angelfish stuck under rocks/log

[bulatz]

so i left home for a bit, came back and found an angelfish still breathing trapped under some rocks/driftwood on its side, doesn't look like he was trapped for long to me. i immediately of course got him out. his back tail fin is slightly torn up along with one of his swimming fins not sure what the real term is but im sure you get the gist of it. he is swimming just fine it looks like, my only concern is theres about 7 other angelfish in the tank. Not sure what to do... my thought would be to just watch him, see how he is doing, see if he is getting picked on by others. if he is put him in a tank by himself which i do have. Any tips for this would be appreciated.

just put in a big driftwood piece 2 weeks ago that was weighted down with a few big rocks and some smaller ones, not sure how he exactly got stuck but i assume some small rocks got knocked over and fell on him.

 

[Andy Sager]

If the fish is swimming and eating normally, you can just watch him to make sure he's not getting picked on. If the fish is lethargic or having problems feeding when the other fish are eating or it's getting picked on, I'd separate him either with a divider in the main tank or in a separate tank of his own.

 

[bulatz]

ya he died rip the lil boi put him in a new tank by himself, i also used aquarium salt very lightly i read it is good to use for injuries/disease which makes sense. im always scared to use aquarium salt tho, plus it says like 1 tbs per 3 gallon which seems like so much salt so i usually put less. i think he perhaps got trapped from bullying, i got 8 angelfish at the same time and he ended up being the smallest. i notice recently in my tank my 7 angelfish are always sort of pecking at eachother same with my 2x gourami 1 young male and 1 old female i have. fish are interesting thats for sure.. when i got my gourami's it was the other way around at first, old chasing small guy now small guy chasing old lol. need to get some tall plants to break line of site in some parts of tank i think that will help.

 

[Andy Sager]

Angelfish are actually a schooling fish and live in a hierarchy society so there will always be a dominant one and subordinates in a pecking order. #1 picks on #2. #2 then pecks at #3 and so on down the line. This is why with domestic strains, you keep either 1 or a lot. 2, that are not a pair, can have a hard time living together. Depending on how aggressive #1 is, it could kill off #2. With wild caught strains, a single Angel rarely does well by itself. Domestic strains have lost that insecurity.
I would definitely add more sight breaks ( The more the merrier) and if you see any of the Angels getting bullied to the point there are hiding or off feeding, they are probably lower on the pecking order and you may need to separate them to keep them alive. Angels have no problem killing off rivals.

As for salt, it all depends on which fish you are treating with salt. Some species are more tolerant of salt than others. The dosage is actually correct but you need to know the exact water volume you have so you don't over dose it. ( for example, a tank listed as a 10 gallon tank does not hold 10 gallons of water. ) Angels and Gouramis can handle salt with no issues.

Hope this helps.