Injured Angel?

[zekni]

I have an angelfish about 5" that was given to me when me when my parent's tank broke over a year ago. I've never been particularly fond of angels and didn't have a tank for it, but my parents swore up and down that eventually they were going to get another tank and take the thing back.
It went in my 125gal with an oscar, convict, bp and two plecos.
Thanksgiving day, many many months after introducing the angel, to the best of my ability to figure out the oscar had enough of sharing space with the convict and angel (who occupied one half of the tank, while the oscar claimed the other) and I came home to find a broken heater, the convict chewed up and hiding in a wood stump and the angel missing fins, its upper lip and swimming upside down.
To make a long story short, I felt guilty and bought the angel a 5.5gal tank. A few days after the incident it stopped swimming altogether and just laid on its side on the bottom of the tank. I figured it couldn't be long before it died. However, dosed with melafix and marine salt and tons of water changes since... the thing is STILL alive, its fins and upper lip have long since healed totally, but it still does nothing but lay on its side on the bottom of the tank. I've been adding liquid fry food thinking it might be able to eat that.. but really don't know if it's ingested anything since november.
Has anyone ever run into this sort of thing before? should I expect it to ever get up and swim like a normal fish again? Or just let it live for as long as its going to live on its side?

[SBee]

I don't really know much of anything specific about angels.....

but sounds to me like a 5.5 gallon tank might be a bit too small for a 5 " angel!!

(I'm imagining my 3" angels in my 10gal....not a pretty picture)

[zekni]

How much room does one 5" angel that does nothing but lay on its side on the bottom of the tank need? Besides, anything bigger and I'd waste a lot of liquid food trying to feed the thing.

[inxs]

It sounds like an injury to the swimbladder in which case the angel will spend the rest of it's days like that.

One thing people do with distorted swimmingability is feed mashed peas to clear any intestinal problem(works like a laxative). IME angels and discus are probably the two fish most affected by swimbladder disorder.

Live food often helps to get fish to eat, try blackworms or mosquito larva.

The only other thing I could suggest would be putting it in a bigger tank with some current to sort of force it to start swimming and train it's muscles to get the balance back (just shooting in the dark ).

[zekni]

How would I go about feeding it mashed peas? It makes no effort to eat. Would I net if and try a get some in its mouth?

[inxs]

I would mash the peas and strain them , that done - load a syringe and try forcefeeding.

Though as I mentioned I don't think it is correctable if it is an injury.

[Slappy*McFish]

I would put the angel out of it's misery.

[zekni]

I did try to put it out of it's misery intitially after about two weeks when I didn't think it would get any better and was still expecting it to die any day. I put it in the freezer in a bag, but gave in to guilt after about ten minutes because of the way it was going crazy. I figured if it could swim (albeit irratically) in the bag there may be hope for it. Or it would die from the stress of being chilled and put back in the tank. Out of the bag, right back to the bottom. Still alive months later. I don't have the heart to do it again. I'll try the pea thing.

[saturday]

I know this is an old thread, but I came across it while doing a search for my similar problem, only my fish did not get injured. I've had this adult angelfish for two years +, in a 20 gal with 3 black skirt tetras and 2 otos and a yoyo. It has been fine up to tonight, when it has started swimming crazy- upside down, spiraling down and sideways, running into the driftwood- totally out of control. It has also spent a few minutes now and again laying against a rock. It has not been injured or have anything happen to it. It was eating fine a couple of hours ago when I fed them the normal flakes I always feed (sometimes dried bloodworms as well). How or why would a swim bladder problem suddenly occur? And do you really think "force feeding mashed peas" would really help? I could try it but I'd like to get some back up on that or other ideas.

[Harry Tolen]

Your problem does not sound like it is swim bladder related. It sounds more like heavy metal contamination. No one dropped a penny into your tank, did they? In any case, I would try water changes, starting immediately.

[saturday]

Thanks for answering- I just did a 50% water change (nitrates at 10 ppm before the water change) This is a planted tank and 11 days ago I added three Flourish Tabs to the gravel. They are all still covered up, (although the gravel is only about 2 inches deep), I've never used these before, do you think that is what is causing it? (no one has been here for the last couple days to add anything I wouldn't know about, like a penny or something)