Help! My angelfish is swimming funny!

[RWaltman]

hey guys my angelfish is swimming around poorly...looks exhausted and is having trouble staying up right...I've moved him to a small fishbowl in hopes to have him recover...can anyone help? he's a baby, about 1 1/2" from fin to fin...I have two others I bought at the same time, while they are slightly smaller they are perfectly healthy...whats going on?????? He's normally in a 29 gallon aquarium with two mollies and some tetras (3) and some stingray plecos....I had a bichir in with them but he's since "moved on up"....help! I don't want to loose this fish...my girlfriend and I really wanted to raise these 3 from babies....help! is there any way to oxygenate the water in the fishbowl efficiently and easily by the way? I change the water pretty frequently but I'm worried its not enough...some live plants are in with him...I added these with him in hopes to promote oxygen levels....thanks...HELP ME!!!!

[RWaltman]

yes...he is breathing out of both gills...he's just very tired and disoriented...can't swim correctly

[thatmagicguy]

You never stated what the ammona and nitrite levels were in the main tank. Also you didn't state how long you had the angelfish before you started seeing a problem. In my opinion, isolating fish causes much more stress and will likely contribute to fish dying rather than leaving them in the main tank and solving whatever is causing the initial stress. If he was being beaten up by something then the aggressor should be moved. If the water quality was an issue then fixing that would have been the way to go. If you just aquired the angels then it may be a disease or congenital problem that you have no control over. Too little information makes it impossible to accurately guess what is going on. Bill

[thatmagicguy]

Are you advertising for this site???

[severum mama]

That site was full of misinformation. I can't imagine learning anything there that couldn't be learned here.

[RWaltman]

well, he died...and shortly after I posted the problem...so within 12 hours he swam funny and died...my nitrate, nitrite, ammonia levels are all low if not zero...my PH is at 7.3 at the moment...and water temp is usually at 78-80...I've had him for 2 months along with the other two babies I got at the same time from the same fry...I'm going to invest into a hang on holder in the future so I don't have to worry about having to remove the fish next time...any tips to avoid loosing a fish in the future!?

[happygirl65]

Sorry for your loss, It sounds like he might have developed a swim bladder issue. There is not really much you can do sometimes.
I agree, next time don't move the fish if you can help it, especially if the QT container is not cycled.

If the same thing happens to the others then consider changing water 25% 3x times a day. Often lots and lots of fresh clean water can clear up a multitude of problems.

[ainsleythurston]

That is what I was thinking also.. Swim bladder disease..