Angelfish problems

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


Tien6079
 
Posts: 99
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 6:59 am

Angelfish problems

by Tien6079

So I keep buying freshwater angels and they keep croaking. The first few I bought from Petsmart and now I realize that was a mistake. The rest I have been buying from a local fish store that gets it's angels from a local breeder. I have even met the breeder and he knows his stuff. He supplies hundreds og Angels to this store. Well, the nitrgen cycle in my tank is fine and everything is at great levels. The tank is not overcrowded and there are no other fish overly aggressive. There are no signs of fin damage or anything. They are fine one day and the next morning one dies. Some will last a few days and others last a few weeks but they still die. The rest of my fish thrive in my tank. I have two theories and am curious to see if anyone else has the same problem. My first thought is my PH is too high. The water here in Las Vegas has a PH of 8. I know that it is a high PH for angels, but the breeder has told me they breed them in Vegas hard water and they do great. My only other thought is that tghe algea could be hurting them. I have moderate red, green, and brown algae levels, but nothing too kray-z. Could it be the algae? What do you think?


seankh
 
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:42 pm

by seankh

im leading to more on the ph 8.0 is high for angel fish. when i had my angel fish i made sure the water was a nutral 7.0 try using something to lower the ph.


miami754
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am

by miami754

What kind of rock/brick is that forming the background of your tank?


Tien6079
 
Posts: 99
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 6:59 am

by Tien6079

It is made from slate rock and prefab stone/brick. It is the same natural looking light weight stone found on the outside of houses. My buddy does masonry work and gave me the rock. If not it would have cost me a few hundred dollars.


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

you're background is all over my slate backrgound... kudos...

and yeah... i hear that angels are sensetive... but i threw some inside my 100g south american tank... the one tank that i hardly make any maintanence on, and to my surprize... they're freaken huge now... lol... i don't do anything special to this tank either... just tap water with pots and filtration...


Tien6079
 
Posts: 99
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 6:59 am

by Tien6079

So I found tonight that yet another angel croaked. I am mad! That was my favorite angel with long flowing fins. The only one I have left is an ugly one lol! I can almost guarantee it is not my PH. I have two other thoughts. I may have high salt levels for a frshwater tank. I replace salt with water changes but now that I think about it the concentrations must gradually be getting higher due to evaporation. The funny thing is that ALL of my other fish are healthy. My last thought is probably the case. I notice the deaths occur right after water changes. I think someone else in my family may have put soap or some other chemical into my fish buckets. That is about the only other thing that I can consider.


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Have you thought about creating a more natural environment for angles? I can tell you put a lot of thought into the rock work, but it's not a nice environment for angles. Vall (Vallen???) I forgot the whole name for this plant. It's like a reed and angles like swimming around plants like this. Get the smaller variety so it can grow like a reed and doesn't end up like a mass of tangled plants floating at the surface. Live plants also greatly help keep the water healthy as they eat up the nitrates that are an end product of the breakdown of wasts in the tank. Plants also harbor benneficial bacteria that aid in the breakdown of the waste.

If you're growing plants like this variety you'll need to have pretty good lights. They are a medium high light plant.

Is there excessive current in the tank? With their large fins the angles need slowely moving water or they'll over work to stay in one place.

Finally, I assume you use dechlorinator, and since you know the pH I assume you know if the ammonia and nitrites are zero as they need to be. What about the temp? I don't know the proper temp for angles, but you should look it up to see if that isn't a possible factor.

Are the angles fighting with any other fish in the tank?

Anyway, check the internet for ideal salt content. If you use a product called Jungle Start it has a lot of salt. If you're topping off with this product you may be over salting. I'd use a conditioner that doesn't have salt, and after a few top offs I'd remove 1/3rd to 1/2 of the water thus dilutiong the buildup of minerals and salts.

I hope I gave you some ideas that help you find the problem. If your test kit is not so good you could also take a water sample to an aquarium store and double check the water quality. Good luck.


miami754
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am

by miami754

Are you checking the pH of your tap water AND your tank water? Is there a difference. I knew a guy who kept killing fish because he had around a .7 difference in pH between tap and tank water. Every time he did a water change, he would really jack up the pH and have fish die from it.

Also, I don't understand what you mean by salt building up. If you are only replacing the salt in water removed during water changes then it should not change concentrations. Now, if you are using salt for topping off, then yes, I agree that the salt concentration would get out of control seeing as the salt doesn't evaporate.


Tien6079
 
Posts: 99
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 6:59 am

by Tien6079

Yes, I hve been checking the ph in the tank and it rarely fluctuates. I do not have anything to test salt levels so I may need to see if the fish store can check that.


Tien6079
 
Posts: 99
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 6:59 am

by Tien6079

Well the funny thing is the tank with the rocks has one angel that does just fine. It is my smaller tank that I am having the problems. This tank has been established for over 2 yrs and I have no problems with other species of fish. The smaller one contains plenty of fake plants. The temp is within a couple degrees og 80 and the current in the tank is not too strong. It is an Eclipse 12 system.

Angelfish problems

11 posts • Page 1 of 2

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