Hi- I'm a novice fish owner needing some help. We bought a baby angel about 6 months ago who was doing great in a 10 gallon tank by itself. Last weekend we moved it to a 20 gallon hex tank (cycled for a month) since it has gotten bigger. It was doing great at first. Then a couple of days ago, it was only swimming at the top and near the filter and not eating. I discovered hex tanks aren’t the best for oxygenation, so I added an air stone and did a 40% water change yesterday. It seemed to be doing a little better, swimming in the middle but still not eating. This morning, it’s back at the top near the filter and not eating. No nitrates, steady low PH. Could I need another air stone? Is it just stressed and needs time to adjust? I don’t know what to do and am worried that it’s not eating. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Angelfish help
- Thread starter agatto
- Start date
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Any ammonia or nitrites? How did you cycle the tank? Its not likely you cycled a tank in a month.
I tested with a home kit, but I think I’m going to take a sample to a local store to test because I just read that home kits aren’t reliable. I waited to add it until home kit showed no nitrates/nitrites and the PH was the same as the old tank. I also am running the old filter along with the new filter in the bigger tank. I just added Prime this morning out of fear it might be high ammonia. I’ll reply once I get exact numbers from store :. It’s not floating near top after I added Prime, but still only facing corner filter and not eating. Not sure what else to do. Thanks for your help!
Your fish store will be using the same test kit you are. Some will only use strips, so they could be using a poorer test depending on what you are using. They arent sending it off to a laboratory. I would rely on your own ability to do the test and read it correctly over theirs.
Given what you have said, you arent cycled. Just letting it run for a period will do nothing to cycle the tank. If you have 0 nitrate you arent cycled. Get your test kit, do a fish in cycle. Until you have a test kit, daily 25% water changes.
Given what you have said, you arent cycled. Just letting it run for a period will do nothing to cycle the tank. If you have 0 nitrate you arent cycled. Get your test kit, do a fish in cycle. Until you have a test kit, daily 25% water changes.
To cycle a tank you need to grow denitrifying bacteria to consume ammonia and nitrite that your tank produces. The bacteria needs an ammonia source to grow colonies sufficient in size to consume all the ammonia and resultant nitrite and turn it into nitrate which typically you remove through your regular water changes.
A fish in cycle uses fish waste as an ammonia source and regular water changes are undertaken to ensure that water parameters are maintained at relatively non toxic levels.
Set up your tank. Make sure everything is running smoothly. Make sure you have used a water conditioner product with any tap water you have put in your tank. Seachem Prime is a water conditioner that will also detoxify some ammonia for a day or two, so is a good choice for a water conditioner while cycling a tank with fish.
You should have a test kit. Preferably a liquid test kit. It should test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
In ideal circumstances you should be starting a fishless cycle with a low bioload (number of fish). 1 small fish per 10 gallons/40 litres is a good number of fish, but this can be tweaked a little for fish that are social and don’t do well on their own. Ideally a hardy type of fish. You may have fully stocked (or overstocked) your tank before you knew about cycling. In these circumstances, if its not possible to return fish, you will have to make the best of it.
If you haven’t already done so, add your fish. Acclimate them to the water in your tank before doing so.
Start to regularly test the water for ammonia and nitrite. At least daily. Depending on your bioload you could start to see ammonia quite quickly. Nitrite will likely take a little longer to appear.
Your target should be to keep ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm by changing water whenever your water parameters exceed this target. 0.5ppm combined is a level of waste that is sufficient for your cycle to establish but relatively safe for your fish.
If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.0ppm nitrite (0.5ppm combined) then leave things be. If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.25ppm nitrite (0.75ppm combined) then change 1/3 of the water. If you see 0.25ppm ammonia and 0.75ppm nitrite (1.0ppm combined) then change 1/2 the water. If water parameters get worse than these levels it may require multiple daily 50% water changes to maintain safe water conditions. This is more likely to happen with a fully stocked tank.
Remember to add water conditioner whenever you put tap water in the tank.
Over time the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change to maintain your ammonia + nitrite combined target will reduce. You can also start testing for nitrate and should see this rising. If you are finding the ammonia and nitrite in your tests are consistently low, and you aren’t already fully stocked, you can add a few more fish. It may take a few weeks to get to this point.
Once you add a few more fish, continue to regularly test the water and continue to change water if you exceed the 0.5ppm combined ammonia + nitrite target. With added bioload the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change may increase again until your cycle has caught up. Again once you are consistently seeing low ammonia and nitrite you can add some more fish. Rinse and repeat with testing, water changes, and adding fish when safe to do so until you are fully stocked.
You can then cut back on water changes to control nitrate only. Typically you want to keep nitrate no higher than 40ppm, but I would recommend changing some water every 2 weeks even if your water test says you don’t need to.
A fish in cycle from an empty tank to fully stocked can take several months.
A good way to speed up this process would be to put a small amount of filter media from an established filter into your filter, or get a sponge from an established filter and squeeze it into your tank water. Perhaps you have a friend who keeps fish who could let you have some? This will seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow and speed up the process.
Another option is bottled bacteria like Dr Tims One + Only or Tetra Safestart. These products wont instantly cycle a tank as they claim but in a similar manner to adding established filter media they can seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow to establish your cycle. These products are hit and miss as to whether they work at all, but are an option if established filter media isnt obtainable and may speed up the process from several months to several weeks.
A fish in cycle uses fish waste as an ammonia source and regular water changes are undertaken to ensure that water parameters are maintained at relatively non toxic levels.
Set up your tank. Make sure everything is running smoothly. Make sure you have used a water conditioner product with any tap water you have put in your tank. Seachem Prime is a water conditioner that will also detoxify some ammonia for a day or two, so is a good choice for a water conditioner while cycling a tank with fish.
You should have a test kit. Preferably a liquid test kit. It should test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
In ideal circumstances you should be starting a fishless cycle with a low bioload (number of fish). 1 small fish per 10 gallons/40 litres is a good number of fish, but this can be tweaked a little for fish that are social and don’t do well on their own. Ideally a hardy type of fish. You may have fully stocked (or overstocked) your tank before you knew about cycling. In these circumstances, if its not possible to return fish, you will have to make the best of it.
If you haven’t already done so, add your fish. Acclimate them to the water in your tank before doing so.
Start to regularly test the water for ammonia and nitrite. At least daily. Depending on your bioload you could start to see ammonia quite quickly. Nitrite will likely take a little longer to appear.
Your target should be to keep ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm by changing water whenever your water parameters exceed this target. 0.5ppm combined is a level of waste that is sufficient for your cycle to establish but relatively safe for your fish.
If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.0ppm nitrite (0.5ppm combined) then leave things be. If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.25ppm nitrite (0.75ppm combined) then change 1/3 of the water. If you see 0.25ppm ammonia and 0.75ppm nitrite (1.0ppm combined) then change 1/2 the water. If water parameters get worse than these levels it may require multiple daily 50% water changes to maintain safe water conditions. This is more likely to happen with a fully stocked tank.
Remember to add water conditioner whenever you put tap water in the tank.
Over time the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change to maintain your ammonia + nitrite combined target will reduce. You can also start testing for nitrate and should see this rising. If you are finding the ammonia and nitrite in your tests are consistently low, and you aren’t already fully stocked, you can add a few more fish. It may take a few weeks to get to this point.
Once you add a few more fish, continue to regularly test the water and continue to change water if you exceed the 0.5ppm combined ammonia + nitrite target. With added bioload the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change may increase again until your cycle has caught up. Again once you are consistently seeing low ammonia and nitrite you can add some more fish. Rinse and repeat with testing, water changes, and adding fish when safe to do so until you are fully stocked.
You can then cut back on water changes to control nitrate only. Typically you want to keep nitrate no higher than 40ppm, but I would recommend changing some water every 2 weeks even if your water test says you don’t need to.
A fish in cycle from an empty tank to fully stocked can take several months.
A good way to speed up this process would be to put a small amount of filter media from an established filter into your filter, or get a sponge from an established filter and squeeze it into your tank water. Perhaps you have a friend who keeps fish who could let you have some? This will seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow and speed up the process.
Another option is bottled bacteria like Dr Tims One + Only or Tetra Safestart. These products wont instantly cycle a tank as they claim but in a similar manner to adding established filter media they can seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow to establish your cycle. These products are hit and miss as to whether they work at all, but are an option if established filter media isnt obtainable and may speed up the process from several months to several weeks.
Thank you so much for all this info! I just did an ammonia test and it was 0. Nitrite was 0.5 and nitrate 0. It’s swimming around a lot more now, but still not eating. For some reason, the water looks a little cloudy now, so I’m thinking I still need to do a water change. I added some gravel from the old tank yesterday and with the food it hasn’t been eating, I’m wondering if I should vacuum the gravel? The filter in the new tank seems more powerful, too.
So, it used to come to the surface to eat in the old tank and now the flakes whip around the top and sink. Not sure that matters. Thanks again.. I’ve already learned so much from you! Let me know if you think there is anything else I can do. Otherwise, I’ll keep an eye on levels and do water changes.
So, it used to come to the surface to eat in the old tank and now the flakes whip around the top and sink. Not sure that matters. Thanks again.. I’ve already learned so much from you! Let me know if you think there is anything else I can do. Otherwise, I’ll keep an eye on levels and do water changes.
Ok. So you are ok with how to cycle the tank? You dont want your water parameters to get much worse than they are currently. Ammonia + nitrite combined at 0.5ppm.
Cloudy water is normal while a cycle is establishing. It should clear up on its own in a week or so. Its a good sign that your cycle is establishing. No need to do a water change just because of cloudy water. Check back if it doesnt clear up in the next week or so or if something else doesnt look right to you.
Definitely clean up uneaten food. Uneaten food could also be a cause of cloudiness, and if left to decompose could cause mold.
If your fish is finding it hard to find food because of the flow from the filter, try turning the filter off for 5 minutes while you feed them. My angel fish seem ok and will go hunting for uneaten food after they have eaten what they catch at feeding time.
One thing i missed from my fish in cycle instructions. Feed lightly. As much as is eaten in 2 minutes daily, or 3 minutes every 2 days. At least if you are having to do daily water changes to keep water parameters on target.
Cloudy water is normal while a cycle is establishing. It should clear up on its own in a week or so. Its a good sign that your cycle is establishing. No need to do a water change just because of cloudy water. Check back if it doesnt clear up in the next week or so or if something else doesnt look right to you.
Definitely clean up uneaten food. Uneaten food could also be a cause of cloudiness, and if left to decompose could cause mold.
If your fish is finding it hard to find food because of the flow from the filter, try turning the filter off for 5 minutes while you feed them. My angel fish seem ok and will go hunting for uneaten food after they have eaten what they catch at feeding time.
One thing i missed from my fish in cycle instructions. Feed lightly. As much as is eaten in 2 minutes daily, or 3 minutes every 2 days. At least if you are having to do daily water changes to keep water parameters on target.
I dont think lack of O2 in your hex tank is any more of an issue for your angelfish than it would be for any other fish. Hex tanks dont have the surface area that more tradionally dimensioned tanks of the same size do. Less surface area = less dissolved oxygen.
Im not sure what you want me to say. A bigger tank will be better, regardless of it being a hex tank, 20g is on the small size for an angelfish. If you want to make the best of what you have, get plenty of flow at the surface to cause surface agitation and get more O2 into the water. Add a bubbler if you need to.
Im not sure what you want me to say. A bigger tank will be better, regardless of it being a hex tank, 20g is on the small size for an angelfish. If you want to make the best of what you have, get plenty of flow at the surface to cause surface agitation and get more O2 into the water. Add a bubbler if you need to.
Caliban07
Aquarium Advice Addict
I would keep up with the water changes. Water changes are almost always the solution for a fish that is showing signs of distress. Unless your source water is particularly poor.
Water changes will remove then dilute any potential toxins like ammonia.
They will add dissolved oxygen and remove dissolved compounds that steal oxygen.
They will also not disrupt a cycle.
Water changes will remove then dilute any potential toxins like ammonia.
They will add dissolved oxygen and remove dissolved compounds that steal oxygen.
They will also not disrupt a cycle.
