Angels with bent fins

[Mythic Figment]

The very first thumbnail shows angels with stunted/curled/chopped dorsal and anal fins, which is the problem you're having. Yours isn't as severe but it stems from the same problem. Here is what the culling guide says about that:



The issue of chopped fins can start very early. It's entirely possible that the fry had been crowded before you received them at pea size and they continued to develop improperly.

Here are a few more people who mention chopped fins due to poor conditions, including Steve Rybicki of Angels Plus:

http://74.53.86.82/~angel200/VBulletin/showthread.php?t=5433

http://www.angelsplus.com/ArticleBreeding6.htm

You will have culls in every batch of angelfish but it's unlikely that their genetics would be so bad as to affect that many per spawn.

Did you receive these fish from a reputable source? Have you seen the parent fish?

I did not see the parents, but I got the fry from Angelfish USA, which gets very good reviews.

Since posting this thread, I have done three water changes of roughly 50% each. I have seen some improvement in about half of the angels with bent fins (mostly the ones with only a little bit of bending). I still have about 6-8 that have really bad fins (no improvement in any of them) though and I think they may be deformities that water quality has made worse.

So I will keep up with a schedule of three weekly water changes of 50% each and cull any that have not shown any improvement in a couple of weeks. The reason I chose three is because I don't intend to keep fish that suffer from bent fins if I don't do daily or every other day water changes. I prefer to hang onto the less sensitive ones.


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[ryansmith83]

So I will keep up with a schedule of three weekly water changes of 50% each and cull any that have not shown any improvement in a couple of weeks. The reason I chose three is because I don't intend to keep fish that suffer from bent fins if I don't do daily or every other day water changes. I prefer to hang onto the less sensitive ones.

There's a trade-off when buying a bunch of small fry versus larger juvenile fish. I don't do daily water changes on most of my juvenile or sub-adult cichlids, but for fry, especially in small tanks, it's a necessity. Even if you put aside the stocking density, the smaller the volume of water you have, the quicker it goes south. Angel breeders do suggest smaller tanks for rearing fry but it sounds like what David left out of the equation was the importance of water changes. It's entirely possible to raise out small fish in a 20 gallon tank but you will have to do large and frequent water changes to keep the water clean and avoid bacterial issues which could hurt small fry during crucial phases of development.

I raise out spawns in 55 gallons but once they get to about dime size they start requiring two 100% water changes a day.

Obviously if you had 10 juvies in a 55 gallon you wouldn't be doing that, but to stock them densely and feed them multiple times a day it becomes necessary to keep the water clean enough to raise healthy fry.

 

[Mythic Figment]

There's a trade-off when buying a bunch of small fry versus larger juvenile fish. I don't do daily water changes on most of my juvenile or sub-adult cichlids, but for fry, especially in small tanks, it's a necessity. Even if you put aside the stocking density, the smaller the volume of water you have, the quicker it goes south. Angel breeders do suggest smaller tanks for rearing fry but it sounds like what David left out of the equation was the importance of water changes. It's entirely possible to raise out small fish in a 20 gallon tank but you will have to do large and frequent water changes to keep the water clean and avoid bacterial issues which could hurt small fry during crucial phases of development.

I raise out spawns in 55 gallons but once they get to about dime size they start requiring two 100% water changes a day.

Obviously if you had 10 juvies in a 55 gallon you wouldn't be doing that, but to stock them densely and feed them multiple times a day it becomes necessary to keep the water clean enough to raise healthy fry.

He did recommend daily water changes of 50% or more, but didn't give a reason why. I am learning something new about stunting with these angels. Seems they are much more prone to becoming stunted than many of the fish I have kept in the past.


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[Mythic Figment]

Culled my first group today. 8 in total. I took only the worst ones. Ones with fins so bent it could not possibly be just from water quality. Those with only a little bend were spared and time will tell if the improvement in the water will fix their fins. I will give it two weeks before trying to snip the fins and regroup them. If that doesn't work, then I guess I will have a second batch to cull.


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[Sm0ke]

I second the vote to clip the fins and let it regrow. I've done this with other fish before to let the fins grow and look normal. Did you ever try this? Are the bodies in OK shape (i.e. only fins bent)?

 

[Mythic Figment]

I second the vote to clip the fins and let it regrow. I've done this with other fish before to let the fins grow and look normal. Did you ever try this? Are the bodies in OK shape (i.e. only fins bent)?

Haven't tried yet. Going to give this a try if frequent water changes aren't enough in a couple of weeks.


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