Angelfish Acting Oddly

[kalihat]

Hi,
I've got a 20gal tall tank with 4 large angelfish. Since yesterday one of them has been staying in one spot. He's only eaten a tiny bit. All the other fish are fine, and he doesn't seem to have any fungus/parasites. The fish are all approx 2 yrs old, and this is a well established tank. Is this a common behavior in angels, or could there be something wrong with him?

THanks!

 

[*Fishkies*]

How often do you perform water changes?
Has anything been recently added or changed within the tank?
Is there enough cover in the tank for him to hide?

 

[kalihat]

How often do you perform water changes?
Has anything been recently added or changed within the tank?
Is there enough cover in the tank for him to hide?

I change about 25% every week and a half. I haven't changed the water in about that long. The only new thing is I have changed the food, as I was feeding them mainly flake food, and it was causing the tank to stay dirty. I've also cut back on the amount, as I was thinking they were getting too much. There are several plants, and some other decorations, and he's been hiding between the glass and a plant the pleco knocked over.

I i'm not getting too worried yet, because he doesn't look to have any parasites or fungus and he looks perfectly fine, it's just unusual the way he's been acting. If you think it might be significant let me know. I've set up a hospital tank, but am not going to move him just get. I'm hoping it's nothing serious!

Thanks!

 

[dollfaced]

I had bought 3 angelfish that were tiny and they lived fine for a year and a half or so. Then they all started to fight a little. Two of them formed a mating pair and eventually killed the other one. I remember the one that was killed was always hiding in a corner and wasn't as active as the other two. They were in a 20gal as well. Is it possible this is happening to you? Also, what kind of pleco is it? It seems already with 4 angels a 20 would be kind of small... I know with my 2 angels and a pleco it was getting pretty crowded so I moved them to a bigger tank.

 

[kalihat]

I had bought 3 angelfish that were tiny and they lived fine for a year and a half or so. Then they all started to fight a little. Two of them formed a mating pair and eventually killed the other one. I remember the one that was killed was always hiding in a corner and wasn't as active as the other two. They were in a 20gal as well. Is it possible this is happening to you? Also, what kind of pleco is it? It seems already with 4 angels a 20 would be kind of small... I know with my 2 angels and a pleco it was getting pretty crowded so I moved them to a bigger tank.

Yeah, these guys have outgrown their tank. I'm going to make the jump to a 55, but I'm trying to find one that's a good price. The pleco is just a common pleco, and he's gotten big. So we've definitely reached the point where we need a larger tank or some fish will have to go! As for the angels, I haven't noticed them pairing up as if there are any mating pairs. The one in question has seemed a little better this evening, so I'm hoping tomorrow he'll be back to normal. I just thought I would post on here to see if it was something I should worry about.

Thanks for your response!!

 

[dollfaced]

Hopefully more people will post their opinion as to what is going on. I'm not an expert but this just seemed similar to what happend to me. Just keep an eye on them. And the pleco is supposed to get around 18" or so. I've been wondering myself if a 55gallon is large enough for mine

 

[scooterchick]

Hi,

I think dollfaced has hit the nail on the head. Your tank is overstocked and for the amount of fish you have in there, I'm afraid 25% every week and a half is not going to keep that tank clean. Your angel fish is suffering from 'old tank syndrome' and possibly some other kind of bacterial infection that hasn't shwon up in a physical form yet.

To help him, you must get them into a bigger tank asap and in the meantime 25% water change every couple of days. Pleco's are big polluters and need very big tanks, and 4 large angels will be dumping a lot of waste in there. Have you any other fish in there?

It is possible to keep a lot of fish in a small tank (short term) but you MUST be totally scrupulous about water changes to stop your nitrates reaching dangerous levels.