Getting some "romance" back into my breeding angelfish?

Question

I have a pair of angelfish that are VERY bonded. They're in a 60 gallon hextank with an under gravel filter, water heated to 81 degrees, and plenty of tall plants and driftwood. They're alone in this tank, as the male is VERY aggressive. He even bites and attacks me when I put my hand into the water.

The two spawned and laid 3 batches of eggs over a 3 month period. They ate the first two batches, as I expected they would. The third batch all went bad and I had to remove them. It's been about 5 months since that last batch, and they haven't tried spawning since. I would like to get them breeding again at some point. Nothing in the tank has been changed.

Any ideas? They get tropical flakes for 4 of their 7 weekly feedings. They get freeze dried bloodworms for 2, and plankton flakes for the last.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Try adding some more or new spawning sites.  Mine personally love the Amazon Sword Plants but others also like a slab of slate and upside-down terracotta pots.

If that doesn't work try putting the temp down to 76 for a day then back to 81 or 82 the next couple- this can sometimes trick them into thinking that summer is coming and that they should lay eggs.

Anonymous · Answer

add more verticall, flat surfaces. maybe they dont trust the other site because all three batches went unsuccessfully whether they ate the eggs or not. amazon sword plants live or plastic, a terra cotta pot placed upside down, or a flat stone like slate leaning against the side of the tank at a 30 degree angle would work realy well as new spawning spots. also try adding live foods like baby guppys into their diets. it is scientifically proven to stimulate their breeding instincts. feed tropical falkes in the morning, maybe bloodworms midday and  feed the baby guppy at dark. and i say make their tanks very dim so you can barely see them. if none of this works after two weeks try separating them by putting the female in a smaller tank and put the tanks right next to eachother. keep feeding them live foods. leave her in there. if you see the male or female trying to "get through the glass" you know this method is working. wait about 48 hours and re introduce the female. hope this helps:) good luck

Anonymous · Answer

start using more meaty foods like frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp. 
water quality must be great or else the eggs go bad
everything else sounds fine
fish breed more around rain storms etc. 
you can simulate rainy periods by checking the weather and doing a couple quick 30-40 % water changes around the time of low pressure fronts in your area. Sometimes that works.  (be careful to match temperature and do the water changes properly with a good water conditioner)
change the lighting, dimmer might be better. 
they're still pretty young
add a few "dither" fish like a 3-5 serpae tetras or similar medium small tetras. Add them with the lights out after feeding the fish, hopefully the angel will let them live.

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Getting some "romance" back into my breeding angelfish?

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