Hey guys i work at a mom and pop pet shop and we have been having trouble keeping our angels alive. Our angel tank is 55 gallon, we keep it at 78-80 deg and the PH is always around 7.0-7.2 or so. It has a fluval 404 on it as well. The tank receives one water change a week of about 20%. We usually get about 10 angels in with our fish order and though they eat and seem healthy at first they just seem to die slowly one or two at a time every few days. Do you guys think this could be a quality issue with our supplier, or are we really doing something wrong?
Keeping Angels Alive
- Thread starter CTPS
- Start date
shane87
Fish Fanatic
i think angels prefer softer water, not sayin thats the reason they are diein but might be a factor
Kizz
Fish Addict
Check the ph of the water they are arriving it .It could be that it's lower than your's and they are suffering from PH shock it may mean lowering your ph to suit that of your supplier
Bring the temperature up to 82-84F, angels like it warmer. You didn't mention how you acclimate them, I would try a drip acclimation process if you are having problems. Your pH should not be an issue. Try changing more water as well, I do 50% weekly on angel tanks. Skip feeding the day you get them in, feed lightly the next week, flake only.
You could also try an order from another supplier, or a local breeder. If you change nothing and these fish thrive you have your answer. Most any local club has an angel breeder or two.
You could also try an order from another supplier, or a local breeder. If you change nothing and these fish thrive you have your answer. Most any local club has an angel breeder or two.
Ghipsi
Fish Fanatic
What signs of illness is there before they die? eg gasping etc..
I have known people loose Angels in what seem to be healthy enviroments & when I advise to add more oxygenating they then have no problems. Also my local fish shop was always unsure about stocking Angels as he had the same problems until I became his suplier & he never looses one of my fish because all are healthy & pre-aclimatised to his water PH of 7.5 (I spent 4 days raising the PH from my PH of 6 to his shop PH).
Lisa.
I have known people loose Angels in what seem to be healthy enviroments & when I advise to add more oxygenating they then have no problems. Also my local fish shop was always unsure about stocking Angels as he had the same problems until I became his suplier & he never looses one of my fish because all are healthy & pre-aclimatised to his water PH of 7.5 (I spent 4 days raising the PH from my PH of 6 to his shop PH).
Lisa.
Thanks for all the reply's everyone. Checking the PH in there bag is a good idea, however by the time i get the fish they have sometimes been in transit for several hours and arrive in low PH. It would be a heck of a thing to keep my tanks at such a low PH considering out of my tap the PH is neutral. Im going to try a slower drip acc. this time around i think thats a good idea.
What do you guys recommend i do as far as time and % for the drip acclimation?
What do you guys recommend i do as far as time and % for the drip acclimation?
Several hours in a bag isn't bad, as long as they have been bagged properly. This means not overstocking the bag, 1/3 water, 2/3 air, and having been fasted for 24 hours before bagging. Unless the water in the bag is very soft you should not see much of a pH drop.
When I get fish shipped in first thing I do is open the bag and immediately add a double dose of dechlorinator that neutralizes ammonia. This is the biggest concern with fish that have been shipped, many having been in the bag 24 hours give or take. For drip acclimating I try to double the water volume every hour, for about 3 hours. If the fish look distressed slow the drip rate, if they seem to pick up with the fresh water increase it.
After 3 hours they should have about 87.5% tank water, now it's time to take the average couple of fish, add them to the tank, and observe for about 10 minutes. If the sample fish in the tank seem ok, add the rest of the fish. If they don't, leave them be, drip the fish in the bag for another hour.
Do not add the bag water to the tank, net out the fish, or pour the fish into a net held over a bucket. Leave the lights off for 24 hours, light the tank with only room light. Angels should be fine with not being fed the first 24 hours, some species, generally wild caught, you do want to get them to eat as soon as possible. This is where live food or fresh vegatables are an advantage.
I buy & sell fish at local & not so local auctions on a regular basis, the water in the Midwest is generally hard to very hard, pH 7.2-8.0. These fish can be acclimated faster than 3 hours most of the time. I get fish shipped in from South America on occasion, wilds that are shipped in the local very soft water with a lower pH. Some of these are fine with a faster acclimation, many take longer than 3 hours.
When I get fish shipped in first thing I do is open the bag and immediately add a double dose of dechlorinator that neutralizes ammonia. This is the biggest concern with fish that have been shipped, many having been in the bag 24 hours give or take. For drip acclimating I try to double the water volume every hour, for about 3 hours. If the fish look distressed slow the drip rate, if they seem to pick up with the fresh water increase it.
After 3 hours they should have about 87.5% tank water, now it's time to take the average couple of fish, add them to the tank, and observe for about 10 minutes. If the sample fish in the tank seem ok, add the rest of the fish. If they don't, leave them be, drip the fish in the bag for another hour.
Do not add the bag water to the tank, net out the fish, or pour the fish into a net held over a bucket. Leave the lights off for 24 hours, light the tank with only room light. Angels should be fine with not being fed the first 24 hours, some species, generally wild caught, you do want to get them to eat as soon as possible. This is where live food or fresh vegatables are an advantage.
I buy & sell fish at local & not so local auctions on a regular basis, the water in the Midwest is generally hard to very hard, pH 7.2-8.0. These fish can be acclimated faster than 3 hours most of the time. I get fish shipped in from South America on occasion, wilds that are shipped in the local very soft water with a lower pH. Some of these are fine with a faster acclimation, many take longer than 3 hours.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
329 -
257 -
199
-
197 -
186 -
162 -
147 -
142 -
130 -
125 -
121 -
110 -
91 -
88 -
F
78