My Angle fish

[jbatt]

Hi

I'm pretty new to this game and so far I have enjoyed looking after the fish.

I did a 15% water change today as I hoovered the gravel (what a pants hoover I have)

Anway, I have noticed that one of my angel fish was drifting with the currents in the water. It can swim up and down but slowley. I have now caught it using the net and placed it in to a breading net.

It's not eating. You can see the fins on his side flap, and his mouth keeps opening and closing.

My tank setup is:

Temp 26deg

I think it's a 30 gal tank

Testing kit is Tetratest 5 in 1

Reading are
NO2 - 1
NO3 - 10
GH - is between >6od and >10od
>60d - >10od
<30d - >10od

KH - 0od
pH 6.8

Are my tank readings OK. If not, what do I need to buy to change it?.

Thanks

James

 

[dixaisy930]

How long has your tank been set up?

What about ammonia?

The nitrite reading should be zero...doing daily water changes should bring this down.

What other tankmates do you have in with the angel?

Sounds sort of like stress from elevated nitrite and/or ammonia levels. Doing daily partial water changes should help. But don't vacume the gravel each time, since you don't want to disrupt your biological filter too much.

HTH

 

[lizard]

Vacuuming the gravel shouldn't disrupt your biological filter. Much of your biological filter lives in the media in your filter, although there is still a fair bit on the gravel.

I agree that it sounds like your angel is stressed, perhaps from elevated chemical levels in the tank. Keep up with daily water change - that should help a lot. You can stop with the daily water changes when you ammonia and nitrite levels are zero for a few days running and the nitrate isn't too high (don't know the exact level).

Good luck!

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[jbatt]

Hi

Thankyou for the feed back.

The fish died last night

Anyway, is my water not correct?. What testing kit should I by?.

Thanks again

James

 

[dixaisy930]

The nitrite should be 0...anything above that is considered atleast stressful, and much higher than that is considered harmful.

An ammonia test would be a good thing to get, since that is what is most harmful to fish.

 

[Gunnie]

Sorry about your angel fish. Angels are a little more delicate than some of the other fish. Everyone I know that has had angel fish, but is not a fish fanatic, says they can't keep them alive. I agree that it's probably the nitrites that did your fish in. My recommendation is to get an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals master test kit. There are 2 different master test kits, so get the one with the nitrate test in it. I know you already have a test kit, but you need that nitrate test to determine when your cycle is complete, and the nitrate test alone can cost you the same amount as a master test kit. That particular master test kit also has a 2 part ammonia test which is the better ammonia test IMO, because if you use a 1 part ammonia test, and you have been using amquel or ammo lock to neutralize ammonia or nitrites, you will get a false positive with the 1 part test. You also need to determine if your tank is or ever has been cycled. Angel fish do not do well in an uncycled tank. (Taking a deep breath). So, start off with getting the tests you need, post your results for everything you can test, tell us how big your tank is, how long has it been running, and what kind of fish you have remaining in the tank. We will walk you through this, and hopefully you will have a healthy tank in no time!

 

[babyfish]

Shame about your angel.... they are not that sensitive normally altho' a lot of them are inbred these days or not quarantined properly.

The nitrates in your tank will only drop to the level of the nitrates in your tapwater, so you need to test this.
Regular water changes... not overfeeding and removal of dead/dying leaves will all help to keep nitrates lower.... fast growing plants are the best form of nitrate removers.

Get yourself a quarantine tank.... the angel was probably very stressed at being confined in a breeder net and as you have discovered.....you will need one

 

[Vip]

doesnt ammo turn into NO3?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

doesnt ammo turn into NO3?

Amonia (NH3) turns into NitrIte (NO2) which turns into NitrAte (NO3). Plants eat up all of these, not just NitrAte, which is why plants are so good in new tanks and just in general.