So I’ve just noticed one of my Angelfish floating at the top of the tank on its side. When I go near it tries to swim away but it is almost as if it is full of air or swimming against a current and shortly floats to the top again onto its side. It also has a visibly bloated belly. I have just done a 50% water change and all parameters are okay. Is there anything else I can do to help?
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Angelfish with dropsy
- Thread starter Oli
- Start date
Post a picture and 1 minute video of the fish trying to swim. Upload video to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.
Don't feed the fish dry food for a week. Give them live or frozen foods instead. See if it helps. If the fish can swim normally after a few days on frozen or live foods, then it has air trapped in its intestine.
If the fish can't swim properly after a week without dry food, then it has a swim bladder problem and should be euthanised.
Don't feed the fish dry food for a week. Give them live or frozen foods instead. See if it helps. If the fish can swim normally after a few days on frozen or live foods, then it has air trapped in its intestine.
If the fish can't swim properly after a week without dry food, then it has a swim bladder problem and should be euthanised.
So I’ve come home after the day and the good news (I think) is he is active and swimming as opposed to floating at the top of the tank on his side lifeless, but he is definitely struggling to keep himself submerged and will occasionally float to the top of the tank when he runs out of steam? Any updates on what people think?
This hobby is really not fun sometimes 
I’ve not fed the above angelfish or indeed the whole tank in 3 days now and he is no longer floating at the top of the tank but he is swimming around with clear difficulty and he has a swollen white patch on his belly. On top of that I’ve noticed one of my cardinals has sever ich all of a sudden. If you check my other posts, I’ve also had an Angel due today. To summarise, in the last few days, the tank has gone from perfectly fine to…
-1 floating/dropsy Angelfish
-2 Angelfish pairing off and killing a smaller angelfish
-1 cardinal with severe ich
Just feel like I’m doing something wrong. Could it be that the original fish (potential dropsy) has infected the tank and made the cardinal sick. Perhaps the aggression of the newly paired angelfish has made him sick. Just feel like giving up on it atm unfortunately. Please check my other recent posts and see if someone can help. Thanks
I’ve not fed the above angelfish or indeed the whole tank in 3 days now and he is no longer floating at the top of the tank but he is swimming around with clear difficulty and he has a swollen white patch on his belly. On top of that I’ve noticed one of my cardinals has sever ich all of a sudden. If you check my other posts, I’ve also had an Angel due today. To summarise, in the last few days, the tank has gone from perfectly fine to…-1 floating/dropsy Angelfish
-2 Angelfish pairing off and killing a smaller angelfish
-1 cardinal with severe ich
Just feel like I’m doing something wrong. Could it be that the original fish (potential dropsy) has infected the tank and made the cardinal sick. Perhaps the aggression of the newly paired angelfish has made him sick. Just feel like giving up on it atm unfortunately. Please check my other recent posts and see if someone can help. Thanks
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I have removed the angelfish eggs in the hope they will be less aggressive defending the area. I have cranked the heat up to 30c to fight the ich, and I will continue not to feed for the next couple days. Come Monday I will rehome the remaining angelfish and keep the pair. Any other advice would be great
You should feed the fish, but not feed them dry food. Use frozen or live food instead of dry food so it helps push any air out of the fish's intestine. If you don't have any frozen or live food, soak some dry food in aquarium water so it sinks and the fish don't ingest air when eating it form the surface.
The anygelfish has stringy white poop and that can be caused by intestinal worms, an internal protozoan infection, or an internal bacterial infection. A bacterial infection would have killed the fish by now so it's either a protozoan or worm infection.
The white patch on the side is excess mucous produced by the fish to cover an area of irritated or damaged tissue. A big water change and gravel clean, and cleaning the filter usually helps with excess mucous issues.
The following link has information about stringy white poop in fish. I would deal with the white spot first and see how things look after that.
www.fishforums.net
The anygelfish has stringy white poop and that can be caused by intestinal worms, an internal protozoan infection, or an internal bacterial infection. A bacterial infection would have killed the fish by now so it's either a protozoan or worm infection.
The white patch on the side is excess mucous produced by the fish to cover an area of irritated or damaged tissue. A big water change and gravel clean, and cleaning the filter usually helps with excess mucous issues.
The following link has information about stringy white poop in fish. I would deal with the white spot first and see how things look after that.
What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.
Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...
www.fishforums.net
I only have frozen blood worms at the moment and am doing incredibly long hours until Monday meaning I am unable to do water changes, remove fish etc. If this is some kind of infection/worms, is there a chance this can affect the whole tank and are there any other precautions I should take. The tank is sat at 30c to treat the ich. The Anglefish is still swimming around all over the place but again, not floating on its side which is good. Since removing the eggs last night, the paired couple have certainly cooled off and are no longer chasing. Would you still recommend removing the remaining 2 Angelfish or will they be okay if I simply remove all eggs in the future?
If one fish in the tank has a disease, then they can all get it or have it. It's a matter of monitoring all the fish and responding if a new fish gets sick.
The angels will probably lay again in a week or two.
It's preferable not to keep removing the eggs because the parents eventually get upset by it and can go nuts and start attacking each other or the other fish in the tank. However, you can remove the eggs a couple of times, especially until things have settled down regarding the disease issue.
The angels will probably lay again in a week or two.
It's preferable not to keep removing the eggs because the parents eventually get upset by it and can go nuts and start attacking each other or the other fish in the tank. However, you can remove the eggs a couple of times, especially until things have settled down regarding the disease issue.
Update today. I have arrived home from work and turned the light on. The “sick” Angelfish darted around the tank at speed, seemingly uncontrollably, banging into the glass and swimming/twisting at all different angles. It now rests at the top of the tank on its side and seems to be lifeless. I feel terrible. What could I have done wrong. The “paired off” angelfish look healthier and bigger than ever. I will keep them and remove the last remaining angelfish. Not a good feeling 
TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.
In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.
At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.
Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.
In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.
At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.
Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.
Unfortunately he passed away last night. I began with 5 angels, 2 died and I rehomed the 3rd today. I want to thank everyone (especially Colin) for their advice. The tank didn’t work out how I imagined but I have learnt a lot. There is now a mated pair of Angelfish along with some smaller fish and hopefully the tank can continue peacefully. Aside from a few more plants and bits of hardscape, I consider the tank finished. Cichlids are fascinating yet tricky to keep and I appreciate all the advice!
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