Fish Fertility

Hi Everyone. I have had a paired off pair of angels for just under a year. They are about two years old now and the female has not laid any eggs at all. The male goes into a frenzy every month and fertilizes surface around the tank, but there are never any eggs to fertilize. I ask you, have you ever encountered a barren female? Can some fish just be infertile?

And if she is, would the male pair off with another female if I introduced them and removed the other female?

I don't think most cichlids form "lifetime bonds" when breeding. If things aren't working out, try a new male or female. What's the worst that can happen?


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Greengirl said:

Hi Everyone. I have had a paired off pair of angels for just under a year. They are about two years old now and the female has not laid any eggs at all. The male goes into a frenzy every month and fertilizes surface around the tank, but there are never any eggs to fertilize. I ask you, have you ever encountered a barren female? Can some fish just be infertile?

And if she is, would the male pair off with another female if I introduced them and removed the other female?

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I used to work at an angel hatchery and I've seen females go barren. We did occasionally have half of a pair die and had some success re-pairing widows/widowers, so I'd imagine that you could try it.

As pairs aged we often saw an increase in deformed young. We always kept a card on each tank with the date of the pair's first spawn and the date of their most recent spawn. If they went more than a certain amount of time without a spawn they were sold off as large angels, singly, not as a mated pair. I wish I could recall how much time we gave them before retiring them... sorry I can't be more helpful.

I agree with Jon. In fact, rumor has it that the Steven Stills song "Love the One You're With" was written about cichlids.