Angel not eating, please help?

[gatotsu77]

I know that angels can be kinda picky eaters, and that stress will make them less likely to eat, but my new angel has not eaten since I brought it home. (had it for 2 days now) I've tried frozen bloodworms twice now... it'll watch them float by, and every so often even swim slightly towards them, but never actually try to eat them. Is there something I can do to get the angel to eat? I don't want it to starve to death... :-(

[Rbishop]

Let it get more familiar to their new surroundings....

[gatotsu77]

So there's no worry that the little guy will croak on me just yet, yes? Haha... sorry... just slightly paranoid. :-P This is a really crummy picture, but since he's small I'm not sure if he's too skinny or not. (my first angel) Any opinions as to whether or not he's healthy? (thanks in advance for your opinions... like I said, I'm just slightly paranoid. :-P)

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/animefan73/angel2.jpg

[erin14]

He seems to look okay but i'm no angel expert. I'd say, don't stress it. Hes brand new to your tank, and is still getting used to his surroundings. Also, maybe your feeding something different then the store he came from was feeding him and hes not used to it yet. Don't worry, he will eventually get hungry enough and eat it, only to find out he likes it hahaha. A bit of a different kind of fish, but when I got my Gold Nugget Pleco, he didn't eat for atleast a week and a half and he didn't croak on me. What size tank you got him in?

[gatotsu77]

He's in a 55g along with various other schooling fish. 4 Harlequin Rasboras, 4 Scissortail Rasboras, 4 Black Skirt Tetras, 3 Clown Loaches, 3 Peppered Cories, 2 Spotted Cories, 1 lonely little Cardinal Tetra, 2 SAE's, and a Black Swordtail.

[pinkertd]

I agree with Bob and Erin. He might be wondering where the other angels went too. Give him some time to get comfortable with his new surroundings. He will be eating like a little piggy in no time, no doubt! Looks like a nice angel from your picture.

[archer772]

What I have found with the many tanks of angels that I have raised is that the smaller ones dont usually go for blood worms at least untill they get some size on them so what I do is feen them brine shrimp and flakes untill they get some size on them. I know what everybody is going to say that brine shrimp is not nutritional but it has always worked for me.

[gatotsu77]

I agree with Bob and Erin. He might be wondering where the other angels went too. Give him some time to get comfortable with his new surroundings. He will be eating like a little piggy in no time, no doubt! Looks like a nice angel from your picture.

Thanks! :-D I sure hope the little guy does start eating soon... has me slightly stressed atm, but I'm also very anxious to see how he develops into his adult size. Do angels retain their juvenile coloring? Or do they kinda morph?

[pinkertd]

Mine always retained their coloring....just got more beautiful as they got bigger. I was just thinking that like Erin says the angel may not have been fed frozen bloodworms before. Just stick to flakes for a while until he's eating really good for you. Then see if he'll go for them. Once he discovers how good they are, he'll go crazy for them. Don't stress, he just looks a little timid and lost in your photo. Some fish fit into their new environment like it was always their home, some take a few days!

[gatotsu77]

I just ate a nice turkey dinner and was all relaxed and happy... until I didn't see my angel anywhere in my tank. Of course, I got freaked out, since I've been worried about the little guy, so I started looking around more, and he was stuck in my hornwort, barely breathing. I gently moved the hornwort so he could break free, and he was just free-floating in the water, almost uncontrollably. He's still breathing, and making an attempt to move around with his pectoral fins, but he's not really able to do anything else. I've used a brine net to scoop him up to the top and get him into a protected area away from things he can get caught on and away from most of the current from the filters, and still he's just hovering just under the surface of the water, tail straight down, floating in slow circles as the water current in the tank flows. Am I going to lose this fish? I don't have an iso tank I can move him to, nor do I have a breeder net anymore. (someone picked it up while I was working on my 55 to change it to sand, and its been missing since) The water is 82F, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 5.0 nitrates, 7.6 ph, 25ppm gh. All of my other fish are healthy. The thought which has me worried at the moment is that I got this angel from petsmart the day after they got their shipment of fish. (huge mistake on my part)

[gatotsu77]

Sorry for being such a worry wort, but now the angel is just laying in the bottom of the net I have him in (6"x8" and about 3" deep) and hardly breathing... I'm really dreading waking up to discover that my angel is dead... :-X

[silentskream]

try garlic.

boil a clove of garlic in a small amount of water, then pour the garlic water over some food.. freeze dried works best for this trick.. but pellets area close second.
let it soak for a minute,
then dump it in the tank.

garlic is a natural appetite stimulant (and anti parasitic too)

[gatotsu77]

Well, as I had feared, I woke up to discover that my new little angel gave up the will to live. He/She was dead in the bottom of the breeder net I put it in last night. I decided to go back and get a replacement, this time looking specifically for a fish which was highly active and a voracious feeder. (asked the employee to feed them in front of me so I could see which ones were lethargic vs which ones really wanted the food) I'm hoping the new one does better. RIP little buddy.

Here's a picture of the new angel. (little bugger is much more active... took me like 20 shots to get one semi-decent one... and this picture still kinda sucks)

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/animefan73/newangel.jpg

[gatotsu77]

Finally, some reassurance! The new angel is already going after food and is happily exploring the tank. :-) Looks like I finally got a keeper! :-D

[Lupin]

That's a nice angel.:thm: Sorry about your loss.

[gatotsu77]

Thanks, I'm hoping this one has a better chance than the last one. I'd hate to lose another one... :-(

[gatotsu77]

Just a quick update on the new angel. He/She is doing very well. (when it matures a bit I'll be able to say difinitively which to call it... for now its neutral) Its fighting my tetras and loaches at the surface for any incoming food, and once all of that is gone, it'll go down to the bottom of the tank and fight the loaches/cories for the sinking food I toss in as well. Crazy little bugger loves to eat, and this has me VERY happy. I was really worried with the first one not eating, and though I understand that often a fish introduced into a new environment may not be eager to eat for a few days, I had never actually had that happen before. I'm glad to say that this one seems to be doing MUCH better than the angel I had for a grand total of 3 days before it passed on.

[DavidZ]

Good luck, I have lost a few angels in the past, if there is room I like to get more then one at a time and have the lights off for 12hrs. I do add salt to the tank.

[Star_Rider]

Just an FYI

I keep and raise angels..I learned long ago that it is wise with them to QT for atleast 4-6 weeks. during the qt treat for internal parasites.angels are notoriously carries of camillanus and capillaria parasites..especially true of domestic raise.
wild usually are treated as wild seem to also be prone to internal parasites.



your first little angel may not have been eating from the lfs..these are pretty young
young angels are usually pretty sturdy and ship better than adults and usually acclimate better.
once they get past this and reach adults they are pretty hardy.
btw young angles are much like discus in feeding..I feed young angels 4Xday until about 50 cent sized(body)
good luck

[gatotsu77]

Just an FYI

I keep and raise angels..I learned long ago that it is wise with them to QT for atleast 4-6 weeks. during the qt treat for internal parasites.angels are notoriously carries of camillanus and capillaria parasites..especially true of domestic raise.
wild usually are treated as wild seem to also be prone to internal parasites.



your first little angel may not have been eating from the lfs..these are pretty young
young angels are usually pretty sturdy and ship better than adults and usually acclimate better.
once they get past this and reach adults they are pretty hardy.
btw young angles are much like discus in feeding..I feed young angels 4Xday until about 50 cent sized(body)
good luck

If I still had a QT tank, I certainly would have isolated at first. (my folks got tired of there being an extra tank hanging around, so they made me get rid of it) I've been feeding twice a day, and the angel is always eager to eat. I'm hoping like heck this one isn't carrying any parasites, and that the last one didn't potentially infect my tank. :wall:

[Star_Rider]

luckily most of the anti parasite meds are not to hard on the fish..most don't even notice them.

I discovered mine had camillanus after I treated with jungle antiparasite fizz..usually pretty effective but not effective on camillanus or capillaria.(levamisoleHcl or flubenzadole/fenbenzadole )
flubenzadole is extremely effective on internal parasitic worms..and will kill the eggs.
but you may have to get that from a vet.

you can cross your fingers and hope for the best but watch the lil one as long as it is eating it'll be fine.
BTW, I discovered that when infected ..angels can survive for weeks without eating.

[gatotsu77]

luckily most of the anti parasite meds are not to hard on the fish..most don't even notice them.

I discovered mine had camillanus after I treated with jungle antiparasite fizz..usually pretty effective but not effective on camillanus or capillaria.(levamisoleHcl or flubenzadole/fenbenzadole )
flubenzadole is extremely effective on internal parasitic worms..and will kill the eggs.
but you may have to get that from a vet.

you can cross your fingers and hope for the best but watch the lil one as long as it is eating it'll be fine.
BTW, I discovered that when infected ..angels can survive for weeks without eating.

How would I procure flubenzadole from a vet? (if I happened to need it... not planning to get it currently) Would I have to prove that I have an ill fish? Or could I just tell them what's going on and ask for it directly?

[Star_Rider]

I just asked the vet for it and she asked what it was for..then explained it to her..no problems(since she treats all my cats and dogs..)

these are meds commonly used by some breeders and importers..many vets are aware of this.