Bent fins on Angelfish?

erin14

erin14

Canadian, Eh?
Aug 7, 2007
638
0
0
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
My marble angel has grown considerably since I got him about 2 months ago. When i first got him he was about the size of a quarter and is now a bit bigger then a canadian dollar. Anyway, you can really notice the growth in his fins but they're somewhat bent at the tips of his dorsal and anal(??) fin and also on his pelvic(the long "feelers") fins too. They weren't like this when I got him 2 months ago but since he has grown his fins have become like this. Hes in my 20g. until hes big enough to go into the 50g. He eats fine and is very active! (not so active right as he somehow got stuck between the breeder net and the glass..kinda stressed i think, not sure how long he was like that). Water params are good, just tested: nitrites 0, nitrates between 5 and 10 (its a color between the 5 and 10 mark on the chart) and ammonia is stable at 0. I do weekly water changes of about 30-40%. Any clues why his fins are bent? Heres a few pics...the first one is a "before" picture when I first got him and the last 3 are what i took today. Sorry about the crappy quality (water spots, kinda blurry), wasn't trying to get a POTM photo, just a photo where you could see what i'm talking about. Thanks!

recent (march) 006.jpg angelfish 001.jpg angelfish 002.jpg angelfish 003.jpg
 
Ummm as of this moment only flakes. I was feeding frozen bloodworms occasionally but i'm all out and have not gone to get more.
 
ummmm just a bit over 7...i think it was like 7.3 or something close to that. What are you thinking? Will his fins straighten out or is there something wrong here?
 
hum, to me is just normal, it's just a defec in the dna, and it might be it's in the blood, the fins grow like that is very normal so alots of angels
 
The first picture shows an angel that was raised in overcrowded conditions. The eye being disproportionately large to the body gives this away. If the eye were smaller and the fins chopped as they were it would indicate poor water quality, ammonia will often do this to the fins of angel fry.

If this is the angel in the tank in your sig you have too many fish in the tank to counteract the rough start this fish had. The extensions on the tail that are growing show that there is no problem with aggression from other tankmates, these are often the first to get nipped. The eye/body ratio is still off, showing some stunting, which is not due to anything you have done.

The best bet would be to get this fish into a larger tank by itself, a 20 high would work well. Plain flake will not cut it, bloodworms once or twice weekly, frozen or fresh brine shrimp a couple of times weekly, along with bringing the temperature up to the mid 80’s will help with fin & body growth. Plan on doing 50% water changes weekly with this tank, and since you will be aiming for a higher protein diet fasting for 1 day out of 7 will keep any constipation worries away.

IMO a fish like that should not have been sold. Standard fin angels are easier to bring up than veils, and marbles are not a particularly tough genotype. I breed marbles, among other varieties, here’s a quick pic of a growout tank pre-cull. Just by the crappy pic I’m seeing at least 3 that ended up in the oscar tank;


dsc017331ze9.jpg
 
I have since moved the Angel to my 50g. A bit earlier then I wanted/planned too but its all done now. Do you think his fins will stay bent like that? Will he continue to grow and do okay? Thanks for the help. :)
 
Tough call on the fins straightening. Large water changes and a high protein diet like I mentioned are the best shot.
 
Diet and water play an important part of growth.

I feed juvenile angels several feedings per day.
over crowded tank conditions(as mentioned) may also result in this..usually at a breeder.
unfortunatly if you got this from a LFS it is common to see this.

a breeder would probably not sell a fish like this to a customer..some breeders will sell them at low prices to LFS.
one reason I don't get my fish (particulalry angels and Discus ) from LFS..you will see the culls being sold..
a good breeder would prob cull the fish.
there is probably nothing un healthy other than this bent fin..diet may fix it others have actually trimmed off the bent portion and allowed it to grow back..if it grows back straight..prob not a genetic problem.

genetic may play a part of this.I say if you just leave it be the angel will probably be fine..just have a slightly bent fin ;)
 
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