Eating disorder or something else?

[longhorn]

One of my angel fish (the most beautiful one) has refused to eat for a few days. Everything time I feed the fish, while other fishes all rush to the food to get a bite, he was swimming away as if he was not interested in the food at all. I have not change the food at all and everything seems to be very normal with him. He swims up and down gracefully just as always and there is no abnormal sign shows up on his body. However, he seems to be pretty panicky lately, trying to stay away from any fish, large or small, swiming toward him. By the way, he is in the same tank with 4 other angels and whole bounch of tetres. However, he is the smallest angel I have in the tank (55g).

[thom336]

this most likely sounds like a case of bullying by the other angels. although this is not as common in angels as it is in discus and alike, it does still happen. of course it could be something else, some kind of disease, but from what you say it sounds most like bullying. do not remove the fish from the tank, but try and identify the main culprits (its obvious it is the other angels if anyone...but try and find out which ones in particular) and remove them. at the moment this angel that is being bullied (that is asuming it is) is seen as at the bottom of the chain, and removing it woont make things better. however, removing the culprits would disrupt the chain order they have, and give this fish a chance to move up so to speak and feel more confident before the culprits are replaced. to help its growth, feed more protein foods such as tetra prima, and live, frozen or freeze dried foods.

i hope this helps...and if you have no space to house the fish that would need isolation, then putting a divider up in the tank would be the next best thing.

[longhorn]

Thanks for the suggestion. I agree with your assessment. I added this poor guy along with another small black angel fish to my main tank about 2 months ago. Quickly, the black angle outgrew the victim. Although from time to time the black angel picks on the smaller guy, they two of them seem to get along pretty well in general. They actually feed together for quiet a while.

I only notice the eating problem couple of days ago. The little angel does seem to take cover often, either in the dark area of the tank or in between plants. I am just wondering how all in the sudden he got scared so much. Plus, when you say isolation, do you mean isolate the bully?

[thom336]

yea...removing the victim wont help, it would just agrovate things more when you try and re-introduce him.

[Rometiklan]

Occasionally, Angels have been known to go on hunger strikes. They will refuse to eat food, and they can appear quite anemic after a time. While bullying might be a possible cause of the hunger strike, I would also consider other possibilities.

Can you tell us something about your set-up? Since it's been up and running for at least 2 months, I will assume it is properly cycled. Is your tank overstocked? What type of filtration do you have? What is your Angel's diet, and some of your water parameters? Ammonia? Nitrite? Nitrate? pH? And specifically your temperature.

I've been keeping and raising Angels for a few years now, and I find a brief rise in temperature to about 82-84 degrees will stimulate an Angel's appetite. Also, adding some form of live food, like blackworms or brine shrimp will also trigger its feeding.

How often do you change your water? I would also do a large water change, on the order of 30-50%. This might not get your Angel eating again, but it will help reduce the nitrates in the water, which could be the cause of the hunger strike.

Let us know how it goes.

[thom336]

since it is only the one angel that is showing the symptons, i would not put it down to a water problem, or alike. however, they are worth considering as if the fish is weaker than the others then it may just be showing the symptons sooner. they are points to ponder.

[longhorn]

My tank has been up and running for more than a year now. It is a 55g tank with 5 angels (3 3-4" and 2 1.5"), 2 silver dollars (3-4"), 1 pleco (6"), 3 clown loach (1"), 3 cory cats (2"), 2 gouramis (3") and 2 black skirt tetris (1.5"). They have been living together for a while except the 2 small angel were added 2 month ago and the 3 small clown loach were added 2 weeks ago. Can this be the reason for the hunger strike?

The temp. of the tank has been from 74 - 78 degrees. I change 10 to 15% of the water every 2 weeks. The water is about 7.4 Ph and nitrite and Nitrate are both normal. I normally give them Tetramin flake as regular food and occationally some frozen brine shrimp. However, the fishes do not seem to like the treat too much. They like the flake better.

[thom336]

the tank sounds good for now...but alot of the occupants do still have alot of growing to do, especially in the case of the angels, pleco dependent on type and clown loaches. so you may experiance future problems from that.

[longhorn]

I was watching my fishes closely last night. I actually did not see the victim swim away from any of the other angels in the tank. However, he just don't seem to be interested in eating. When I feed them last night I made sure flakes are floating all over the tank. What I see is even there is no other fishes around him and there are plenty of flake floating around him, he is still not eating.

Unless everything happens when I was not watching, I really don't see much of aggression from others to him. After all, he is a angel, there are other fishes in my tank that suppose to be weaker than him. :confused:

[thom336]

if there was something seriously ill with your angel fish then your pleco would suck onto its side and kill it. some people say this is a myth about plecos doing that...as they say that they keep them together happily without probs, when in actual fact plecos only 'attack' angels and discus if they are weak or ill. if this hasnt happened, then i would still go with the bullying idea...or you may just have a pleco that doesnt carry out this behavior. im feeling more inclined to advice you to remove the victim here for its own good. but there is then the chance that, if it is bullying, then the bullies would pick on the next weakest. its a tough call...and all really depends on the spare space you have available for isolation. of course, back to the pleco topic, since plecos are nocternal, you may be missing the action....

[longhorn]

Interesting. You mean the pleco can help to clear out the weakest ciclid in the tank?

[thom336]

no, just the disc shaped ones, and even then not every pleco displays this behaviour.

[longhorn]

That is very interesting. You know, one thing I noticed is that when they fall into sleep, the angels always stay together, even the two little angels who sometimes have issues with each other. Is that a protective measure agaist attact or just by chance?

By the way, the angel is still not eating, but still looks pretty healthy. I am kind of wondering maybe he is under some sort of transformation. It is a zebra angel with very fins an flexible body. Looks really nice.

[thom336]

angels are, by instinct, a shoaling fish...and so find protection in groups. they feel safer together. so that is what is going on there i believe. what do you mean by transformation? im not quite sure what you mean by that.

[longhorn]

What I mean is maybe he is preparing for a new stage of his life, maybe like worm to butterfly :p ? Just a wild guess since really see nothing wrong with the zebra angel.

[thom336]

Originally posted by longhorn
Just a wild guess since really see nothing wrong with the zebra angel.

eh?

[longhorn]

I mean except noting eating. I actually tried to use some live food to entice him to take a bite. But he is still swiming away from the food. As cool as he has been for a few days:rolleyes:

You know, I was told by a friend of mine that fishes will not die for not eating along. Is this true? At the meanwhie, i am trying to find a new tank to house this guy just in case it is stress that take him out.

[thom336]

fish can survive for very long periods of time without food...it is a requirement to do so in the wild, when regular feeds are not always so easily available. i always recommend missing a feed or two every couple of weeks, as it helps the fish to digest its food more easily not being constantly fed. if your angel is begining to look better, then maybe this was 'just one of those things'.

[longhorn]

Yeah, I normally skip a feed once a week so they can fast and get healthier. So far he still looks OK. Sometimes, I feel he is looking for food at the surface, but when I really feed the fish, he quickly swim away.

By the way, can fish survice by "drinking" the tiny food particles floating in the water. I mean particles that we won't even see.

[hitz2b]

I have a black phantom tetra that I've never seen eat. He hangs out in the back of the tank in the plants, but he is still kicking and seems to be doing well after a month. Your angel may be eating when you don't know it.

[longhorn]

That is the reason I am asking if floating food particles in the water will keep fish alive. When I feed my fishes. Trust me, in second, the food will be gone, I mean any visible food. Although I feed my fish 6 days a week, they always appear to be not eating for years. :mad: