Angels not appearing to eat

[TheDudeAbides818]

My 2 angelfish appear to never really eat that much. Every time I put food in the tank they seem so interested and swim right up to the pieces floating or when they start to drop, but then seem to back away. I’ve tried a couple different types of flakes, dried bloodworms, dried shrimp brine… nothing. I’ve only witnessed them actually grabbing a tiny piece of food a couple times ever. Occasionally I see them nibbling at the artificial plants but that’s about it. There’s only a red dwarf gourami and a pleco in there aside from these 2 small angels. Any ideas?

 

[Colin_T]

How long have you had the angelfish for?
What's the water temperature?

If they are new to the tank they might still be settling in.
The water chemistry (pH, GH, KH) might not be the same as what they were in before.
The water quality (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) might be a bit off.

They might not like the texture or taste of the food. You should contact the shop/ person you bought them from and see what they were feeding the fish. They should take frozen foods and you could try them on brineshrimp, blackworms and prawn/ shrimp. If they don't east these you can try live brineshrimp and if they ignore that there is a major health issue with the fish.

 

[TheDudeAbides818]

How long have you had the angelfish for?
What's the water temperature?

If they are new to the tank they might still be settling in.
The water chemistry (pH, GH, KH) might not be the same as what they were in before.
The water quality (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) might be a bit off.

They might not like the texture or taste of the food. You should contact the shop/ person you bought them from and see what they were feeding the fish. They should take frozen foods and you could try them on brineshrimp, blackworms and prawn/ shrimp. If they don't east these you can try live brineshrimp and if they ignore that there is a major health issue with the fish.

I’ve had them since September 1st. Water temp is steady at around 77°-78°.
I check my water parameters probably about once a week and it’s all good. No signs of Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia etc…
Brine shrimp I’ve tried. Dried bloodworm as well. And 3 different types of flake food.
They don’t appear to be sick or diseased. But they DO seem interested in the food I drop in every time. They follow it around a little and occasionally MAY take one little nibble, but then it’s like they don’t want it.

 

[Colin_T]

What sort of brineshrimp did you try (live, freeze dried or frozen)?

It's been over a month and they should be eating. They might have an infection in their mouth that is stopping them or the food you are offering isn't good (it might be old or fungussy).

Post some pictures and a video of them trying to eat and it might show something.
Upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a mobile phone to film the fish, hold the phone horizontally (landscape mode) so the footage fills the entire screen and doesn't have black bars on either end.

 

[TheDudeAbides818]

What sort of brineshrimp did you try (live, freeze dried or frozen)?

It's been over a month and they should be eating. They might have an infection in their mouth that is stopping them or the food you are offering isn't good (it might be old or fungussy).

Post some pictures and a video of them trying to eat and it might show something.
Upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.
If you use a mobile phone to film the fish, hold the phone horizontally (landscape mode) so the footage fills the entire screen and doesn't have black bars on either end.

Freeze dried brine shrimp. When I get a chance I’ll try to take some video to upload. Thank you

 

[Colin_T]

Most fish won't take freeze dried foods unless the fish are surface feeders like rainbowfish. Angelfish are not surface feeders. You could try frozen or live brineshrimp and frozen bloodworms.

 

[TheDudeAbides818]

Ok. I have an update here… I went away for a few days and had an automatic feeder set up. Worked as it should. Had the flakes in there that I normally would feed with. But when I came back yesterday, some of the fish appear to be acting different all of a sudden. The two angels, who always stuck together and rarely separated from each other, are now no longer staying paired up at all. One of them is now actually eating like a madman (flakes AND bloodworm) but the other is still not appearing to eat and is hiding out all the time. My gourami has calmed down considerably but is now eating the bloodworm that he used to not be that interested in and is not as interested in the flakes which he used to devour like a vacuum cleaner. I also found my Pleco belly up on the surface not moving and thought he was dead. But wasn’t at all. Suddenly started darting around again like it was nothing. Seems fine.
Checked my water, and all my levels are good. Though it is a bit cloudy.