My angels have been acting weird since last thursday when I did a 30% WC and rescape the tank a little. Now when I don't go near the tank they all hang near the top corner of my tank with their fins clamped and 2 are breathing a little faster than usual, When I go near the tank they all come swimming towards me and they are eating well, but the moment I live them alone they go back to that corner pointing head up to the surface. I check all my water parameters and they came out good, the rest of my fish are normal it's just the angel??? Does anybody know if there's something going on with them??? I really need to know cause I have 2 wild angels on hold for me and I don't wanna take them home when all the rest of my angels might be sick....
Weird Angel fish behavior
- Thread starter G_sharky
- Start date
I wouldnt say they are ill, but it does sound like either lack of oxygen, or a polluntant in the water.
Did you declorinate the water?
And what is the ph?
There are a few things it could be, so its best to figure out the things it isnt, if you see what I mean.
Check the temp of your tank, and make sure it is well oxygenated.
Check the ph, because its not unheard of for tap water ph to dramatically rise or fall from time to time.
After that check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Remember, if you have a liquid test kit, make sure its under a year old, because they tend to lose the accuracy after a year or so.
If you have zero ammonia and nitrite, and low (under 20) nitrate, then It seems there is something in the water that shouldnt be.
Do a 50% water change, and add new carbon to your filter.
You could also add a natural tonic to the tank, then observe them again for 24 hours.
What ever you do, dont start putting in treatments, until you are 100% sure of the cause.
Good luck, and post an update!!
Did you declorinate the water?
And what is the ph?
There are a few things it could be, so its best to figure out the things it isnt, if you see what I mean.
Check the temp of your tank, and make sure it is well oxygenated.
Check the ph, because its not unheard of for tap water ph to dramatically rise or fall from time to time.
After that check ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
Remember, if you have a liquid test kit, make sure its under a year old, because they tend to lose the accuracy after a year or so.
If you have zero ammonia and nitrite, and low (under 20) nitrate, then It seems there is something in the water that shouldnt be.
Do a 50% water change, and add new carbon to your filter.
You could also add a natural tonic to the tank, then observe them again for 24 hours.
What ever you do, dont start putting in treatments, until you are 100% sure of the cause.
Good luck, and post an update!!
thanks for the reply....tank has plenty of oxygen I would say as I have a airtube that's burried under the sand and is releasing bubbles and I also don't fill my tank all the way up so the spray bar creates a lot of surface agitation....ph is at 7.4 and I went to the LFS today to get my water test and it came out alright....I might hold off with the water change cause I don't wanna stress the rest of my fish. I added some aquarium salt last night and they seem to be a little more active now, but still hanging out at the top. The weird thing is when I fed the whole tank today with Brineshrimp they(angels) were all so perky.....
Thats what makes me think its a pollutant..
If they were ill, then they would go off the food.
The ph is a little high, that COULD be part of the problem, especially if they are wild...
I would deffinately do a water change though.. aslong as the ph is similar, and the temperature is the same, it shouldnt stress then to much.
How is your tank filtered, is it an external filter?
How much water movement is there on the surface, because an airstone doesnt actually do much at all with regards to oxygenating the water, beleive it or not...
the best way is to use the outlet of an external filter, or power head, to aggitate the surface of the water.
Maybe give that a try?
If they were ill, then they would go off the food.
The ph is a little high, that COULD be part of the problem, especially if they are wild...
I would deffinately do a water change though.. aslong as the ph is similar, and the temperature is the same, it shouldnt stress then to much.
How is your tank filtered, is it an external filter?
How much water movement is there on the surface, because an airstone doesnt actually do much at all with regards to oxygenating the water, beleive it or not...
the best way is to use the outlet of an external filter, or power head, to aggitate the surface of the water.
Maybe give that a try?
the ph shouldn't be a factor as these are not wild angels, I'm running ehiem pro II 2026 and an eheim 2217, I added a powerhead tonight, see how they do tomorrow, if they are still irritated I'll do a water change.....
Still the same....I just did a 25% WC, I'll monitor their behavior and I'll see how they do tomorrow(fingers cross)....
I'm still not sure what's happening, but the my angels are hanging out together near the top of the tank, but is eating well and active when I come near the tank....Added 2 wild angels as my water seems to be fine( check all the parameters). I hope everything turns out to be good..If I managed to get these angels to thrive I'm thinking of getting a tank just for the angels and getting more wild ones.....
here are some pics of my wild angels....are these the real altums???? cause on the label it says wild angels....I got it on a good price of $15 ea. These guys are huge about 4" in diameter, you could see the size difference when they are beside my other angels and they are bigger than my silver dollars...biggest angels i've seen so far in person...
