Strange angelfish disease

[angelfish1954]

I have 14 4 month old angelfish from a batch of 150. I sold the rest of the batch to a local aquarist shop and they have remained healthy. Recently, they stopped feeding and began spitting repeatedly. At first it was one or two, but over a two week period they have all stopped feeding. They hide in one corner and are very jumpy when I approach. I have treated them for Hexamita and Gill flukes to no avail. Water changes have made no difference. Temperature is 82 degrees Fahrenheit and PH is 6.8. Can anyone help to save them?

 

[Colin_T]

Pictures and video of the fish?
Upload videos to YouTube, then copy & paste the link here.

What is the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the water?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

 

[angelfish1954]

Hi Colin, Thanks for the reply. I am not tech savvy enough to attach video, but my daughter can do this when she visits.

I have been changing around 40% of the water every 2 weeks. I use RO water buffered to give appropriate PH value. I clean the gravel every water change. There are no obvious external physical symptoms but the spitting is now followed by vigorous head shaking and some fish are rubbing themselves against plant leaves as if to scratch an itch. I am running an undergravel filter. I can't test for Nitrite or Nitrate levels as I have run out of JBL reagent until Monday.

 

[Colin_T]

Either add salt or a broad spectrum medication (like Waterlife Protozin) that treats fungus, bacteria and protozoan infections.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[angelfish1954]

Either add salt or a broad spectrum medication (like Waterlife Protozin) that treats fungus, bacteria and protozoan infections.



-----------------



SALT

You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.



Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.



The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.



After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.



If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.



When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.

 

[angelfish1954]

Thank you Colin, I will begin treatment today.