Angelfish Emergency! Dying fish!

[Aquaponics]

Hi everyone! Hoping Y'all can help me save my fish!

I have a 190 gal tank that is hooked up to a small aquaponic system. The tank itself is about 6 ft long by 1 foot wide and 2 feet tall. Our water is tested regularly, everything is good besides the fact that our current ph is a bit low from a recent water change. We have had this tank for almost a year now and got all the fish within a couple months of each other.

In this tank we have six goldfish, a bunch of snails, a giant apple snail, a knifefish, a pictus cat, a couple of African dwarf frogs, three gouramis, three little tiny white fish (boyfriends pick, not sure what they are) and at one point we had three freshwater angels.

However, one freshwater angel was killed off by the other two bullying it to death. Cue current issue.

The remaining two angels have been fighting, and one is seriously injured. Last night we noticed that he couldn't swim to the top of the tank. He is stuck down in the bottom corner hanging out in the bubbles of our largest bubbler for the tank. He's just floating there with his fins pointed down towards the bottom of the tank and his face pointed straight up towards the ceiling. He's been poked a bit with a net to see if he is stuck, but he always swims back to that same spot.

Last night he we noticed that he had a seriously deep and pink indention behind his left gill, presumably from the other angel fish ramming and attacking him. Today, the spot has turned black and he hasn't moved from the bubbler. Oddly enough, the mean angelfish is continuously swimming around it and nipping other fish that come close.

Does anyone know if this fish is save-able, or what could be wrong? also, if someone could tell me about odd angelfish behavior and if the mean one is okay to stay in the tank if if I should remove him so he won't bully my other fish to death as well. Any help is appreciated!

 

[charliebankston]

I can't help much on the injury diagnosis, but I have tons of cichlids, including a tank of all male angels. And they are anything but angelic. They fight, lip lock, posture, dart, chase, and generally harass each other constantly. All day. An hour ago I watched 2 of them lip lock. Usually no injuries, but their conspecific aggression is on par with many other cichlids i have, and worse than some.

 

[charliebankston]

A little more on angels, I have 2 females in another tank and they take turns laying eggs, then guard them as a team. Of course, they are unfertilized. But they act like a breeding pair, and will attack anything, including your hand, when your near the "nest". Crazy

 

[charliebankston]

If you have a hospital tank or another aquarium to put the injured one in, that's i guess the first step. The tank boss will continue to harass the injured one until its deceased

 

[Aquaponics]

Well, what i'm really asking, can someone explain to me what I can do to help him if I put him in a hospital tank? Or should I just let him die? What can I do?

 

[Varmint]

They are likely all males. They can be extremely territorial, and will "kiss" (lip lock), and try to kill one another. Best thing to do is remove the makes, leaving one.

For your case, the injuried Angelfish, I would remove him from the take, or take a safe basket and hang it over the side, putting him inside of it. (With water, of course) That way he is separated from the others. His injuries are possibly to sever, but you could try to give his water a bit of salt, and medication.

 

[charliebankston]

Aquarium salt, antibiotics, antiseptics like Pimafix and Melafix, might all be helpful in healing his wounds