What's killing my angels?

[Reygan2]

Hi all, hoping to get some feedback on my odd situation and perhaps some help narrowing down what's going on in my tank. I'm losing angels. One by one they are dying and I can't figure out why. This has been an ongoing issue with me since I've started keeping fish about a year and a half ago. They are my absolute favorite fish, so I'm determined to find out what's going on. This morning I woke to find my oldest angel, which was perfectly fine last night, dead. The other angels I lose typically go in the same way, the only difference is that the day before they die, they hide and refuse to eat. It seems to happen overnight. I've checked my parameters and they are fine. I can't figure out any causes for possible undetected drastic parameter fluctuations. I do regular weekly water changes, typically 30-40%. I dose excel, recommended amount, mostly daily. (I wonder if daily is too much though). About 2 months ago I switched my substrate to MGOPM with Eco Complete cap. I've lost angels before the switch though. My ph is stable at about 7. Out of tap it is 7.6, but the dw gradually lowers it. Phospates are at about 3-4. GH-4, KH-5, amm-0, NO2-0, NO3-5. The tank is planted. I dosed 1/4 tsp KN03 once a week over the course of a few weeks because I couldn't get a NO3 reading and I'm wanting to avoid possible algae issues, been through that headache before. I'm running an Eheim 2217 filter. I’m wondering if the issue could be anaerobic gas pockets in the dirt? I've moved things around a little and have definitely stirred things up a few times. Or could it simply be weak stock in my area? Granted these are Petsmart and Fintastic angels, no offense intended. I don't think it is a contagious disease because there is quite a significant time lapse between deaths. I know there are lots of variables here, but hopefully someone can help shed some light on this. Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to include as much info as possible.

 

[tamtam]

Could it be an internal parasite or worms? They can be tough to diagnose.

I've been battling mystery deaths for a few months now and have finally pin pointed it to worms/internal parasite. I've lost about 15 or more fish so far and am struggling with my final 3(angel and 2 neons) the neons are showing improvement but my angel is hit or miss still so I'm hoping near the end of treatment he comes around.

 

[Reygan2]

Could it be an internal parasite or worms? They can be tough to diagnose.

I've been battling mystery deaths for a few months now and have finally pin pointed it to worms/internal parasite. I've lost about 15 or more fish so far and am struggling with my final 3(angel and 2 neons) the neons are showing improvement but my angel is hit or miss still so I'm hoping near the end of treatment he comes around.

What treatment are you using and what sort of symptoms are your fish displaying before they die?

 

[Hholly]

I got an angel from Petsmart that was infected with camellanus worms. That's the sort of thing that will kill all the fish if it went untreated. Do any of them have any threadlike things coming out if their butts?

 

[Reygan2]

I got an angel from Petsmart that was infected with camellanus worms. That's the sort of thing that will kill all the fish if it went untreated. Do any of them have any threadlike things coming out if their butts?

Nope, no symptoms at all. They just start hiding one day, then refuse dinner, and they die the following day.

 

[bob mccoy]

well here my 2 cents- i have been experiencing the same things in my angel fish grow out 55 gallon tank. i started treating with a internal parasite killer and doing my water changes as recommended. and it has been 2 weeks now and things are looking better. i have 5 breeding pairs and hundreds of small ones so i experience a lot of problems that i freek out on lol. Andy sager is a member on here and can be a verry good help to you also. he will probably chime in soon or you could pm him also or me to . Good Luck

 

[Reygan2]

well here my 2 cents- i have been experiencing the same things in my angel fish grow out 55 gallon tank. i started treating with a internal parasite killer and doing my water changes as recommended. and it has been 2 weeks now and things are looking better. i have 5 breeding pairs and hundreds of small ones so i experience a lot of problems that i freek out on lol. Andy sager is a member on here and can be a verry good help to you also. he will probably chime in soon or you could pm him also or me to . Good Luck

Noted, thank you. The weird thing though is that I'll go weeks without any deaths, then a random one will occur.

 

[owen0992]

My young angel is having a problem and I think it may be parasites. Are yours kinda being lazy and letting the current steer them around? No real energy or excitement in it... What temperature should I raise the tank to kick it's immune system into high gear?

 

[Reygan2]

My young angel is having a problem and I think it may be parasites. Are yours kinda being lazy and letting the current steer them around? No real energy or excitement in it... What temperature should I raise the tank to kick it's immune system into high gear?

That's the thing, my angels are very active and ravenous eaters. I don't notice any symptoms until they hide and won't eat. Next day they die.

 

[bob mccoy]

i keep my angels at 80. and yes reygan mine do the same. it can take a parasite weeks to kill a fish

 

[bob mccoy]

owen as a rule angels don't like any current . they are peaceful swimmers and dont do well in it

 

[Reygan2]

i keep my angels at 80. and yes reygan mine do the same. it can take a parasite weeks to kill a fish

So what is my best course of action for the remaining 2? I'd like to treat them. What meds do you recommend?

 

[tamtam]

What treatment are you using and what sort of symptoms are your fish displaying before they die?

I'm currently treating with API general cure. My tank was a community with neons, platies, lambchop rasboras, a gourami and the angel. The rasboras went first. They just started hiding, acting strange, swimming funny and all died within 36 hours. I lost a neon then too. Then the platies went a couple weeks later. a couple got fin rot, which was really strange as I was monitoring my water and doing 2 weekly changes. I treated with melafix but lost all 4 platy in less than a week. Even the ones without fin rot. They did the same hiding and no eating. Floating on the bottom of the tank.

Next was my gourami. He just started hiding as well. Refused to eat and swam funny for the few hours before he died.

I only got the idea for worms/parasites when I noticed white stringy poop from my angel after he started acting strange. Thinking back I think the platies had white poop as well but they poop so much it's hard to tell.

I've lost all but 2 neons now and have been doing treatment for a week. My angel hasn't eaten in 2 weeks now and while he's starting to come out a bit more he still spends most of his time hiding. I only saw a few white poops before I started treatment and since I have seen a lot more. I've read that this is suppose to be a good sign.

Treatment for API general cure says to do treatment twice 48 hours apart with a 25% water change but this hasn't been enough. After some reaidng and a recommendation from a member here I've extended the treatment. I guess Metronidazole generally needs a 7 day treatment and Praziquantel is more like 20 days which are the 2 meds in General cure.