EESDA Angelfish Breeding

Before we start, we should identify a male and a female scalare.
Most would buy around 6 juveniles [or even more] and let them pair off at maturity. This is a viable strategy and you will surely end up with a pair. However, I have had an experience where two females paired. I found out eventually because both laid eggs. On the other hand, if you are like me, I choose adults and hope they are the sex I think they are. I also choose from sub-adults of my grow-outs to sort them. Most of the time, I am correct at my guesses but it is not a perfect science.
I use this webpage as my guide: http://fish-info000.blogspot.com/2011/05/difference-between-male-and-female.html The sketch is really helpful.

But here are the criteria I have for male and female scalare. I ranked it to from the most reliable to the least reliable but still usable.
Male:
1. a pointed and thin tube near the anal fin
2. round body
3. hump on the forehead
4. splits on the ventrals
Female:
1. broad tube near the anal fin
2. "diamond" or box-ish body
3. round belly especially obvious at the front view
4. smooth ventrals


Here are the steps in breeding my angelfish (scalare):

1. Clean a tank. I use a 18" x 18" x 12" tank without aeration or anything. It has a bare bottom too.

2. Place 2 clay slates inside. One on the left and one on the right.

3. Place breeders. I keep my males and females separate. I just put them together when breeding.

4. Wait for them to lay eggs.

5. [The pair has laid eggs] Wait for eggs to hatch

6. When the eggs hatch, remove the parents.

7. Slide the slate some more to make it less steep. Put something to prevent it from sliding all the way flat.

8. Wait for the fry to go free swimming (around 5 days from hatching).

9. When fry are free swimming, feed with baby brine shrimp twice or even thrice daily.

10. As the fry grow, increase water level until full. Once full, do 50% water change once/twice a week.


Perhaps, the challenge with scalare are first time parents. Because of their inexperience, they might not fan the eggs enough and some are stressed so much that they eat the eggs. But, there are still times where first time parents are fantastic and successful. There is not really much we can do with first time parents. That just what they are, first timers. All we can do is be patient and give them another chance until they get it right.

Pictures:

This is the reason for the two slates. The slate on the left is where the eggs were laid. The parents are transferring the newly hatched fry to the slate on the right.

This is a sample of the slate. I lower the water level too. This makes the fry more confident to explore the tank and also make it easier for them to find food. 

These are the fry attached to the slate.

And if you want to find out what your breeders will produce, you can try this genetic calculator. It gives you the possible results and also the percentage of those possible results will pop out. It is really helpful when you're aiming for some purebred line.