I’m rescuing an Angel today

[Jacky12]

So this woman in a local Facebook says she needs to rehome a black angelfish that has been attacked by a group of American Flag fish she added. Not sure when. She says the fins are being shredded. What an idiot this woman is and a reason why fish groups often disturb me. She could buy a cheap bucket or glass jar and pull this poor fish. I offered her, free, a 20 gallon tank with all the required accessories & she said no, she’d rather I take it. So we’re going to her house soon.

I debated isolating this fish or adding him to my peaceful community tank that has 6 other angelfish. Think I’m gonna add more silk ficus vines & put it in the peaceful tank & monitor closely. This is my favorite fish plant. It has suction cups and provides ample shelter. Some fish hide among the leaves and others, like the angels, hide behind the vines. It’s quite realistic looking.

Anyone know if the tattered fins will heal? Am I wrong not to isolate it immediately?

 

[Aiken Drum]

A stress free environment and clean water will do more than anything to help a fish recover.

If fish see weakness they are more likely to harrass a fish. I would keep the fish on its own with plenty of water changes and you should see improvement before introducing it into a tank with other fish.

 

[Colin_T]

I agree with Aiken on this. Put the angelfish on its own to recover. Do big daily water changes or do them every couple of days to keep the water clean and give the fish the best chance of recovering.

You can add some salt if the wounds look like they are getting fungus or bacterial infections. Fungus is white and fluffy. Bacterial is red. If you're unsure, post pictures and we can check it for you.

If the angelfish is weak and you add it to a tank with a group of established angels in, they could kill it. If the new angelfish has a disease, it could introduce the disease into your main tank. So quarantine the new fish for a month to let it heal and make sure it's free of diseases.

If the fins aren't too badly damaged, they usually grow back in a month.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[Andy Sager]

So this woman in a local Facebook says she needs to rehome a black angelfish that has been attacked by a group of American Flag fish she added. Not sure when. She says the fins are being shredded. What an idiot this woman is and a reason why fish groups often disturb me. She could buy a cheap bucket or glass jar and pull this poor fish. I offered her, free, a 20 gallon tank with all the required accessories & she said no, she’d rather I take it. So we’re going to her house soon.

I debated isolating this fish or adding him to my peaceful community tank that has 6 other angelfish. Think I’m gonna add more silk ficus vines & put it in the peaceful tank & monitor closely. This is my favorite fish plant. It has suction cups and provides ample shelter. Some fish hide among the leaves and others, like the angels, hide behind the vines. It’s quite realistic looking.

Anyone know if the tattered fins will heal? Am I wrong not to isolate it immediately?

You should never add a stressed fish to a tank with an established population. #1, you don't know what diseases the fish may be carrying. #2 A stressed fish is weakened so usually unable to defend itself from the other fish. At this point, I'd consider the fish has a potential problem so isolating it is it's best chance for survival. Don't be in a hurry to put it into one of your established tanks. Make sure it is vigorous before doing that.