what's wrong with my angel?

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rdelbalso

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Jan 13, 2003
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I have 4 angels in my 20 gal tank. I also have 3 zebra danios, a rainbow shark and a pictus cat. They have all gotten along fairly well until lately. I think the danios are bothering the angels because they tend to hang out closer to the bottom of the tank rather than higher. I decided to eventually transfer the danios to my new tank when I set it up hopefully this week. With that understanding I added a dwarf pleco to take care of the algae. I added him on Saturday and the angels have been acting strange since. When I walk up to the tank instead of coming to the top in a group, they are getting all skittish and a couple of them are actually running into the walls and the gravel, one seems to be breathing rapidly and is stressed. They also splash at the top like they are trying to get away. Are they ok or sick? What can I do?
Thanks for the help.
 

Barbie

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How long has this tank been set up? How often do you do water changes? That's a pretty good bioload for a 20 gallon tank, if your fish are adult or near adult size. The symptoms you're describing sound like a problem with the water parameters, or the introduction of the new fish without proper quarantine procedures.

Barbie
 

rdelbalso

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Jan 13, 2003
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It has been set up for about 4 months without any prior problems. I do 25% water changes every other week, but top off about a gallon a week. I keep an eye on the water chemistry. The amonia is zero, the nitrates are steady at 5ppm and the pH has been steady at roughly 7.4. The water is clear. The temp is 76 F. I also feed them live worms instead of flake food which everyone seems to prefer. I realize its a lot of bioload, that's why I want to take out the danios and eventually move the angels to a 29g that I just got.

Regarding quarantine, I do not have a quarantine tank. Also, I have read mostly that you just need to acclimate the new fish before adding. I do not add the bag water, just the fish.
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rdelbalso

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Jan 13, 2003
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I forgot to state the fish sizes. The danios are 1 to 1-1/2", the Pictus cat, rainbow shark and pleco are all 3" and the angels are (3) roughly 1-3/4" to 2", (1) 2-1/2".

I was told roughly 1" per gallon and with a healthy tank you can go slightly more. The fish store I go to is excellent. I went to roughly 10 before I realized this one is way above the rest, and they said this would be ok for a while, but I would have to move some to a different tank before they grow any more.
 

Dobermann

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Oct 23, 1998
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Well

It seems to me like they are now a little afraid of you due to the splashing around in the tank you did with trying to catch the danios, etc.

Give them a couple of days and once they see that they aren't next they should settle down.

That is given that the water parameters haven't changed recently.


My Angels actually hang out near the bottom/middle also so don't worry about that.

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rdelbalso

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Jan 13, 2003
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I haven't taken the danios out yet, I plan to within a week. I only added the pleco. The angel that I am most nervous about is an all white(but not albino) angel, with a little black on the fins and eyes. He is redder than normal around his gills and pectoral fins, and has a reddish area at the base of his dorsal fin which I have never noticed before. I haven't been able to get a great look at him because he has been hiding all day from me.

Yours look great from what I could see, very pretty angels. On a side note, how can you sex the angels?
Thanks
 

Dobermann

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Oct 23, 1998
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hmm

Well if it is just one fish acting that way and it appears ill. Then it is likely an introduced infection of some sort. Funny thing is i did the same thing. I added a Farlowella (pleco) to my tank w/o quarantining first and lost one of five Angelfish to ick.

It was the first time I experienced first hand how important quarantining is.

So.......

I am clueless on how to sex Angels. Due to their exotic shape it is vitually impossible until they are mature.

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