# One Angelfish not acting right



## bulldogowner2 (Feb 29, 2012)

One of my Angelfish is not acting right. It isn't eating when I feed them, it is not swimming around like the the other ones, it is staying to itself and at the back of the aquarium to the bottom. It looks okay. Should I be worried ?


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Well I wouldn't think that would be normal. I have 5 in my tank and o never see mine on the bottom of the tank hiding. What size is your tank? What else do you have in there? Do you know what you parameters are?


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## bulldogowner2 (Feb 29, 2012)

I have Angelfish, Tetra, Gourami, red tail shark. 55 gal tank and all my test reading are good the aquarium is set at 82F


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

bulldogowner2 said:


> I have Angelfish, Tetra, Gourami, red tail shark. 55 gal tank and all my test reading are good the aquarium is set at 82F


How long have you had the Angelfish? Also how many do you have of each fish? 
Angelfish and Gouramis shouldn't be housed together for aggression reasons have you seen any between the two? Also if you have more then one Angelfish there can be aggression between them. 
Is there a reason you have the temp set at 82? That is too high for some of the fish you have in your tank.


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## bulldogowner2 (Feb 29, 2012)

Iv'e had them for a little over a month now, I have 4 angels, 11 tetra, 1 gourami and 1 red tail shark. I have never seen arrression with the gourami towards any fish. I read some where the take should be at that temp. What should the temp be?


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Well the Red Tailed Shark shouldn't be in temps any higher then 78° so somewhere between 76-78° would be where I start.


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

Angelfish going on a hunger strike is fairly common when they are stressed, so I would say that's a pretty good indication that something isn't right for him. It could be an illness, or could be something larger.

You said you've had the tank for 1 month. Did you cycle the tank for 4-8 weeks *before* adding fish? Or were the fish in the tank before that 4-8 week period?

Do you have an Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate test kit? If so, what are the readings? If not, go buy one. The API Master Test Kit is ideal.

What is your pH? Do you know if you have hard or soft water (GH would be really helpful to be specific)?

82 degrees is too high for some of your fish, but not for Angelfish. Wild caught ones actually need a temp in the low 80's.

A Red Tailed Shark is not a community fish, it will turn aggressive if it hasn't already. The aggression grows as they get older. You can click the shaded name to learn more by reading the profile here.

As already mentioned, Gourami are not a good choice to go with Angelfish. Angelfish are slow swimmers, sedate, and do not take well to any kind of aggression, fin nipping, or fast swimming fish. Gourami can be somewhat aggressive, more so in some species than others, but none are suitable with Angelfish.

Aggression is not always something seen, it can happen at night and it can happen simply from pheromones the fish release into the water. They can 'smell' the other fish and their mere presence can stress them.

Angelfish also come from dimly lite environments, so floating plants are a very good idea to provide shade. They also like to swim around lots of branches.


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## bulldogowner2 (Feb 29, 2012)

The tank cycled for 2 weeks before fish were added, The kit I have freshwater comparison chart the readings are
Nitrate 0 
Nitrite 0 
hardness 75 soft
alkalinity 80 moderate
ph 7.2 neutral

I have turn the temp down on the tank. 
My sister is setting up a aquarium and we have to let it cycle and she is taking the red tail and the gourami.
What are good plants to float in the aquarium ? Someone told me I could put my house vine in there, can you do that?


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

Well, two weeks isn't enough time, not unless it was seeded from an established tank. Usually the cycle takes a minimum of 4 weeks. Sometimes it can be less, but not often. The fact that you have zero Nitrate (and Nitrite) would suggest you are still in the very early stages. Is it a liquid test, or test strips?

There should be a spike of Ammonia, then as it goes down a spike in Nitrite, then Ammonia will go to zero and Nitrates start to rise. Eventually both Ammonia and Nitrite will be zero will Nitrate slowly climbs over time and can only be reduced through partial water changes.

Unless you have several live plants already? Live plants will use the ammonia before the bacteria can, so very little bacteria will form. Plants can also use Nitrates so it isn't unusual to see 0-5 ppm readings of Nitrate in heavily planted tanks.

What is your Ammonia readings? Anything above zero is bad, and causes the fish to be stressed and long term health problems.

Your hardness and pH are fine for the Angels.

For floating plants Water Sprite I hear is really good, but I haven't personally used it. I plan to in the near future, read the profile to get the scientific name. There are a couple species that have the same common name, but the one featured in the profile is the one that works best floating.

Other options are Brazilian Pennywort (I didn't like it), Amazon Frogbit (I like this one), or Duckweed (Haven't tried it, too small for my taste).


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## bulldogowner2 (Feb 29, 2012)

I have plant in the tank already, but none of them float

2 Giant Marimo Ball
5 Vallisneria Spiralis
2 Heteranthera zosterifolia
1 Red Tiger Lotus
I also have African Mopani Wood in the aquarium
and use Indian Almond Leafs


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

With plants and from what you've told us, I wouldn't worry about cycling, that's done with thanks to the plants.

The angelfish is clearly stressed from something. I would look at the other fish first. Sit quietly in front of the aquarium for an hour or so, to get a better picture of fish interaction. Watch for any fish--and from what you have it might be one or more of the other angelfish, the gourami, or the red tailed shark--causing fear in the lone angelfish. This doesn't have to be physical contact, sometimes if an aggressive fish just approaches the subordinate fish it will be obvious. Let us know if you see anything.

I would think aggression the most likely cause, given your description; if the angel was suffering from some disease it might behave similarly but likely would not be eager to eat. But keep an eye on the tank.

You are wise to be removing the shark, this fish can get very nasty as it matures, it will attain 6 inches and frequently dislike striped fish and any other substrate fish so it is a loner. The gourami is hit and miss, not the best with angelfish but sometimes... again, observe. And definitely lower the temp, 77-78F is fine here. Wild angeelfish need higher temps, but commercial raised fish are better lower.

Byron.


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