Weird angelfish behavior....dieing? help!

[Jackiee]

I bought 3 angelfish from Petsmart a couple days ago and did a pwc before I got them so the tank was clean.

They have been fine these couple days, and I have been raising the temperature a bit because my pleco has developed a case of ich, but the temp right now is at about 78 degrees F.

The large angelfish I bought is doing fine. The two smaller ones I purchased now mainly float on the top, still swimming and using their fins, but one seems to float almost all the way on its side, at the top of the tank.

However, when I tried to get my finger near him, he sprang rightside up and swam about a foot away, but when I took my hand away, he was on his side again at the top floating.

Could he be dieing? And if so, is there anything I can do?

 

[lyquidphyre]

Im surprized no one has answered you yet (I read the thread earlier)

Everytime Ive had an angel that did that, they died shortly after. I would take them back to the petstore (bring the dead angel in one bag, and a bag of your water to be tested and the recipet).

Ive noticed the smaller the angel is (er, the younger) the harder it is for them to adjust to new tanks.

If you get replacements, ask for the angels that have been in their tanks for a while, and possibly medium sized- the hardier the better =o)

 

[BillD]

I recently had two with this problem. They were beaten up. The first one was small and i scooped him into a plastic container, as I was sure he was a goner. Next morning, he was upright in the yogurt container. I put him in a small tank with a bit of methylene blue and salt, and he recovered completly and is back in the original tank, and I have no idea which one it is. The second one was not so lucky. he got the same treatment but, while he is swimming normally, I think he suffered eye damage when floating on his side and may be blind. Not sure if this applies to your situation, but It is out there for what it's worth. Good luck.

 

[Jchillin]

I have to agree with BillD. The ailment is sometimes sudden as well (no outside forces contributing to it). Treatment can work however, most of the time it is either too late or ineffective. IME (yes, it has happened to me) and from what I've gathered, the condition is genetic and has no true diagnosis or treatment method.

 

[Devilishturtles]

My angelfish did this to me, for no reason at all. Sad thing is that it was my prized angelfish that I had had for more than 4 years. It was swimming fine one day, and on it's side floating the following day. It took two weeks for me to finally break down and euthanize it...but it lived, just barely at the surface for that long.

When I posted about it here, it was suggested to me that I could have tried raising the water temperature up to close to 88F. You will be doing this anyways, in your ich treatment. Warmer temperatures increase metabolism of the fish.

Regardless, sorry to hear about your angel. Best of luck with them.

 

[TomK2]

If you have the capability, isolating the sick Angels in a QT tank might help. This way it will not be picked on while it is trying to recover. Empiric medications are a tough call, if the fish gets better you will not know if it was the meds or just time and the QT benefits. But an angel that is not swimming well, or eating well either, is definitely sick and likelyto die. Bummer.

 

[Jackiee]

Thanks to everyone's responses!

I took the 2 small angelfish back to petsmart (as the 2nd one was starting to die and was on its side as well) and I bought 2 large angelfish that were from the same tank as the large one I bought and right now they seem to be doing fine.

Thanks for everyone's input!