such thing apparently.) And because I always seem to lose all those loose leaf sheets with my notes, so now this won't happen.
And because maybe my experience, as narrow as it may be, can help some fellow fishkeepers or potential new fishkeepers to be interested in this amazing hobby.

I have kept fish ongoing for the past 20 years, with lots and lots of trial and error along the way.


So here is what I have to work with at the moment:

Tank 1-B: Fancy Guppy (mutts) Tank ( I call it "B" because it was upgraded from a 5 gal that I had before.)
10 gallon freshwater
Filter: Cartridge
Substrate: Fluorite
Deco: Natural driftwood and a "quartz looking" stone.
Flora: Only live plants (and lots of algae ). Mainly Bacopa sp. , Amazon swords, some Java moss, Some Rotalla sp. Floating plants : Greater duckweed mix and Salvinia sp. (Salvinia, as a pond plant, does not do well in an aquarium setting since it does not like being upside down, or completed submerged. Duly noted.)
Fauna: 1 female Gold Fancy Guppy mutt, one male fantail "Leopard" Fancy Guppy mutt and one male "Sunburst" Fancy Guppy mutt. 2 fry!
Some Ramshorn snails, and some random survivors: one male Golden pencilfish, male Threadfin Rainbowfish.

Parameters:
Temp.: Stable at 27-29 Celsius
pH: Stable at approx. 7.8 (up to 8.0 thanks for city water)
Ammonia: always 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0


Tank 2: Community tank
29 gallon freshwater
Filter: Cartridge
Substrate: Pea gravel and some fluorite
Deco: Natural driftwood and some fake driftwood and rock
Flora: Only live plants: Mainly Bacopa sp. Java ferns, Crypt colony, Vallisneria sp. (Americana?), Amazon Sword, Floating plants: Greater duckweed mix, Salvinia sp.
Fauna: Apistogramma cacatuoides (male), 7 Rummynose tetras, 4 golden pencilfish, Clown pleco.

Parameters:
Temp.: Stable at 28 Celsius
pH: Stable at approx. 7.8 (up to 8.0)
Ammonia: always 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5-10, closer to 5.


Tank 3: Was converted to a Mint "nana" growing terrarium.

Parameters:
Temp.: Room temp.