My new angelfish died... mysteriously

[vigesimal]

You can see the rest of my tank in my signature below, but suffice it to say, I bought 2 small angelfish, $10 each, and six days later one was dead without any indications anything was wrong.

Tank was cycled for months, here are the stats of chemicals:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10 or 20
pH - 8.0
gH - 300
kH - 240
(I could be wrong on the last two - that's from memory - but I know I have very hard water with a high alkalinity)

These levels NEVER change. The other fish are fine, including the other angel.

So the only thing I can think of is that I got a weak fish! Worse thing is the LFS I went to, which prides itself on being the best in my area (they only do fish), only has a 48 hour guarantee! Petsmart has a 14 day! I got half my fish from Petsmart only because they're around the corner from me and it was convenient, but now I think I'll be going to them from now on!

Needless to say, I'm upset.

 

[Holly9937]

Thats too bad, but it does happen occasionally. It doesn't sound like any fault of your own, just keep an eye on the other one for any odd behavior you may have missed

 

[gabrielandco.]

hmmmm, could have already been stressed and weak. you never know. but, since it happened...doyou know what the stores water parameters are? perhaps, just to be extra careful, acclimate new angels longer to your water...add small amounts of your tank water over a longer period...you will never know why your angel died, and i am very sorry, but it wouldn't hurt to try this.

anothaer suggestion- do you know anyone who breeds angels in the same water tyype that you have, say the same town and they just treat the tap, no r.o....? the fry MAY survive your hard water/alkalinity better than those bred in soft water. at least, that was the consensus view at my lfs where i used to live with very hard water (off the charts even). the lfs didn't like ordering angels from wholesalers, he actually said florida, and that he had a higher survival rate with locally bred fish. then again, they weren't experiencing shipping.

just some thoughts.

 

[CharlieV]

When I first got my P Altums I lost a couple - they were just weak and stressed.
I second the notion about finding local tank bred as they will be more used to the local water conditions.

I use RO water in my changes to reduce the PH in my tanks to 7.2. Angels are thriving in these conditions and my Scalare in the 30g just bred (but they ate the eggs!)

Think you must have had a poorly fish form the outset

 

[vigesimal]

I guess the consensus is I got a weak fish. Figures, he was the nicer looking one. 10 bucks gone!

doyou know what the stores water parameters are? perhaps, just to be extra careful, acclimate new angels longer to your water...add small amounts of your tank water over a longer period...

I tried to acclimate them for about an hour, putting a half cup of water every 5 to 10 minutes, then scooping them out into the tank (no bag water).

do you know anyone who breeds angels in the same water tyype that you have, say the same town and they just treat the tap, no r.o....? the fry MAY survive your hard water/alkalinity better than those bred in soft water.

This is why I'm considering PetSmart from now on. It's literally right down the road and we share the same water.

 

[gabrielandco.]

good luck! soundslike you did all you could. murphy's law always seems to hit my faves, also. so far, this time, so good....

 

[randalizm]

I tried to acclimate them for about an hour, putting a half cup of water every 5 to 10 minutes, then scooping them out into the tank (no bag water).

i do it like this...
after 15 minutes of floating the bag in the tank, i add 1/4 cup of tank water every 5 minutes untill the bag is full, then dump half of it down the drain and again add 1/4 cup every 5 minutes untill its full again, and then thats when i net the fish out and place into the tank.

 

[vigesimal]

An update

Well, the other one died last night. AND, I've lost a cory. LOST, as in, "where did he go?"

I thought I was doing everything right this time! I have no ammonia or nitrite, nitrates are below or at 20.

Only thing is my water is hard and pH is 8.0. I know angels don't LOVE that, but I've been reading the forums and I know they can survive.

I'm doing a thorough cleaing today so I can try to find my cory. I hope there isn't a disease in the tank. But all the other fish are fine! What gives?

 

[liv2padl]

is the chemistry of your water the same as or very similar to that of the LFS where you purchased these angels? this species can be sensitive to water chemistry and if your acclimation procedure wasn't sufficient, this could account for your problem.

 

[tlaug]

How small were the angels? i friend of mine that raised Angels told me never to buy angels smaller then a half dollar fin and all.