Trouble with Angel...

[Bittabit]

I just purchased a black veil angel at my LFS. He was active and has beautiful fins. I have had him for 3 days now and he just sits up at the back of the aquarium with his nose up at the top. I want to know if this is normal for a newly introduced angel. All of my other fish are tetras and they are not aggressive. :confused:

[PumaWard]

No it's not normal.

What is the tank size? Temperature? Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings? How big is it and what is the exact number and specie of its tank mates? Are there any external signs of disease (white spots, white-tipped shredded fins, bloated stomach)?

[Bittabit]

33 gallons, 80 degrees, LFS checked water and it is perfect, 15 tetras one cory, no visible signs of disease, like I said it looked perfectly healthy at the fish store.

[PumaWard]

What kind of tetras are they?


Personally, I think it sounds like ammonia posioning and I recommend doing a 50% water change as well as adding 2tbsp NaCl (table salt) for every 10g of water and see if it improves.

Were there any angels at the fish store doing this? Were they in the same tank as it?

[Bittabit]

Pristella, Lemon, Emporer. The ammonia level is nil. There were several other angels in the tank with it, none of them were doing this and when I brought my water sample in I checked them again and they all looked fine.

[PumaWard]

Okay, that's wierd.

I would still do the water change and add the salt. Many ways angels are like discus... clean water and salt does them both loads of good ;).

[Bittabit]

Thanks a bunch, I'll give it a go....will the salt hurt my little cory?

[KarlskidMarx]

Another thing to consider, are the parameters of you water (temp, ph, hardness) very different from where you purchased the fish?
Just a thought.

[Wrench]

sounds like it could be pH shock. If the pH varies between the stores tank and the water in your tank, the fish tend to get shocked and will act this way.

[scalare altum]

Or they could of been ill before they came!

Just a thought!

-Joel

[coolwade]

Thanks a bunch, I'll give it a go....will the salt hurt my little cory?

IME Corys don't tolerate salt at all.

[QCppg]

I have used tank salt with cories and never had problems...

I also had a black veil angel do this... It cleared up in a couple weeks, Ithink it was constipation (because it didn't eat or s***). The fish is now active and eats just as much as my other angels.

[PumaWard]

I have used more than the 2tbsp/10g salt recommendation in tanks with cories, kuhli loaches, and otos. None of them should ill effect and are still active and healthy 6 months later.

Also, if it is constipation as some one else pointed out, you can also treat with 1tbsp of epsoms salt (Magnesium sulfate, not table salt ! :) ) per 10g. If the fish doesn't poop with in 4 hours, you can add 1 more tbsp/ 10g and see if it helps, I doubt it will hurt anything.

[Bittabit]

I put in the table salt. The fish is not eating...so I bribed it with bloodworms. Got it to eat some. The fish at the fish store are all still healthy, saw them yesterday. The ph in the water in this town is 7.2 it does not vary at all. My tank temp is 80 degrees I am not sure what the temp is at the store. Thanks so much for all the info. I hope he gets better...he is so beautiful.