Is my Angel Fish pregnant??

She was getting beat up horribly today. It just started bad since last night. Believe it's a female atleast. I have another angel fish in a tank and he (assumed) has chased her since I got her but he has never beat her up this bad. This has happened since last night. We have also noticed that she is MUCH fatter than she was a week ago. And she has something hanging down from her. lol Sorry I don't know much about fish breeding. Only have had guppies breed. So here are some pictures of her to see if someone knows what's going on? I have pulled her from the main tank and put her in her own since she was getting beat up so bad. She's not denying food or acting any different. But is definitely calmer seeming in her own tank.

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This kind of shows how her belly is pudgie
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This is what she looked like when I brought her home. Note: the piece hanging down from her is not here and her belly is no where near as fat.
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Welll considering angels dont give birth to live fry she isnt pregnant in that way.... but, she cold be ready to lay eggs and the person beating on her was the guy that was suppose to fertilize the eggs?

Angelse typically lay there eggs on something vertical, filter intake, heater, etc, then the male will follow fertilizing the eggs.... they dont give birth to live fry. so dont expect any babies from her in that tank alone.

Yeah I read a previous post on here and discovered that. But he was beating her up so bad I was afraid he was going to kill her and I didn't want that she is a really cool looking fish. I'd rather have her live and there be unfertilized eggs than her die.

what size tank did you have them in?? They need there space, so I think a 20gal tall is the best for a pair of breeders. any more fish than that you would need bigger tank or they will kill eachother.

Well I went in to check on her about an hour ago and there were eggs in the tank!!! I got the male and put him in the tank with her and he stayed away from her for the majority of it. But once she started getting towards the end of laying the eggs he started eating them He ate almost all of them and started chasing her away from the eggs and continued eating them so I took him back out. She is in the tank alone now resting with whats left of her eggs checking on them occasionally. She is picking at certain ones, like the ones that are kind of off by themselves and eating those ones but leaving the majority of whats left alone. There are about 30 eggs left now but half of the filter was covered with them. She laid them for about an hour before she stopped releasing them, she continued to go through the motions for about another 10 mins after the last egg was released though.

And you will be happy to know I DID get video and some pictures of her laying the eggs. This is towards the beginning as I didn't want to disturb her too much by constantly having electronics near her. I will upload those as soon as I go and get the cord.

Thank you all for your input! And even though I put him in the tank as she was laying the eggs, it doesn't look like there will be any babies at this point. But we'll see about the future, she has only been in the tank with him for about a month now. So this batch of eggs came pretty quick I think for as little as she was in there with him. Cool to know that in fact do have a male and a female!! We were pretty sure but now I'm certain!!

Here are some pictures

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ooooo.... too bad you seperated them, even though she was gettin beaten up, Im sure they wouldve spawned for ya. better luck next time. how big of a tank were they in... pretty sure they wont spawn together unless there in a 20gal tank.

I don't know anything about angels but have bred a few diferent kinds of cichlids.. Maybe try and find a male that doesn't like beating up on the ladies.. I know i had to offload a few males over the years to get the right one to pair up with my females.

There are about 20 eggs left in the tank today and she is staying by them. I don't know how long before the eggs have to be fertilized before they aren't good anymore. I just couldn't watch him eat them They were in a 10 gallon tank. My mom had angelfish and kept them in a 10 gallon without any problems so we didn't think this would be an issue. But it seems like I'll have to try and find a 20 gallon to put them in. I'd LOVE to have the planted hex tank that's on here lol but it's quite a drive away and I don't really have the $80 to fork out right now.

Look for a 45g tall for her and a new male. 10g is waaaaaaaaaaaaay too small for one angel let alone 2!!
They are a pairing fish, they find a mate and you can tell when you have a pair just by how they act. That male is not her mate, you need to find another one and see how she acts with the new guy.

Sorry to say but those eggs are no good but it sounds like she will be a very good mom when you find her a male she likes! You wont have to do anything except for move the adults when the fry are free swimming once you get a good pair.

Yeah, 10gal is too small.... I would keep a pair of angels alone in a 20gal with a piece of slate or something set up vertical.... put her in it, then find a new man for her if the other guy keeps being too aggressive.

Good luck and keep us posted. oh yeah and, those other eggs are fish food... she will eat them soon enough. sorry.

Could the mismatch be because they are of different species. I have a zebra and a marble. She is the marble. Would getting another male marble and moving her and him to a bigger tank work better?

From what I know angles are kinda like discus, they are all technically hybrids line bread and mixed up to get the best colors. I could be wrong though.

I think you just need to find a male or 3 that you think would make nice fry with the female you have. Run each trough the tank and see who she likes. Pairs tend to stick fairly close most of the time.

I like ferns tech cause your tank is so small.... because traditionally I would put all of them in a tank together, and let her pick... then when they kinda hang out together you take out the others.

I believe I will be putting them into the 30 gallon bowfront that I have. Just gotta rearrange the house and a bedroom to make it work lol What we do for our fish!

Is it also true that males tend to have a red eye. We clearly know she's a female but want to know how to determine males at our fish store?

no, eye color is not a way to determine fish sex.... I dont know what are some marks if there is any to determine sex of a angel fish. think I saw a thread on that though awhile ago... just gonna have to dig around the forum. sorry

I found this with a quick search online.

"Angelfish are nearly impossible to sex accurately. Occasionally fully mature males will show a modest nuchal hump, which is a bump on the head just above the eyes. However, don't count on it.
The best way to establish a mating pair is to purchase a half dozen immature angelfish and raise them together. When they are mature enough they will pair off, and you will have at least one breeding pair out of the group."

Yeah I had read that site too. But I also read that sometimes (not always) the male will have a red eye. Which mine does.

friend of mine has a gorgeous pair and they both have red eyes.... so I really dont think eye color will determine sex. just buy a bunch that are bigger than your female, that way you probably gettin some that are sexually mature. Good luck!

I don't have room to buy a bunch bigger than her.

its really really gonna be hard to breed without itleast one bigger community tank..... like a 55gal, thoughs are used to make pairs form, then after they do, they put them in there own 20gal...... so as far as you breeding your lil girl, its just gonna be very hard, and you gotta be pretty lucky...... They also make a ton of fry, so even if you did get a successful spawn, sounds like you dont have any room. I think I would kinda put the breeding thing aside until you get more room, and a itleast one bigger tank.

Sorry, thats really just my opionion.

I fully agree, don't try to breed them unless you have the space to do so.
You should still find a new home for that male so the female doesn't get abused and more.....


When you do have the tank space to breed them go to a good fish store and ask if there are any males. If the store takes good care of their fish they will spawn while at the fish store. And if they have employees like me who like to watch spawns someone may be able to pick out a male or 2 for you, or even a pair if you wanted?
Yes they can be separated and re-pair with another mate, I have seen it happen a few times with one male angel at my shop, he has spawned with 4 different girls sense he has been there

I took him out of the community tank for a few days and then put him back in and he is fine with her now. He hasn't nipped or chased her once. He is following her around the tank now. They will be in a 30 gallon this week. Just the two of them.

If they stay like that they may have decided to pair!

woooooooohoooooooooo! congrats! you might get some babies, now you need that ten gallon for holding all the fry!

I have another tank to hold the fry, but I discovered today, I have TWO FEMALES!!! lol the zebra is holding eggs now. And she is still beating up the other angel that has laid two batches of eggs. So they are in separate tanks now.

Well let me rephrase that. They were doing good until the other female started laying her last batch and then the zebra started beating her up. Her fins are kind of torn up. She's healing in the community tank now. All her eggs were eaten by her. I gotta try and find a male when I have the money to do so. But for now they will remain separated.

Thanks everyone for this great conversation. learned a lot!

Hey i have been reading this, and i breed/ raise/ and study angelfish as a hjobby if you have any questions you can totally message me on here or personally. Angelfish are very interesting especially when you get into genetics lol.

For hatching angle fish eggs check this link out:

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