Sexing angelfish

Question
I have 5 large angelfish.  What can I look for to try to sex them?  I would like to breed them,but nothing is happening.  Do they need to be a certin age,  or do I not have a pair?  Thank you for reading my question.

Answer
Hi Jody;

There is really no way to accurately sex them unless they are actually ready to spawn.  The "breeding tubes" that protrude from their vents are thinner and slanted on the male and more cone shaped and 'stumpy' on the female. You almost have to have both sexes in front of you and compare them to know for sure. They are mature within about 9 months of age, but they have to be healthy and growing well during that time.

To help "get them in the mood" you might try water changes more often. Replace 25% of the water at least once a week while vacuuming the gravel. They also need a good diet. When I had breeding angels I fed them live tubifex and brine shrimp for a few weeks to get them conditioned. You can feed a good frozen diet if you don't want live stuff. They will pair off when they are ready. Each pair needs at least 20 gallons of space. Keeping the water quality good and the water temperature up to 80 usually encourages them. Here are some web sites you can check out to know more about the details of it;

http://www.littlefishtank.com/articles/article.asp?catid=6&artid=1
http://www.solodvds.com/breeding_angel_fish.asp
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/breeding/Keiser_recipe-for-angels.html
http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/angel.html
http://www.websvirginia.com/angels/

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

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