angel with bloated belly

[Barb31]

Hope you can help me. My 3 year old angel (gender unknown) had developed a bloated belly over the last few weeks. Belly mostly mishapen low and close to bottom of body, approx. .35" across as you view fish from front. Appeared rather suddenly, remains consistent. Appetite is good. Behavior appears normal. Was considering epson salt treatment, but hoping for more info.

The fish is alone in my 5 gallon tank..has been for over a year now. Fish is approx. 1.5 inches diameter, sans fins. Has grown to this size from purchased size of .5" sans fins.

Tank: Eclipse Hex5. temp says at 82. Just did a 25% water change and vacumn 2 weeks ago. Had been a few months since last change Distilled water for refill. Tank has bio wheel filtration and artificial plants. Tank has been up 3 years. Nothing new added. Feed sparingly mostly Tetramin flakes, occasional frozen brine shrimp. No diet changes in past 2 years.

 

[dkpate]

You need a way bigger tank for an angelfish.
You need to do more water changes every week, like 3, until you get a bigger tank.
Distilled water is not good for fish, it lacks the right minerals and such, tap water is much better. Just get a good dechlorinator like Prime, and use that.
Since you don't normally do water changes, you need to start with small water changes every day for a while, since pH lowers while sitting in the tank, and you don't want to shock the fish.

 

[Barb31]

Thanks Darby. Do you have any advice on treatment and/or what is causing the bloated belly? Should I do anything other than frequent water changes? What about the Epsom Salt?

 

[WhiteDevil]

you can try epsom salt(search for epsom salt treatment) this gets the fish like a laxative gets you.
You need ATLEAST a 20g tank for a single angelfish, I prefer a 30g tank for a single angelfish or a breeding pair. The fish at that age should be around 2-3" in diameter and thats just the body with fins you should be looking around a 6-8" specimen.

Peas(frozen shucked) will also purge the fish of anything it has impacted/constipated in it.

The epsom salt treatment is a per basis thing, Some folks use alot some use a little. I got all my research on this treatment from discus sites mainly.

 

[Homedog98]

Blanched, shelled, chopped up peas aughta do it... But you need a MUCH bigger tank.

 

[Barb31]

Peas. OK. Will try that. Thanks for the info, and working on a larger tank. For this 5 gal desktop tank in my office, what would you all suggest I house in it? A few neons? A african dwarf frog? I can manage 2 water 50% changes a week, realistically.

 

[Homedog98]

A Betta and some shrimp.

 

[meegosh]

My 3 year old angel....

Fish is approx. 1.5 inches diameter, sans fins. Has grown to this size from purchased size of .5" sans fins.

It sounds like you have stunted him/her. A three year old angel should be much larger than 1.5" minus the fins. Mine is probably 5-6" tall from fin to fin. The body of my 4-5 year old angel is probably 3" around.

Like the others said, a much bigger tank is need for this fish. I would try treating with peas to see if that helps reduce the bloating. Hopefully he/she makes a full recovery!

 

[BillD]

The fish is probably filling with eggs, if it is eating and acting normally.

 

[Homedog98]

The fish is probably filling with eggs, if it is eating and acting normally.

How? It's been living by itself for 3 years!

 

[fishboy87]

The happened to mine once before..... I just skipped a couple of feeding days and it went away......

 

[meegosh]

My female has laid many batches of eggs with her never seeing another angel. Seems like every time I rescape she lays another batch, fanning them for days, only to eat them all when they turn white.

 

[Homedog98]

Idk. It seems unlikely to me. Either way... Can we see some pics?

 

[ejaramillo01]

I also think that the fish is full with eggs, I hope that she will lay the eggs soon.

Mine does it every month at least!! And yes before she start to lay the eggs she become bloated.

 

[WhiteDevil]

Unlikely? hardly Ive got a female that lays eggs on her own like clockwork every 8 days, there hasnt been a male in the tank in a few months now and she still lays the eggs, She goes thru ALL the motions except without a male. Ill snap some pics I think I even got video of this.

both females, foreground female lays on her own, koi female is a bloated one, cant really tell in the pics but if angels had tank tops and trailer parks, this one would be queen.

 

[BillD]

A female angel does not need a male present to form eggs.

 

[Homedog98]

A female angel does not need a male present to form eggs.

O cool!

 

[Barb31]

I am doing frequent water changes and have tried feeding peas (thawed, slightly cooked and finely chopped) but fish won't touch them. He is still readily (hungrily) eating flakes when I offer sparingly. Belly bloat is more pronounced. What else can I try? I would like to get him back to health in this tank and eventually either up-size or give him away.

 

[Barb31]

It's been about 5 weeks of belly bloat now... probably too long to be eggs?

 

[Barb31]

here's a shot of him/her, shows bloat pretty well (not sure how to post this, other than to link to my Tumblr)