Angelfish
are cichlids, and like all cichlids, they can exhibit fascinating parental behavior.
Sadly angelfish have a reputation as poor parents, a reputation that we feel
is undeserved. Most commercial hatcheries 'pull' the eggs from the parents and
hatch them artificially, this approach can produce huge numbers of babies from
relatively few parent fish for two reasons. Firstly, having 'lost' their first
batch of eggs, the parent fish will try again, usually within about 10 days
to a fortnight. Since each batch could consist of as many as 1000 eggs, the
breeder can produce huge numbers of fry very rapidly. Secondly, by treating
the eggs with anti-fungal chemicals and avoiding any accidental parental predation,
a greater number of fry can be successfully raised. Sadly this approach, whilst
producing large numbers of fish, also produces fish with no experience of parental
care, and might even inadvertently breed out the parenting instinct.
Ours is a more natural approach, we allow the parents to care for their eggs
and young for upto four weeks. This can be frustratating as not all pairs manage
to care for their young at the first attempt. Some have several attempts before
they succeed, and occasionally some never get the hang of what they're meant
to be doing. However, with each generation the task of finding good parents
becomes easier. So far we have not had to resort to artificial methods, but
have on a couple occasions removed one or other of the parents, to prevent an
over protective male from harming the female.
Our fish
are also raised in aquariums with plants and gravel, rather than the more clinical
bare tanks that most hatcheries employ. We feel the more natural surroundings
help the parents feel more relaxed, and relaxed fish are more likely to parent
raise.
We also keep detailed records of each & every batch of young, this enables
us to minimise inbreeding, we consider this a vital factor in producing healty,
high quality fish.
At present we do not supply direct to the public, instead our fish are supplied to The Aquatic Habitat, Brockworth, Gloucester. Please contact them directly for details of their current stock holding.