tank cycled, first fish, 8 little angles... but need advice

M

mistermog

AC Members
Apr 19, 2009
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Space Coast, FL
Hey guys and gals!

My first tank finally cycled (120g 5').. it was weird, 2 weeks of 2 nitrites and boom, down to 0 the next day. (sorry erin hehe)

so, after a week of checking to make sure, i went and got 8 baby angelfish. 4 marble veil, 2 striped veil, i think some kind of brown one with black edged fins, and a gold/blushing/albino (not sure). All about dime to nickel sized.

They have been in my tank now for about 16 hours, everyone is still alive, but they are weird. I did a drip acclimate, and they dont look weird, but they are all just huddling behind my castle in the corner of the tank.

Basically as far away from any currents as possible. I read they like still water, but they are even staying away from the eheim spraybar (pointed toward the surface to give as little current as possible) and the powerhead i have that pushes out quite a bit.

Does this mean they are afraid of the currents, or just scared cause its a new place and all?

every so often i see one brave angel (usually the same one) venture out into the tank. He can get to the other side, but he starts going backwards. I dont know if he's struggling or just chilling witht he flow.

Is it too early to know?

Here is the best picture I could take, i dont know how anyone can take pictures of fish!

PICT0307.JPG
 
What kind/size of filtration are you running? At that small size, and being just relocated, don't be surprised if they are timid and getting use to things.

Do you have a good liquid test kit?
 
Hey rbishop... yes, i have the API master kit... Ph is 7.0ish, ammonia and nitrites are 0, nitrates are 0-5. No phosphates.

I have an eheim 2028 canister, and a weipro power filter thing that pushes out a decent amount of water. I put in some frozen brine shrimp (1 cube) and could tell they were being moved all over the place, and last was behind the castle... so thats where the currents end.

I just dont want anything to happen to my lil guys. I cant use the baby food pellets I got because they are nowhere near the surface to see them and dont know im trying to feed them yet.

They are tiny, its making me nervous though. First experience with fish.
 
Can you get us a full tank shot? Maybe some more decor will break up the flow a bit.

But most likely it is a combo of being small and new to the tank, buddy.
 
that is a great tank for them! give them a couple days and they will get used to their new surroundings. small angels are usually a bit fragile, but you have a nice set up for them, and are doing the right things. I know it is hard not to worry over the precious little things, but as they grow they will become hardier and more bold!!! Nice tank, and great selection of angels!
 
Well, the question is... while they are shy and hiding, how do i feed them?

I put some brine shrimp in there and they dont move. they have to wait untilt he shrimp float over to them to eat. the little floating pellets are a joke, they have no idea they were being fed.

do i just do the shrimp for a little while while they are hiding?
 
It is a 120gal?? You might wanna consider getting some rummynose tetras or some other type of schooling fish. They will probably come more out of their shells if they see other fish swimming around and doing fine. IME angels are more midwater feeders, so anything that can float around is what they will go for. Might wanna try some bloodworms or some flakes that you wet down so they will sink. Hope this helps!
 
well, its 120 gallon and i want to get a black ghost knife and a pleco or two, not sure how much i can stock before i risk overloading it.

im running an eheim 2028 and thats it.

i turned off the lights and they seem to get more to mid tank level but still huddled in the bushes on the castle side.
 
From my experience its pretty normal for them to act like that when small / new. I remember when I first got mine I was worried about how they acted around the filter.

Maybe add some more tall plants through out the tank, it will give them some more places to hide behind. Also, unless you have real plants leave the lights off for a couple days until they are coming out more (mine also used to be afraid of the lights coming on).
 
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