Angel fish acting very funny

[Tinafina]

I've owned a pair of angels for over a year now, the male has been acting quite bizarre, noticed him swimming nose up in the corner of the tank for days. Now he swims low to the sand and sometimes lays on his side, just for a few seconds. Seems like he can't see the food when it's right in front of him too. I see him eat stuff that floats past him but he dismisses the blood worms. I thought, could he be blind now? But everything appearance wise looks very normal. Help, I feel bad and I want to fix it.


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[Fishfur]

Does it appear as though he's having some trouble swimming properly ? Any new introductions to the tank recently ? If he is the only fish with symptoms, water is probably ok, but what are the parameters ? Any sign of swelling on this fish ?

 

[Tinafina]

Swimming fine other than the laying down at times, absolutely no swelling. Fins look fine. My tank was in great condition till 2-3 mo ago I introduced new fish and they all came down with ick. I added ick free drops and conditioned the water. Ick free. Few weeks later the angel is acting abnormal. He just stays in the corner lots of times, completely out of character.


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[Tolak]

Typical angel behavior for internal protizoans. You'll need a med tank you can heat to 90F, a 10 gallon will work fine. Pick up some metronidazole, dose at 40mg/gallon, daily 50% water changes & remed, 10-14 days. Don't try feeding until the 3rd day, get some frozen brine shrimp, sprinkle a little metro on it, feed only this once daily.

This is so common with angels that metro is one of the few meds I keep on hand. hexamita/spironucleus are a common part of the digestive flora of many fish, cichlids and particularly discus & angels are more prone to this. Add a bit of stress, the fish's natural immunity drops, they get out of control. New fish & ich meds were probably the stress that caused this, though I'd watch for any aggression from other tankmates.

I see this most often in pairing tanks, a pair forms, aggression & territorial behavior is there, sometimes one of the non-paired fish gets a little too stressed over it all. Catch it early & it's an easy fix, if they mouth the food & spit it out they're on the road to recovery.

 

[ppo8820]

Sadly when a tank gets ich, the treatment is often very stressful and opens fish up to getting other ailments. This is most likely what happened with your angel. Next time you get ich, ditch the meds and just heat the tank to 86 degrees for 10-14 days. This will kill the parasite and anything else that can harm them usually. Its less stressful and angels actually prefer the higher temps. They do not do well with meds I have found. Heat is all you need. I was doubtful, but it cleared up my tank and my angel never even caught it, even though other fish in tank had it.

 

[Tinafina]

Thank you for your response, would it be possible the angel will get better on its own? He seems to still have trouble with the sideways swimming although he is looking a little more alert and able to eat a smidgen better.


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[Tinafina]

is this the same thing as metrolozone (sp)?


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[Tolak]

View attachment 256290 is this the same thing as metrolozone (sp)?


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Not even close. Seachem sells it as Metroplex, Hex A Mit is another common one found in shops.

 

[Tinafina]

this Is the one I purchased. Please tell me it is comparable.


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[Tolak]

Comparable yes, but having a hard time finding the concentration of metronidazole in that product.

 

[Tinafina]

Fish has been in sick tank for about 1hr now. His progression looks worse. But still alive.
Reminding me of halibut.


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[Tinafina]

Metro Is working!!


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