Sick Angelfish? Need Some Advice Soon

[LaurieLou]

I know this should be in the "fish emergency" section and I did post there, but not getting a response and I am kind of desperate. Figured all you angelfish experts could help maybe. We have a 55 gallon tank, ph 7.0, ammonia 0, nirite 0, nitrate 5. 4 angels, 5 corys, 5 very small otos, 4 swordtails. All the fish are fine except for 1 angelfish. She started acting strange this morning, became very skittish, kind of shaking herself in the tank. This afternoon I did my normal 30% weekly water change. She will not come out from where the heater is, is refusing to eat. The other angel that she/he has paired off with won't leave his/her side. There is no obvious signs of anything wrong visually except something white with a pink "something at the end of it" hanging from where she poops. There have been no fish added, no plants added, everything has been fine for months and all other fish, including the other angels are fine. Any ideas? I am so attached to this fish, I want to help, but have no idea what could be wrong.

Thanks

 

[Tolak]

Put the angel in a quar tank, I usually use a 10 gallon. Increase the temp over a day or so to 90-94F. Treat daily with 40 mg/gallon metronidazole, with 50% water changes daily. If the fish isn't eating, don't feed for the first 3 days. After 3 days, get some frozen brine shrimp. Take a portion about the size of a few match heads, and sprinkle on some metro. You have to eyeball this one, make the shrimp look kind of like a tiny powdered donut. Once it thaws, mix it in & feed. Sometimes they still don't eat for a few days, but once they start to mouth the food & spit it out, the meds seem to get in their system real good. Continue medicating the water & food for 7-10 days.

Don't let the high temp scare you, angels can handle higher than that. I've had them as high as 98F due to a broken heater. Just make sure to have only angels in the tank at that temp. Make sure to have plenty of aeration also, as warmer water holds less O2.



Metronidazole is sold as flagyl, het-a-mit, and a few other names I can't recall offhand, used to treat hexamita & hole in the head. They usually suggest 20mg/gallon, this often isn't enough. Metro deteriorates in 8 hours, so you could do twice daily water changes. I've done this on the weekends when I have time.

I've also added epsom salt while using metro, this helps with any constipation issues, cleans out the digestive tract. I start with 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons of water, increasing by 1 teaspoon daily for 2 more days to bring it up to 3 teaspoons per 10 gallons. You will have to adjust how much you use when doing water changes. You may want to give this a try.

 

[LaurieLou]

Thanks Tolak, just got back with meds, I will let you know how it goes.