# Angelfish not eating



## Julie's Julies (Jun 11, 2007)

I have two baby Angels in a 55-gallon tank. Tank mates are 4 zebra danios, 1 baby giant danio, 1 male swordtail, 1 female betta, 1 cory cat, and three neon tetras (who are going to have to move soon before they become lunch for the giant danio or the angels). 

All water peramaters are at zero and all fish appear healthy, happy, and hungry, except for one of the angels. It used to eat as well as the rest of the tankmates, but for the past week or so it doesn't have any interest in food, no matter what I try to feed it. It does not have clamped fins, any sign of infection or parasites, and I am at a loss as to what is wrong with him. Is it possible for a healthy fish to fast for days on end? In all my other fish experience, a fish who does not eat is a fish whose days are numbered.

I have not seen any fish picking on another, even though angels and bettas can be territorial. The two angels have paired up and follow each other around the tank, and there are tons of plastic plants for the angels to hide in.

Any thoughts?


----------



## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

what temperature do you keep the tank at? A warmer tank will help aid in digestion and sometimes raising the temperature will help spark an appetite.


----------



## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Hmmm, I have been reading up on hunger strikes recently, and depending on the variety of foods you feed them, he may actually fast due to boredom.


----------



## leifthebunny (Mar 13, 2007)

Has the angel been hanging out in an upper corner? If so, chances are, it's being bullied.

As MattD suggests, try various foods. If you don't already have some, bloodworms would be a welcome treat. Your LFS should have some frozen for sale, just add it to a small cup of tank water and once the cube has melted, use in place of normal feeding.


----------



## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

yeah, my angel gets a wide variety of food and he is a very healthy eater. I mainly do frozen (bloodworm, spirulina, algea, beefheart, brine shrimp, etc) and he gets a good flake food (omega one). What have you been trying so far? The good thing is that your other fish will eat any of that as well. I would still try raising the temp a tad if it is low.


----------



## Julie's Julies (Jun 11, 2007)

Hi all, thanks for the suggestions. The tank temp is 78 degrees; do you still suggest raising it a degree or two? 

Yes, he is hovering up in the back left corner quite a bit, so he very well may be bullied, though by which tankmate, I have no idea. (He is actually a bully himself - I had to rescue a swordtail from his wrath.) What do you do in situations like that? I have enough fake plants in the tank to sink a ship, plus rocks and driftwood, so there certainly is no shortage of hiding places.

I will give the bloodworms a try. I feed the tank TetraMin flakes and Tubifex worms, plus I add a pellet or two of shrimp for the cory (and most everyone helps Cory eat them).


----------



## Julie's Julies (Jun 11, 2007)

Well, I think my efforts to revive the little guy are going to be for naught. He's twirling now and I cannot get him to eat anything whatsoever. Bummer.


----------



## anemone (Apr 20, 2007)

Very sad to hear about your Angel fish  , hope he pulls through


----------



## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

could it b internal parasites?


----------



## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

there is actually a disease called "whirling disease" which is an infection of the parasite Myxobolus Cerebralis. This infection causes inbalance as the parasite reproduces That could explain his hovering and now twirling action. If this is the case, it is basically incurable and can spread to other fish. I have heard of a bacterial infection of the swim bladder though that can cause similar symptoms and would be treated with Erythromycin. Generally the parasitic infection will show other physical deformaties but yours may not yet. Its suggested usually to euthanize the fish since it is very possibly contagious.


----------



## Julie's Julies (Jun 11, 2007)

I think your description of whirling disease fits my Angelfish. I just lost a whole batch of swordtails to the swim bladder infection that you mentioned, so it is possible that the angel got it from the swords, but the angel is not showing any of the same symptoms that the swords demonstrated (sinking to the bottom, bent spines, white feces, fin rot, etc.). 

I am certain that when I turn the light on this morning that he will be dead, so I will remove him so that it won't spread. At least I still have one angelfish left!


----------



## mHeinitz57 (Jun 9, 2007)

the problem with internal parasitic and bacterial infections is that they don't always show the same. They may infect different areas and may cause secondary infections. For instance, you mentioned bent spines which is often common of tuburculosis in fish. It's a bacterial infection that doesnt always cause swim bladder infections. However, bacterial infections can cause the swim bladder wall to thicken and/or harden which would cause swim bladder disorders. So, they dont always have to show the same exact symptoms for the same disease.


----------

