I just had it with unique fish ... no more

[Volker]

I just buried my white angel (named Mr. Snow).
Some might remember that a few weeks ago I went through the same with my other angel, Benedict. Now I only got one angel left, a black one named Mr. Shadow.
I'm so sick of it... the waterparameter are perfect, the temp is right and steady, I make weekly PWC, I feed balanced, they are not stressed... and still. I know these things can happen but I'm simply sick that it always happens to the unique fish. The ones you attach to, the ones you name... in the future I will only get schools of fish...lots of them... all looking the same... so if one is missing I won't even see it... when recently one of my neons died I only found out because it was the one that showed weird behaviour since we got him... and because one of the blackskirts carried his spine...
Tetras, Mollys and Platys, what more does one need.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Don't give up!
Did you purchase your angels from the same place? Were they little? Sometimes you think they aren't stressed and it turns out they are.

I lost two of my angels randomly and consecutivly.. it made me sad but I purchased two more and I keep my head held high.
The fun of having unique fish is the fact you DO get attached to them, you recognize them and their personalities- it's sad when you lose them... but the time that you do spend with them and enjoy them is priceless and worth some heartache, IMO

 

[rich311k]

Do not give up. Keep trying you will find your perfect fish. My angels came from 3 different batches.

 

[Zagz]

Sometimes the fish are sick when you get them from the lfs. I get attached to all my fish so I know exactly what you mean. You could try buying angels from a different lfs.

 

[Guest]

I know what you mean about the angels.. i keep getting them and growing them up and then they die in about 6 months.. for no reason. I have come to the conclusion that my water just isn't good for angels.. it is to hard and to alkaline.. which is why I am getting african cichlids for my 55 gallon... my water is perfect for them. AND i won't have to do anything special to get the water how they like it and they are unique and colorful.

 

[Crusis]

Eccentric fish are a good part of what appeals to me about the hobby! Don't give up on them. I know a loss is a blow, but you still have your black angel. Attachment to the fish is an important part of the experience, I think. If you CARE about the fish, you'll care for the fish. Otherwise, the water changes, the tank prunings, etc can become a chore instead of a labor of love.

 

[RoK]

I've recently been feeling quite strongly that it really does matter about hardness and pH for aquarium fish that naturally live in different water types, even the ones that have been bred in different types of water for generations. Soft water fishes' biological systems don't seem to be able to cope well with hard water and vice versa. Many fish are specialist species, meaning they need certain temperatures, food, climate, and water chemistry to thrive. Just by looking at the angelfish in stores, I think that they are delicate and/or maybe just require very soft, somewhat acidic water. They hardly ever look healthy, especially older ones. My tap water is quite soft and I now try not to go for livebearers, other hard water fish, and fish that seem to be delicate.
My reasoning for this thinking is that I'm always seeing livebearers and angels that are not doing well at all. I know that overstocking and shipping are big stressors but I don't think I've ever seen a livebearer tank in a store around here that did not have at least 1 of the fish (most of the time it's at least half of them) breathing heavily, gasping for air at the surface (they do have aeration and filters), and swimming weird.
However, most of the soft water fish such as tetras, many catfish, silver dollars, barbs and rasboras seem to be doing quite well (these fish are usually way more jam-packed into the tanks than others).
These could all just be coincidences, but I just had to let that out. :| Thanks for reading my long post, if anyone does.

 

[Crusis]

I did. I agree with you. I think Ph and KH/GH matter too. There is some argument here that fish can adapt to anything given proper acclimation and time, but adapting and thriving are two different things in my opinion.

I have VERY hard water, with ph 8.4 from the tap. My Africans love it, (in their own tank) and are a playful happy lot. I've had tetras die in masse as I arrived at my above opinion. Neons absolutely HATE my water. Now I RO/DI 2/3 of a new tank, and all of my water change water is RO/DI. It's really slowed down my water changes, but the KH and GH are down around 10 instead of 24, so I'm not going to let it creep back up, especially in my planted tank. This has GREATLY reduced the death rate in my community tank, and now scooping out a fish is pretty rare. Rosy Barbs, Rasboras, and Gold Barbs are a happy joyful lot in there. No more Neons for me.

 

[Guest]

i have come to a similar conclusion.. in my area water is very hard and alkaline in general.. including city water soucrec and well water. I have tried and tried to keep angels but they just don't thrive in my water... and it is way to much trouble to try to keep it balanced when my water is hard and alkaline.. perfect for livebearers and african cichlids.. so that's what ive decided to keep.. LOL.. guppies in my 10 gal and Cichlids in my 55. I don't have to do anything special to the water and they are thriving.. well i just started with the cichlids.. but we will see!

 

[RoK]

The thing is I really like mollies and some color types of platies but hardly ever see healthy ones around. I'm surprised the 2 mollies I have now seem to be fine. One of them got fungus for a day before but I used some pimafix and she's fine again.
I really want a molly tank with possibly some platies but even if I find some that seem to be healthy, I'm thinking what if they get sick while acclimating to slightly harder water. I hate seeing sick and dead fish so I get worried about trying it.