Angelfish Breeding Pair won't eat anything but Frozen Food

[tiger27924]

1~My Koi Angelfish breeding pair has been doing great, 3 spawns thus far, although recently it seems something has stressed them out. They developed torn fins (but I have fixed that with Melafix and the removal of some plants I believe). However, I just recently bought this pair and I have never seemed to be able to get them to eat flake food or anything other than frozen brine shrimp and frozen bloodworms. I didn't think much of it, except they need a better diet than that, and now it seems that the female has lost her appetite for those foods, which is very bad news I really like these fish, and want them to spawn again (they ate their first batches, but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and let them try to raise them). Does anybody know what I have to do to get these fish to eat other foods (like flake, or cichlid food, I've tried it all)??? Do I need to just let them starve a little for a day or two and then try with flake? Any help would be appreciated
2~Right now my tank has 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, a pH of about 6.4, water softness at about 70 ppm, and I do a 25% PWC everyday (with the occasional day missed if Vet School requires me to stay late)
3~My tank is a 20 gallon high that has been setup for about 2-3 months I would say. It has a Hydro-sponge IV filter, 2 pieces of slate, and the angelfish (1 male and 1 female of breeding age (5-6inches tall)), as well as a 5 inch pleco which I am going to remove because I think it stresses the angelfish, especially when they want to spawn.

6~There is no gravel and the last water change I did was just now, and it was a 25% water change (5 gallons).
7~I've had the fish for about 1 month now. I purchased them on aquabid and the transitioning went fine with no hitches!
8~I recently removed a brazilian sword plant which was in a pot with gravel (which trapped debris and led to the fins rotting a little I believe). Other than that I have not modified the tank.
9A~I've been feeding them frozen brine and frozen bloodworms, and this is all they will eat....I would love to change their diet....I'm afraid they are lacking nutrients like Ca+......Thanks for any help!!

Tony Wolfe





Okay, so I've done a little more research and have noticed that the female's feces are stringy, somewhat clearish/white, and combined with her loss of appetite, I feel she may have an internal nematode from the genus Capillaria. The only problem is that the drugs I have found to use are called piperazine and levamisole, and since they won't eat flake food I wont' be able to make them eat the drug. Does anybody have recommendations of pet store drugs or any ideas on how I can cure my fish??? Thanks again

Tony

Update: Finally got a chance to use the microscope and I examined the feces of the female...turns out they were full of little flagellates (a protozoan). Upon further research, it appears that Angelfish are susceptible to Hexamita (an internal/external flagellate), and the symptoms exhibited by my angelfish are right on target for this parasite (clearish/white stringy feces, loss/no appetite, and general lethargy). Metranidazole is the drug of choice, and can be purchased at Angels Plus (www.angelsplus.com) or other internet stores, as well as from a veterinarian in your area. I'll keep updating this so that anybody else with this problem will know how to handle it in the future, and as soon as I found out dosages and best method of use for the drug.

Tony

 

[TCTFish]

You're lucky to have access to such equipment to make an accurate diagnosis. You'll make a good vet Anyway...There is a med that is commonly used to treat parasites called...hmmm...metroz...something or other. Sorry. I'm masking a migraine with vicodin. I can't remember the spelling. Best to QT the fish. You could try using discomed. It can be mixed in with frozen foods. Depending on just how indepth you're willing to go to treat the fish, you could try giving them flagyl. It would need to be given orally and I have no clue what the dosage would be, but I have heard and read that flagyl can be effective on fish. Ask the professors at the school. They may be able to help you with that.

Besides brine and bloodworms there are other varieties of frozen foods. Glass worms, beef heart, krill, and frozen veggie foods. You could let them go a week without food and then offer flake. It usually works without any harm to them, but don't try this until they are better. If it doesn't work, then try mixing the flake with the frozen. If they are absolutely reluctant to eat anything else, then you'll just have to cater to them.

 

[BrianNY]

Great job on the diagnosis Tony. I've used metro to treat discus with Hex. My thinking is that most cichlids carry this protozoan in their digestive tracts. When the fish become stressed they stop eating and the protozoan population explodes.

The metro that I've used is sold by SeaChem. It comes in tablets and I simply crush the appropriate amount, dilute in warm water, and pour in the tank. Water changes every 48 hours and redose for a week. I've also found that increasing the temp works to hasten the recovery. Discus can tolerate 93F but I wouldn't go higher than 88F for angels. Good Luck.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

I've use metro (flagyl) too on my flowerhorn. I use 250mg per 10 gallons, 50% water change everyday and treated for a week. I increased the temp to 88-89 degrees and kept good surface agitation. I also kept a 3% salt concentration while treating too. Good luck tony, hope your angel has a good result.

 

[tiger27924]

Thanks everybody for your help. I increased the temp to 88 degrees, and treated the tank with metranidzole, (250 mg per 10 gallons as dr_girlfriend had suggested). I also did water changes everyday. The angelfish seem to be recovered for the most part. They are eating frozen brineshrimp and bloodworms aggressively again, and appear to be unstressed for the most part. I'm going to continue the daily water changes. Hopefully I will have them breeding again soon. I have one 2.5 week old batch fry from this pair and they are awesome! Thanks again everybody, I really appreciate your help.

Tony Wolfe