New Angel update: good and bad news plus some rookie questions

Per sticky#2 format:

1. 90 gallons
2. Water parameters unchecked for 5 days. After joining and reading through these foroms I will no longer rely on "you're water is great" when the LFS checks it. I will be buying a test kit next chance I get.
3. Fresh water
4. The tank is well established @ 7 months.
5. loach, pictus catfish, pleco, 8 tetras, dwarf gurami, 8 snails, two angels.
All fish are medium except for small angels.
6. no quarantine other than 10 minute float in a bag for temp acclimitization.
7. 79 degree temp ( I live in Florida)
8. 1/2 plastic 1/2 plant with driftwood piece (eventually moving to 100% plant). Gravel is pebble, florite plant gravel around new plants. {What can I say? I originally did'nt think I'd do natural plants, but I'm now facinated by them.
9. 405 Fluval filter (lovely system)
10. none
11. Lighting goes from sunup to about an hour or two after sunset.
12. I gravel vac 40% every other week.
13. I feed daily, but not much.
Tetracolor flakes mainly, Spectrum cichlid food at times, and for this emergency I am using Jungle anti-bacteria, medicated fish food.
14. I won the fin rot battle. Regeneration is occurring quicker than I expected. my marble angel is totally cured and doing well. My yellow angel went from brink of death to eating; however, she (guess)
still swims vertically. The marble swims near the yellow (pairing?).
15. medicated food and melafix.



Thats the good news and bad news.

Now the questions

1. My intuition screams for a water change. I really did a heck of a lot of overfeeding to get food to the yellow angel. It worked, but I yucked up my tank a bit with too much food. (My catfish is now obese)

2. Although overjoyed for its recovery, this is day 5 now of the crisis, and the fish still doesn't swim as it should despite growing fins. I really don't think it's swim bladder disease, but I am new to fish doctoring.


I know I shouldn't take in poor stock, but the little critter stole my heart at first sight. I want it cured.

I would hate to do a water change only to stress out the poor little angel. I just know.

I went ahead with a 35% WC. God that was a relief. The yellow angel lived through it.

It's now lights off, and it's too late to service my filter (no biggie, I'll get that first thing tomorrow)

Thanks folks. I'm super glad I found this website. :woot:

7:30 AM update

Although still swimming vertical-ish, the yellow is roaming the tank in search of food, mostly off the bottom. It moves horizontal-ish when it moves more quickly. Fins are growing back, and the fish is eating.:nilly:

Is it my imagination, or is the marble angelfish 'guarding' its tankmate?:huh:

A picture says a thousands words

One week: from brink of death to 1000%!:dance2:




This website is fantastic! There are soooooo many distressed fish threads in here. The advice I got from you folks was spot on, and gave me a great second opinion from the great folks at my LFS who were saying pretty much the same things.

I learned a lot and have started recommending this site to others. A special thanks to H2O Gal and XanAvaloni!