The best technique to get started with breeding your angel fish is to buy a group of six to eight juveniles and allow them to grow and reach maturity at around 8 months or so.
Try to choose fish that are strong and healthy and have all the best signs such as clean markings, well formed finnage and clear eyes, and also look lively and keen to feed.
When they reach maturity they will begin the process of selecting breeding partners and you will notice them posturing, shaking fins and getting ready for courtship.
It is now time to feed them well with a variety of food to get them into prime condition for breeding.
There are many factors which can affect the spawning process and with cichlids there are a number of things that can go wrong.
There may be incompatibility of pairs, egg and fry eating by the parents and fungus may ruin the eggs.
Many angels will readily spawn quite regularly but fail to raise any young and may devour the eggs as soon as they are laid.
This is common with young inexperienced fish and many learn parenting after their first couple of spawns.
Also if there are any sudden disruptions in the tank during this time and they become startled, it can also lead to them eating the eggs.
If a pair are old enough and are still not raising their young then you will need to consider removing the eggs and hatching the clutch away from the adults, but then all the pleasure of seeing these fish being parents and caring for their fry is gone.
In the first stages of spawning you will notice a pair scrupulously cleaning the chosen site.
A flat surface of a rock or piece of slate is ideal, but they are known to choose anything they can use, such as the bottom or sides of the tank, broad leaf plant or even the filter tubes.
Once this is ready they will they start the egg laying.
The female lays the adhesive eggs in neat rows and the male will then follow her and spread milt over them.
Tubes will appear from the vents of both male and female during the process which continues until all the female's eggs are used.
Both fish then take turns to fan the eggs with their fins to aerate them, and the one that is not fanning will be busy guarding and chasing off anything that comes near.
This is the beginning of quite a long ordeal by the parents are they are continually hard at work caring for their offspring.
Initially caring for the eggs and then guarding the fry once they are free swimming.
A good pair will busily maintain their role until the young are big enough to become independent and it is a remarkable little sample of nature at work to observe.