# Angelfish won't eat! >.>



## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Hi everyone,

So I posted about this on my last angelfish whom had the same behavior a month or two ago (not eating, sitting around the top, pooping white/clear poops that stay attached for a while), and he would only eat blood worms. Eventually he began eating and acting normal again... no medication.

Now my other black angelfish is doing a similar thing (To be clear, the other one is fine now)... he has been sitting at the top near the heater and a bunch of times I saw some cloudy poop... he'd sit there for an hour or more with it not progressing out at all. He has done this about a week and a half now. I have been hoping its constipation and he may get better. He refuses to eat the pellets he used to enjoy, and near the beginning he would only eat brine shrimp (I fed the spirolina-infused brine shrimp hoping it would help if it was constipation), and blood worms. Throughout the last week it has been on-and-off whether or not he will eat. I have not seen him pooping lately except once and it was similar... Anyways, a couple times he even refused blood worms. Now he is on-and-off refusing flakes, blood worms, and brine shrimp. For example, a couple days ago he ate flakes (and kept them down), now he is either sucking them into his mouth and spitting them into a million pieces or barfing them out his gills. Tonight I fed him blood worms and he downed about 10-15 and then began to refuse them (spit them out). This is abnormal - he used to eat and eat, and my other angelfish will eat until they look like they will burst). I kept a good eye on him to make sure he kept them down. The past few days he has come out like he is hungry, but then just won't keep it down! He has stopped hiding so much the past few days, but I'm not sure whats going on with him. 

Could he be bullied? He is black so I can see white "bite" marks on him occassionally... although the bully angelfish has let up a lot since I got my new 75 gallon tank upgrade (I believe he was re-establishing the "pecking order" after changing from the 50 gallon to the 75 gallon). I haven't seen him get bullied much... 

My main question is whether I should begin treating with some antibiotic food (could it be a parasite or bacteria in the gut?). In that case, how? I don't know how much to dose or where to even buy it. I've heard of metro-something. Or should I wait it out? Every time he stops eating I freak out and then he eats again the next day and I calm down a bit... 

None of my other angelfish seem to have a problem... are internal parasites contagious? I'm wondering if it may be present but since he was bullied it lowered his immune system and caused a flare up... 

But, I don't want to say for sure its a parasite maybe he is just constipated... I wonder if he will fight it off on his own like the other angelfish. :/

Thanks for taking the time to read this and reply! I wrote a lot so I appreciate it in advance.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

White stringy poop is usually an indication of Ich infecting on the inside. White specks on the outside, which may be what you're thinking are bite marks, are also ich, but how the parasite infects on the outside. 

It's a nasty little parasite that needs to be treated or it wont go away, and it will eventually breed enough where it can mass infect your fish and kill them very quickly, I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. The other one seems very lucky if it's truly fine, sometimes their immune systems perk up and their slime coat fights it off, but it's highly likely he's still infected too. If one has it, they all have it, be it internal or external. Thing is, there is usually a small amount of ich in home aquaria, you just never really see it because if your fish have healthy slime coats and immune systems it's harder for ich to infect and breed...this doesn't mean it can't. It just takes one little, tiny damaged slime coat area for the invasion. 

Clean the tank and treat the ich with either salt and heat if your fish are types that can handle it, or find an ich medication. Unfortunately I don't know any good ones, all the "Ich be gone" meds at our LFS's don't actually work, perhaps someone can give you a better medicine. 

If you use the salt and heat method, add the salt first. Use about a tablespoon per ten gallons, dissolve it FULLY in tank water before adding it to the tank, and then turn the heat up. You want it around 84F, but do it slowly, maybe two or three degrees per day.
Heat causes it to breed faster and die faster, salt kills it. So when the eggs hatch out of the fish(those white spots and white poo), the salt kills it before it can prey on your fish again.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. Personally I do not think it is ich unless it's possible the ich is only internal. The white spots are not ich cysts they are more like missing scales. I've seen ich a few times and I have treated it successfully in the past and this doesn't remind me of the Ich I have seen. But I will emphasize that if it there is such a thing as internal ich it is possible; is it a different species? The other one had this problem a few months ago. This whole tank has plants so unless it's certainly ich I don't want to cook my crypts 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

I think it's all the same species. A lot of times it starts out internal, then goes into the substrate from the poo, and then free-floating to infect fish.

Can you get us video maybe? The only thing I personally know of that causes white stringy poo AND white spots, is "White Spot Disease" or Ich. Some other internal parasites can cause white stringy poo though, but not the spots outside on the body, that's ich. If you have both, it's very likely ich, but yes, please if you can get photos and such up, that would help get a proper diagnosis...MAYBE, it's not a guarantee, I wish it was, but sometimes you can't tell what it is by looking.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

I will get some pics soon. It's not ich cysts I'm 99% sure. I've seen them a lot before. He is black so the white spots look like missing scales to me or damage by bullying. I could be wrong.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

They're not even spots always, some are rectangular, none are perfectly circular like ich cysts. They aren't raised and they are more silvery colored. I'm not sure if he even has any right now. I'll check. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

So not ich. Real common with angels, discus, and other cichlids, internal flagellites, a type of protizoan, most likely hexamita or spironucleus. These are a common part of the digestive floura, and are normally kept in check by the fish's healthy immune response. A stressed fish, for whatever reason, will have a decrease in their immune response, causing these normally harmless little guys to be a problem.

These are so common, and have come up so many times over the years that I've got my usual C&P for them, this is the 3rd computer I've had that I've transferred this to;

This is what I do for angels, you may want to look into the maximum temp your fish can handle. Metro was originally designed for humans, the closer you can get the tank to 98.6F the better. 

Put the angel in a quar tank, I usually use a 10 gallon. Increase the temp over a day or so to 90-94F. Treat daily with 40 mg/gallon metronidazole, with 50% water changes daily. If the fish isn't eating, don't feed for the first 3 days. After 3 days, get some frozen brine shrimp. Take a portion about the size of a few match heads, and sprinkle on some metro. You have to eyeball this one, make the shrimp look kind of like a tiny powdered donut. Once it thaws, mix it in & feed. Sometimes they still don't eat for a few days, but once they start to mouth the food & spit it out, the meds seem to get in their system real good. Continue medicating the water & food for 7-10 days. Don't forget to increase aeration, as warmer water holds less O2.

Metronidazole is sold as flagyl, het-a-mit, and a few other names I can't recall offhand, used to treat hexamita & hole in the head. They usually suggest 20mg/gallon, this often isn't enough. Metro deteriorates in 8 hours, so you could do twice daily water changes. I've done this on the weekends when I have time. 

I've also added epsom salt while using metro, this helps with any constipation issues, cleans out the digestive tract. I start with 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of water, increasing by 1 teaspoon daily for 2 more days to bring it up to 3 teaspoons per 10 gallons. You will have to adjust how much you use when doing water changes. You may want to give this a try.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

So it is not something I'd have to treat the other fish for? Is it possible he'd get better in his own? I only worry because I've never had to do something like this.... :/ scares me.


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

I've done this countless times, metro is one of the few meds I keep on hand. I try to catch them when they're just slow to eat, keeps from having to dose the water.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Is metro easy to find or should I expect to order online? If he's eating a few bloodworms can I just medicate the food?
Here is his poop by the way... Look similar?


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Seachem sells Metroplex, their lablel for metro. Hex A Mit is another commonly found in shops. Any online site that sells Seachem products probably sells Metroplex, last I recall it was $6 for 5g from Big Al's.

If they're eating you can just sprinkle it on the food, this gets it right to the problem.


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Well, he hasn't been eating the last few days, even blood worms. He runs up and sucks in one or two and spits it out and then is uninterested. I just don't have a quarantine tank to put him in but i may buy a 10 gallon... but then I need a heater :/ its really expensive! So I've been hoping he started eating again like the other one this happened to, but I guess not. I'm gonna see if the far fish store that has everything has it or I guess order online I just hope he isn't dead by the time it comes.... I have spring break starting friday so I have time to take care of him. That's partly why I haven't yet I was scared if something happens (ammonia spike in quarantine, etc) I wouldn't be able to do anything!


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## Harold12 (Mar 20, 2014)

I think this is affecting my angelfish too. Seems like the right type of symptoms. I'll try the Metro medication and see what comes of it. Thanks indeed for all the useful insights!


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