Angel in trouble

[apotocki]

Any ideas?

1~What type of fish is afflicted?
Striped Angel, about 4 inches


In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).

About 4 days ago I noticed that one of my Angels (and I have 5 all about 4-5 inches) started not eating and hanging out away from the others in my plants. I also noticed that the belly area appeared to be getting bloated (thought maybe she(?) was pregnant)...much like a very full stomach that they get after they eat. Well, each day I've been monitoring her (?) and she is not eating at all yet the belly area appears to be getting more bloated. Today, while I was performing a water change, I noticed that she started drifting and floating around the tank kinda upside down......all this while, her color has remained find and actually aside from the bloated stomach looks fine. I think I'm gonna lose her and I'm very curious if anyone has any idea's. All the other fish appear to be fine.


2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.

Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 5 or so
PH = 7.0
Water Temp = 80

3~ How large is the tank?

70 gallon tall
How long has the tank been set up?

6 months
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.

Rena XP3 canister

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?

Around 36
5 Angels - all around 4-5 inches
13 Rasboras
6 Rummies
3 Blue Rams
2 Clown Loaches - about 3 inches
3 Cory's
3 Siamese Algae Eaters
1 Gold Nugget Pleco - about 4 inches

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?

30 % water change 2x week. Vacuum gravel every other week

7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?

No new for over a month

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?

Nope

9A~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?

AM - TetraMin Pro Flakes and Bio Blend pellets
PM - Blood worms, TetraMin Pro Flakes and Bio Blend pellets
Also every other evening - 1 algae wafer and a few shrimp pellets

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[Zagz]

Is the area around the swollen belly have any scales sticking out at all? If so I would guess she may have dropsy. Some say that adding aquarium salt can be helpful. I don't know if the salt would affect your other fish though. I have ADF's and always have to consider them when thinking of salt. ADF's don't tolerate salt.

 

[apotocki]

Nope, no scales sticking out....it appears 'normal' other than bloated/full. She is not going to make it as she is now upside down on the bottom. I don't expect her to be alive in the morning.

 

[Zagz]

I know how you feel, it's horrible when you can't figure out what is wrong and you can't save them. Do you have a qt you can put her in and raise the temp? Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will put their 2 cents in.

 

[Meredith]

Have you seen the angel have a bowel movement? Sounds to me like an intestinal blockage. Was he eating good before? It could be that he tried to eat something that got stuck.

 

[greenmaji]

have you tried feeding a blanched peeled pea?

 

[apotocki]

Lost the angel last night.....I have to wonder about the blockage idea. It makes sense as all other indications where normal.
I don't think that the blanched pea diet would have worked as the Angel was not interested in eating at all....she just hid in the plants.
Well, I still have my 4 Angels and hope that they will be OK.....all other fish look fine.

 

[Meredith]

Definitely keep an eye on your other angels. Try and see that their wast looks normal. If you start to notice white stringy bowel movements, you may be looking at internal parasites.
I am sorry for your loss. I hope your other angels continue on the healthy track

 

[Gunnie]

I am going through the same thing with one of my angels. I've had him in a 10 gal. hospital tank for over 2 weeks, and he's still clinging to life. He's been floating on his side at the top of the water all this time, and actually has a red spot where his body has dried out some from being out of the water for extended periods of time. What I was told to do was to get some stuff called metronidazole. I think Seachem makes it, but couldn't find it anywhere around here. Next I went to all the fish stores until I found a product from aquarium pharmaceuticals called "general cure" which contains metronidazole as an ingredient. After using this product for a few days, the swollen belly went down, but he's still sideways. I was told to try throwing in a handful of epsom salt into the tank to try and dislodge an intestinal blockage if there was one. He is still laying sideways, but he's alive. He's not eating though, and that worries me. I love that fish!

You may also want to consider adding a little minced garlic juice slowly into their diet by soaking the food in it, and gradually get to where you are throwing in the minced pieces as well. It's supposed to be great to ward of internal parasites, and I've even heard it helps prevent ich, because the fish "taste bad".