HOW TO BREED ANGELFISH

COMMERCIALLY OR AS A HOBBY

Written and co-authored by Steve Rybicki & Dave Hlsanick

copyrighted ©1990 

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not yet recognized by TAS.

 Angelfish are considered one of the most beautiful freshwater fishes.  Because of their popularity, there is a constant demand for healthy angelfish.  Contrary to their reputation for being difficult to maintain, if healthy angelfish are purchased and a few simple water conditions are met, they will thrive and even breed in the hobbyist aquarium.  Although they can survive in a variety of water conditions, for the purpose of breeding, which is the focus of this booklet, only optimum conditions will be described.

There are almost as many opinions about how to raise angelfish as there are hobbyists and commercial breeders.  This booklet is not intended as a debate on methods but rather is a description of a successful and profitable venture.

AQUARIUM SET-UP

A pair tank should be no smaller than 20 gallons.  The fish is naturally tall and a smaller tank will not allow their fins to grow as long as they will in a larger aquarium, especially veil-tailed angelfish.  A 29 gallon tank is ideal.  

Breeding angelfish pairs can be kept in a tank filtered with gravel or sponge filters although a change from gravel to sponge filters after the pair is established seems to have a detrimental effect on the frequency and size of spawns.  The gravel tank is more expensive to set up but needs to be cleaned less often than the bare tank, which is inexpensive but needs frequent water changes. 

Later in the booklet there will be instructions on setting up multiple tanks as a commercial enterprise.  The following paragraphs will be describing small-scale set-ups involving only a few aquariums. 

To raise angelfish in an aquarium that will have gravel, buy a pound of gravel (natural gravel with no gloss coat seems to work best) for every gallon of water the tank will hold, a heater if necessary to keep water temperature at 80 degrees, air tubing, an undergravel filter, and a pump sufficient for the size of the tank. 

Clean the tank, put the undergravel filter in the bottom, rinse the gravel, spread it on the undergravel filter, hook up the pump to the undergravel filter with the air tubing, attach the heater to the side of the tank and fill the tank with water.  In fifteen minutes turn on the heater and adjust the temperature to 80 degrees.  In three days the tank will be ready for fish.

When fish are put in a freshly set up tank, bacteria will begin to grow in the gravel.  This bacteria is essential in the tank for the natural breakdown of fish waste.  In the process of the new bacterial growth, the ammonia level in the tank will rise and drop and then nitrite level in the tank will rise and drop.  Product can be purchased to speed this process, but should not be added until 7 to 10 days after fish are introduced into the tank.

A bare tank set-up requires just the purchase of a sponge filter sufficient for the size of the tank, a heater if necessary to maintain water temperature at 80 degrees, air tubing, and a pump sufficient for the size of the tank.

Connect the sponge filter to the pump with the air tubing, connect the heater to the side of the tank, and fill the tank with water.  Cycle the tank in the same way a gravel tank is cycled.  A short cut in starting the bacterial cycle in a sponge may be taken by connecting the sponge or sponges to a spare pump and putting the sponges in a tank that has an established bacteria bed.  Run the pump for three days in the established tank and the sponges will be prepared for a tank of their own.

Do not put angelfish into a freshly set-up tank.  The ammonia and the nitrites are toxic to fish at high levels.  While most fish can withstand the temporary high levels of ammonia and nitrites, angelfish are not very hardy and while they probably won’t die, they certainly are stressed by the process and are more susceptible to disease until water conditions return to normal.  The two preferred choices of fish that are hardy enough to survive the bacterial cycle are feeder goldfish and black-skirted tetras, about four fish per ten gallons of water.  Feeder goldfish are inexpensive, but they are more likely to introduce a disease into the tank than the tetras.

Leave the goldfish or the tetras in the tank for five weeks to insure that the bacterial cycle is complete.  If the process was speeded up with a product added to the tank a week after the fish were introduced, the angelfish can be added two weeks after the product.  Most pet stores will be happy to have the goldfish or tetras returned in good health.  If the goldfish were to be permanent inhabitants of the tank a heater would not be needed because they prefer cooler temperatures than 80 degrees, but they will do fine for the few weeks it takes for the bacteria to cycle.

WATER CONDITIONS

Before angelfish are added to the tank, check the PH (alkalinity) of the water.  It should be 6.8 to 7.0.  If it needs to be adjusted, use a product sold for that purpose.  If angelfish have already been added to the tank, adjust the PH slowly over a 24 hour period, adding the product in small amounts.

Angelfish should have soft water to thrive and breed in.  Water hardness should measure from 80 to 100 ppm (parts per million).  This also can be adjusted with a product at the local pet store.  It should be adjusted slowly to avoid stressing fish. 

Water temperature should have a range of 78 to 80 degrees.  If the temperature should have a range of 78 to 80 degrees, a sudden rise in temperature of two degrees may encourage spawning.

FEEDING ADULT ANGELFISH

Angelfish are usually fed a diet of tropical flake food mix.  Angelfish will spawn on this diet, but hobbyists or commercial breeders interested in breeding angelfish should supplement this diet with such foods as mosquito larvae, beef heart, tubifex worms, and brine shrimp to ensure large, strong, and frequent spawns.  Feed adult angelfish a small amount of flake food in the morning and again at noon or after work.  For the last feeding of the day, thirty minutes before the lights are turned off, feed the adult angelfish one of the meat-based foods mentioned above.  Never put more food in the tank than can be consumed in a few minutes.  If there is food

in the gravel or on the bottom of a sponge-filtered tank when the tank is cleaned, adjust the amount of food until there is no excess food left in the aquarium after each feeding.

AQUARIUM MAINTENANCE

A community tank with a variety of fishes need not be cleaned as often as an aquarium with breeding pairs of angelfish or small angelfish to be marketed.  Purchase a vacuum designed to clean aquariums.  Clean a breeding pair tank once a week, vacuuming the gravel until 20% of the water is removed.  This will remove all particles of food and waste that have not been broken down by the bacteria in the gravel.  Never remove all the water from a tank and clean the gravel with water from the tap.  The chlorine in the fresh water will kill the beneficial bacteria and the bacteria will have to start its growing cycle all over again, raising the ammonia and nitrite levels.  Refill the aquarium with water treated with a chlorine remover or with water that has been poured from the tap and has set for at least 24 hours.

Aquariums with sponge filters should have the floor of the tank vacuumed every other day, each time removing 10% of the water.  Replace the water with water treated with a chlorine remover or water aged 24 hours.  Once a week remove a half-gallon of the water from the tank and squeeze out the sponge in the water.  This will remove all food and waste not broken down by the bacteria in the sponge.  Never squeeze or rinse the sponge in fresh tap water because the chlorine will kill the bacteria in the sponge.

Always replace water with water the same temperature or no more than two degrees higher than the water in the tank.  Never put water in a tank that is colder than the water in the aquarium.

BREEDING ANGLEFISH

A breeding pair of angelfish should always have an aquarium of their own or at least a divider between them and the other fish in the tank.  The aquarium should be placed in a low traffic area to prevent the pair from eating their eggs.  It is best to keep unfamiliar faces away from the tank especially if the pair is spawning or has a spawn in the tank.  The fish can become agitated and a pair that would not normally eat the eggs will do so.

There are several ways to encourage pairing and spawning; add a black water extract to the tank, change 50% of the water, replacing it with water that is dechlorinated and is two degrees higher than the water in the tank, increase the time the aquarium is lighted two or three hours a day to simulate a change in seasons.  Angelfish in their natural habitat instinctively spawn in the spring when the water temperature rises and the days are longer.

Angelfish display many signs of courtship as the pairing process begins.  Often the pair can be isolated before their first spawn.  Two angelfish will begin to protect a certain area in the tank, chasing other fish away repeatedly.  A male fish may invade this territory to challenge the male attempting to pair with the female.  The dominant one will soon be apparent.  The female also is involved in this elimination process.  She will be seen testing the strength of the male by locking her mouth with his and attempting to then break the hold.  This is very beautiful to watch but does not occur with every pairing.  A new pair can be seen cleaning the surface on which they intend to spawn.  If this cleaning has never been seen by the hobbyist it can seem as if the fish are viciously biting the object.  The breeding tubes on males and females become easy to see, the tube on the male being thin and sharp at the tip and the tube on the female being thicker and more blunt at the tip.  The female will display a round abdomen, although a young female is not always very rounded because the spawns are not usually large in size for the first few spawns.

Once two fish have paired one can expect them to spawn as often as once a week or as seldom as once a month.  The spawns will vary in size from 100 to 600 eggs.  At first the spawns may be small but then again they may be large from the outset.  Most pairs seem to reach their spawning peak after the first year and remain at their peak for another year, with small lags throughout the peak year.  When the spawns become noticeably smaller or weaker for a period of three or four months, it is time to replace the pair.

There are hobbyists and breeders who claim to be able to sex male and female angelfish.  It seems that breeders who have bred pairs for a long time can make more accurate guesses about the sex of a fish than a beginner, but every concrete rule seems to be disproved in a hurry.

The best way to pair angelfish is buy several medium-sized fish, put them in an aquarium and wait for them to choose their own mates.  The most common types of angelfish can spawn at 6 or 7 months while the more exotic varieties can take up to 14 months to mature.  An angelfish with the body size of a half-dollar can spawn although most are a little larger than this, about the size of a silver dollar.

If one has raised or bought fish obviously from the same spawn, put them in the same tank as fish from other spawns and wait for them to choose their mate.  To avoid inbreeding and weakening the strain, once the fish have paired, separate those fish who originated from the same spawn.  Angelfish do not pair for life so one can put any sexually mature male and female together.  It may take a few weeks for the new pair to spawn together, but they will spawn.  This is also a wonderful way to pair angelfish according to the characteristics on desires to achieve.

If a standard and a veil-trail fish are paired together one may get all standards, all veil-tails, or a mix of the two.  The same applies to fish coloring.  One can expect a gold and a marbled fish to produce all golds, all marbleds, or a mix of the two while like-colored fish will usually breed true.  For the most part, a breeder would prefer the pairs to breed true to characteristics desired to prevent time-consuming separation of the offspring later.

Angelfish prefer to spawn on an almost vertical object in the top quadrant of the aquarium.  If the tank is bare and there is nothing in the tank but a sponge they will chose to spawn on the glass wall of the tank or on the tube of the sponge filter.  To avoid this, always be sure there is an object in the tank suitable for spawning.  A breeder can almost chose the site the pair will lay eggs on.  A piece of PVC pipe or a piece of slate leaned against the wall of the aquarium is good for the removal of eggs.  Note: the pipe or slate must always be disinfected between each use.  If the objects are soaked in a weak bleach and water solution for 24 hours all fungus on the objects will be killed but the pipe or slate must be rinsed very well with warm water before reuse.

The aquarist may opt to leave the eggs in the tank for the pair to raise or he may remove the eggs.  This option will be discussed later, but in case the eggs are removed, always have something in the tank for the pair to spawn on.

Once a spawn site has been selected and cleaned, the pair will begin making passes over the area where the eggs will be laid.  The pair may alternate making passes with cleaning the slate or the PVC pipe.  In a short while, the female will begin releasing eggs, which will stick to the object they are laid on.  The male will follow closely after each pass by the female during which time he will be fertilizing the eggs.  The process takes no longer than 30-45 minutes.  As soon as all the eggs are laid and fertilized, the female will begin to hover over the eggs, fanning them with her pectoral fins.  The male at this time is on guard against intruders, although he may take turns with the female fanning the eggs.  Any eggs not fertilized will turn white within a few hours.

REMOVING EGGS FROM THE SPAWN TANK

At this time a decision must be made about whether to remove the eggs from the pair tank.  If the eggs are left in the tank with the parent fish, the pair will remove eggs with signs of fungus and will cull many of the remaining eggs.  The fry can remain with the pair until they are of market size.  This is a simple way to raise small angels, but the number of fry are dramatically reduced this way.  If the fry are raised away from the parents the breeder can count on raising at least twice as many as the parents would.  The only responsibility the breeder has before the eggs become free-swimming in the parent tank is to hatch brine shrimp eggs for the fry.  Feeding the fry will be detailed later.

If the breeder decides to remove the eggs, he must prepare a tank to hatch them in.  When the pair are observed spawning, fill a ten gallon tank with 80 degree tap water.  No chlorine remover needs to be added as the chlorine in the tap water seems to retard fungal growth in the eggs.  Add methylene blue to the water in the amount recommended on the package for hatching eggs.  The methylene blue is the fungicide and will prevent fungus to a great degree.  No set amount can be given because methylene blue is sold in different strengths.  The methylene blue will turn the water so dark blue that the eggs will be almost invisible.  The PH at this point should be between 6.8 to 7.0 and the water hardness should be 80 to 100 ppm.  This should be adjusted before the eggs are put into the tank.  Connect an airstone to a small pump with air tubing and run the airstone into the tank.

Transfer the eggs from the parent tank.  This should be done with care because the pair will attack anything put into their tank.  The pair may begin to eat the eggs so they should be removed quickly.  A net in the tank between the breeder and the pair can be helpful as a barrier.  When the eggs are in the hatching tank, place the airstone under the eggs so that air bubbles flow up around the eggs.  This is vigorous aeration but it replaces the air flow created by the fanning of the parents.  The tank should have a heater to maintain the temperature at 80 degrees.  Fluctuations in water temperature weaken the spawn and reduce the hatch rate.

EGG CARE

Always remove the eggs with fungus on them and white eggs because they will not hatch.  This can be done by carefully prying the eggs away from the surface they are attached to with a sharp instrument.  Suction the white eggs and eggs with fungus on them with a basting syringe.

Change 10% of the water each day and replace it with dechlorinated water that is the correct temperature, PH, and water hardness.  By the time the fry are free-swimming, the water will be a very light blue.  Never feed the spawns until they become free-swimming.

The eggs will hatch in three or four days and will stay adhered to the surface by a string that is attached to their head and which sticks to the slate or pipe.  Their bodies will be in constant motion in what can be called a “wiggler” state.  They will at this time be feeding off their yolk sacs which will disappear over the next few days.  The fry are “wigglers” for three or four days and then suddenly become free-swimming, rising in a school to the top of the tank.  It is very important to have good aeration at this time, creating a gentle water movement throughout the tank.  As soon as the fry become free-swimming, they are ready for their first meal which should be newly hatched live brine shrimp.

HATCHING BRINE SHRIMP EGGS

Purchase brine shrimp eggs, a brine shrimp net, and a marine salt mix.  Seven days after the eggs were laid, fill a gallon jug half full of water and add the salt mix until the salinity of the water measures a specific gravity level of between 1.023 and 1.028.   Connect a plastic airstone to a small pump with air tubing.  The airstone should be plastic because it won’t clog easily and it can be cleaned and used repeatedly.  Use half a teaspoon of brine shrimp eggs per spawn.  Add the eggs to the salt water and aerate with the airstone.  The water should be between 75 and 80 degrees.  In 36 to 48 hours the eggs should hatched.  About this time the fry should be free-swimming. 

The brine shrimp will live two days so a fresh batch should be started every other day.  To harvest the brine shrimp, remove the airstone and place a light right next to the jug.  The brine shrimp are attracted to light and will move to a small area near the light.  In about five minutes siphon a small amount of the brine shrimp into a small container.  Place the brine shrimp net over the top of the jug end empty the contents of the container into the net.  The salt water will flow through the net back into the jug, leaving the brine shrimp in the net.  Rinse the brine shrimp and feed to the fry.  At the end of the second day pour all the water through the brine shrimp net into another jug and discard the contents of the brine shrimp net.  Using the water in this manner keeps the water clean enough to use for a week.

When more than one pair are producing spawns, just add more brine shrimp to the jug.  Up to two tablespoons can be hatched at a time in a half-gallon of salt water.  It is a good idea to freeze small portions of live brine shrimp in case of an emergency.  If the air is left off the jug or if the pump stops working, the fry cannot live as long as it takes to hatch new brine shrimp.  Brine shrimp break down in the freezer in about two months so freeze spare food at least every two months.

FEEDING SMALL ANGELFISH

Feed the fry four times a day.  Remove the airstone from the tank, and drop the brine shrimp in.  In about fifteen minutes, siphon out the remaining brine shrimp and resume aeration.  It is best to feed the fry an amount that will leave no brine shrimp in the tank at all.  Never leave the excess brine shrimp in the tank because they will die and fungus in the bottom of the tank.  When the fry are four weeks old, feed them brine shrimp in the morning, crushed flake food at noon, brine shrimp in the early evening, and crushed flake food at noon, brine shrimp in the early evening, and crushed flake food thirty minutes before turning out the lights at night.  They will receive only flake food in the pet stores so they should be on a partial flake food diet.  However, feeding them brine shrimp twice a day keeps their growth rate up so they can be marketed at seven weeks of age or when their bodies become dime-sized.

CLEANING FRY TANKS

The fry tank can be kept clean by vacuuming the bottom of the tank until 10% of the water is removed every other day.  Refill the tank with dechlorinated 80 degree water that is the correct PH water hardness.  Clean the tank in this manner until the fry are ready to market.

When the fry are a week old, replace the airstone with a cycled sponge filter.  A good way to prevent the fry from getting under the sponge and perishing is to set the sponge on three small rocks.  Position the filter in the center of the tank so the fry will not get between the filter and the glass wall of the tank and die.

If the breeder decides to move the small angels to a tank with an undergravel filter, the gravel must be cleaned twice a week with the 10% water change.  Do not turn out the tank light at night until the fish are three weeks old.  When small angelfish sleep they sink to the bottom of the tank and can slip between the rocks where they become trapped and die.

AQUARIUM SIZE

A 20 gallon tank will hold 50 fry until they are ready for market, a 29 gallon tank 100 fry, and a 55 gallon tank 150 fry.  If the tank is not big enough, the growth of the angelfish is stunted and it is difficult to keep the tank clean enough to keep the ammonia level down.  The result of high ammonia levels in the water is a marked squaring of the anal and dorsal fins from ammonia burn and it takes a long time for the fins to grow long and round again.  If the fins start to look square, the fish must be divided so there are fewer fish in each tank.

MOVING SMALL ANGELFISH

The fry need to be moved out of the ten gallon hatching tank when they are two weeks old.  At this time they should be moved according to the numbers of fish and tank size described above.  A large water change can be fatal to many of the fish so move the fish to the tank first and slowly, over a period of several days, fill the tank up with water that is dechlorinated, the same temperature, and the same PH and water hardness.  This is an example of how a spawn of 400 are moved from a ten gallon tank to four 29 gallon tanks at two weeks of age.

Put three sponges in a tank with an established bacteria bed two days before the move and put the sponge from the ten gallon tank (on the day of the move) with the others, running them all on a pump to cycle the three and maintain the bacteria in the fourth.

Put five gallons of water from the ten gallon fry tank into each of two 29 gallon tanks, divide the fish equally into the two tanks, and add two gallons of treated water to each tank.  The reason the fish have to be divided into two 29 gallon tanks at first is it takes about eight gallons of water in a 29 gallon tank to cover the sponge filter and its stem.  It is important to have a filter in the tank and if the fish were divided into four tanks it would take about a week for the water level to be high enough to support a sponge filter.  The next day add two more gallons of treated water and a cycled sponge to each of the two tanks.  On the third day add three gallons of treated water.  On the fourth day, equally divide the fish and the water in each 29 gallon tank into the two other 29 gallon tanks and add two gallons of treated water and a cycled sponge to each. 

Each of the four 29 gallon tanks will contain 100 fry, a cycled sponge, and eight gallons of water.  Treated water at about 20% of the total volume of the water in the tank can then be added each day until the tanks are filled.  It will take about a week to completely fill the tank during which time the tanks are not vacuumed.  The full tanks will resume being vacuumed at 10% of water change every other day.  The now three-week-old fish will remain in the 29 gallon tanks for four more weeks until they are marketed.  This seems complicated and overly cautious but the extra time is definitely worth it in the long run.  The fry will be very hardy because of the care and losses will remain at a minimum.

These conditions are optimum.  If the small fish are closely monitored, more fish can be put in the tank than described above.  Some of the fish grow faster than others and can be sold, leaving room for the smaller fish to grow.  The larger fish can be sold weeks before the smallest fish are sold.  This is a good time to invest the profit in more equipment.  Starting in this manner takes a lot of work and it will take about six months from the first spawn before the breeder does not have to put all of the profit back into the equipment.

COMMERCIAL FISH BREEDING

To set up a commercial fish breeding system, one will need a room on a  concrete slab devoted entirely to the fish and equipment.  The racks containing the tanks weigh several tons and should be supported on a slab.  The racks should be built out of 2x2x1/4” tube steel for the center supports and 2x2x1/4” angle iron for the shelving and bracing.  The racks should hold three tiers of tanks.  The top tier should be built to hold 20 gallon tanks, the middle and bottom tiers, 29 gallon tanks.  Another rack should be built for the ten gallon spawn tanks.  A rack to hold 55 gallon tanks can be built for community pairing tanks.  Use steel for the shelving because wood deteriorates quickly in the high humidity of the room.

The top tier of 20 gallon tanks will not hold the fish.  They will be used for “holding tanks”.  When water is removed from the 29 gallon tanks below during cleaning, they will be refilled with the water from the 20 gallon tanks.  This will lower costs by not having the heat the water or having to treat the water for chlorine and heavy metals.  It is better not to have copper pipes in the water system because concentrations of copper can be toxic to fish.

The room should be heated with a central system at 80 degrees.  This will keep costs down by avoiding individual heaters in each tank.  The water used to refill the 20 gallon tanks will be heated by the room temperature.

Kerosene is not a good system because it leaves a film on the tank water surface.  Furnaces using fuel oil, natural gas, or propane are all good choices.  All of these burn cleanly and have the additional advantage of needing only a small amount of electricity for the electrical components.  An auxiliary generator can supply power to run the heating system and the air blower in a power outage.  The room will need to be well insulated to maintain an 80 degree temperature.

An air blower will be used for tank aerations.  Run 2” PVC pipe from the blower and suspend above the tanks with enough valves to run air tubing into each tank.  Either brass or plastic valves can be tapped into the 2” PVC pipe.  The air tubing will be connected to a sponge filter in each tank.  The deeper tanks should be the closest to the air blower as the air pressure is weaker in the tanks farthest away from the blower.

The room will have a very high humidity level and will need a moisture barrier on all walls and the ceiling to prevent moisture damage.  An air exchanger will keep the humidity level down and replace stale air with air from the outside.  This is important to keep the air fresh and oxygen-rich.

Vacuum the 29 gallon tanks every other day, removing 10% of the water.  Siphon the water into a bucket containing a sump pump connected to a hose.  The water can be run in this manner into a nearby sink for disposal.  The room can also have a drain system in the floor in which case the water could be drained directly onto the floor.  Siphon water from the 20 gallon tanks above to replace the water removed from the 29 gallon tanks.  These 20 gallon tanks will be refilled with cold water at least 24 hours before it is used.  Clean the sponges once a week in the manner described earlier in the booklet.  A central filter system is popular in pet stores but is not recommended for raising angelfish because the fish seem susceptible to diseases that can spread rapidly through the central filter.

FISH DISEASE

In this environment, the fish should remain healthy.  However, there are many fish diseases that can strike even the hardiest fish.  There are many ways to prevent stress which is the main reason fish succumb to disease.  To prevent stress, keep the tanks scrupulously clean, do not overfeed the fish and leave particles of food in the tank, avoid killing the bacteria in the filter system, and watch the fish for early signs of stress and disease.  Invest in a detailed book on fish disease and treatments.  When fish are sick, do not put anything in the aquarium that will be used in another aquarium unless it is disinfected first.

ANGELFISH SALES

There is a great demand for healthy angelfish and they can be sold either to wholesale outlets or directly to pet stores.  It is more profitable to sell angelfish directly to pet stores, although as the volume of production increases, it becomes more feasible to sell to the wholesaler who then supplies the pet stores.

The best way to sell angelfish to a pet store is on a cash only basis.  Exchanging fish for store credit affects cash flow and is a more expensive way to buy products.  Once it is apparent that the fish are healthy, the pet stores will order fish once a week or every other week, depending on store sales volume.  Put the fish in small bags with 25 fish in each bag.  This is a good number of fish for a pet store with a low sales volume to buy, and larger pet stores just buy several bags.  Ask a few pet stores what they will pay for healthy tank-raised angelfish and set the price accordingly.  When sales are established, the breeder can then hold fish back and raise them to different sizes.  The price for larger fish can be set in the same way the price was set for the dime-sized angelfish.

A wholesaler will pay about half what a pet store will pay per fish.  However, they are more convenient to deliver to because the fish can be put in bags that will hold up to 250 small fish.  Also wholesalers order large quantities of the same type fish on a regular basis so sales will be constant.

All bags must be put in styrofoam boxes to keep the temperature stable.  Buy or rent an oxygen tank and fill the remainder of the bags with oxygen before closing.  Fish can be maintained up to 24 hours this way.

TEN WAYS TO PURCHASE HEALTHY ANGELFISH

Ten ways to insure purchase of healthy breeding stock are; don’t buy 1) fish with clamped fins, 2) fish that swim only near the surface of the water or only at the bottom of the tank, 3) thin fish, 4) fish with a white film on the bodies, 5) fish that don’t come to the front of the tank when the tank is approached because they are not tank-raised, 6) fish with obvious deformities or fish that seem to have been damaged in transit to the store, 7) fish that dart instead of glide and seem to twitch, and 8) have the salesperson feed the fish before buying to ensure that the fish is eating, 9) ask if the fish could be held for a few days and come back to look at it before buying it to make sure it still seems hardy (many fish die a few days after delivery to the pet store), and 10) buy fish only from a store with clean tanks.  Quarantine all fish for two months before adding them to a tank of healthy breeding stock.  A sick fish can kill a whole aquarium of healthy fish.