Siphoning off detritus from the bottom of the aquarium is one of the most important factors in successful fish rearing. Daily water changes are made to each aquarium. Keep in mind that certain tanks require different water changing needs. This section explains the water quality needs during the different stages of an angelfish's life.

The spawning tank is kept at a slightly acidic pH level of 6.6 to 6.8. I have fish that spawn at the normal tap pH of 8.0 but I find that fish tend to spawn more readily at the lower pH levels mentioned above. It is especially important to keep the water acidic if you are going to keep the eggs with the parents. Maintaining the pH between 6.6 to 6.8 for hatching provides an optimum pH condition for hatching eggs.

The water I use for my spawning tank is taken fresh from the tap. I have a water treatment unit attached to my faucet which removes chlorine and heavy metals. Before entering the tank, the water is first treated with a pH lowering conditioner. One gallon for every 10 gallons of water is removed and replaced daily.

I use distilled water to hatch the eggs. Water should be purchased the day of the spawn to ensure freshness. No pH adjustments are necessary and all I have to do is add the anti-fungus preventative Mar Oxy from Mardel Laboratories. Distilled water is perfect since it has a naturally low pH (which is less subject to change than pH lowered tap water) and the water is also naturally soft (like the Amazon rivers where Pterophyllum originates). The water I use for hatching has a pH of 6.2 and a water hardness of dH 1. For the first three days, at least 75% of the water is changed daily with new distilled water treated with Mar Oxy. Huge water changes do not harm the angelfish fry and in fact, a 100% water change (transfer fry to a new container) would be more benefitial, if not tedious in nature.

After two days, all of the fry have hatched from their eggs and I wait until the fourth day to begin using the faucet water treated by the water treatment unit mentioned above. Fungus preventative is no longer necessary after the eggs hatch if you separate the fry from the white eggs. Two gallons are taken per each 10 gallons of water and replaced daily until the age of two weeks.

Rearing tanks for baby angels that are two weeks and older incorporate normal dechlorinated tap water taken fresh from the backyard hose. One gallon for every ten gallons of water is changed daily from the bottom of the tank where all the detritus accumulates.

These rearing tanks are not treated to lower acidity. This is done for two reasons. (1) It is too expensive to keep lowering the pH for larger tanks in which large water changes are made daily and (2) since pet shops and their customers usually do not make pH adjustments anyway, it is important to get the young fish used to the higher pH levels and hard water in my local area.

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