Need help with Angels (fresh water)

[gil]

I am not new at aquarium fish and have kept angel fish for years, but I need help and thought I'd post here. About 4 months ago I purchased 4 small/medium angels and were doing very good, no aggression and all ate very well and growing at a nice rate.
Here is the problem, within the last month or so, I can't even get close to feed them, they will start thrashing around, banging into the glass etc etc. Where they used to relate someone getting near them to feed them
has now turned really ugly, they are full of scrapes, dings and dangs, they used to take front stage all the time, now they just hide. I personally never experienced this behavior before with angels.
The tank is a 55 gallon with some drift wood and rocks, temperature a constant 78-80 f. No other fish but the 4 angels in the tank.
Would love to hear some advice on this, I am ready to give these fish away.
Thank in advance
Gil

 

[tamtam]

Is this behavior just when someone goes near the tank? Are they showing aggression or any poor behavior with each other?

You said there is drift wood and rocks, what about plants? Do you have a pic of your tank?

They prefer a well planted tank and a lack of plant cover could be causing them to spook.

 

[gil]

There isn't any other reason than my presence in front of the tank when I feed them. Tank is well away from any home activities since its in the basement, no people other than my wife and I. This behavior recently started, they were the total opposite, as they grew they got more and more easily spooked to the point where they just hover in a corner behind the driftwood or thrash about very intensely when I approach the tank which is the opposite behavior of any angels I have owned in the past.
No aggression toward each other whatsoever.

 

[Rivercats]

I've kept angels for over 30 years and this is a new one for me. This may sound weird but could there be something around the angel tank that has spooked them, I don't know what but something like a cat tormenting them or something? Can you get some type of floating plant to see if that makes them feel more secure. I'm grasping at straws here because like you said angels don't act like that. I have 13 now adults in a 220g and they are the first to come running to people when they see them.

 

[tamtam]

I'd try more cover. It's all I got but I think it might be the prob. Add some moer plant cover and like Rivercats said try some floating plants. IT sounds like they are spooked, proving more plants can't hurt that's for sure.

 

[Wiggles24]

Yeah that is way weird angels are usually anything but shy

 

[marsh]

Does the basement shake when people walk overhead? I can feel the footsteps of men in the apartment above and I see the water surface on my tank vibrate like the water glass in Jurassic Park while they stomp around upstairs.

Your wife probably has softer footsteps so ask her to watch the fish while you stomp around and see if they react? Just an idea

 

[Zimmanski]

Sorry I'm no help, but I've experience some of what you're saying but not to your extent or duration. Mine absolutely FREAKED and bashed into the glass a couple times last time I wiped the glass down with one of those magnetic cleaner things. Maybe because they're away from all those family activities they've become less used to interacting with people and it spooks them now, but I'm saying that not knowing how often you guys are with your tanks or even if that happens with fish. Sorry to hear you're having troubles with them, angels are so amazing to have and watch, hate hearing you're not able to enjoy them

 

[Chris7495]

Mine to crazy when I use the magnet too but nothing like your saying. It has to be something around the tank that is scaring them. Do all of them display this behavior?

 

[Rivercats]

Mine to crazy when I use the magnet too but nothing like your saying. It has to be something around the tank that is scaring them. Do all of them display this behavior?

No they do not. I use the magnet about once a week and the angels just move out of the way and I have 13 angels in my tank. When trimming plants in the tank I've actually bumped into them as they are so darn nosey trying to get in to see what I'm doing. Not much bothers then at all except when someone or something bangs into the tank and then they jump (for lack of a better word) since they are startled but that is it. I've never had spooky angels. Angels tend to be pretty calm fish that tend to be tenacious not spooky.