FishEnthusiast
Fish Herder
I have a very sick angel fish and I am at my wits end over what to do about it. Let me start with a little background of my situation. I have had this angel for well over a year now. When I bought him he was already fully grown, about the size of the palm of my hand.
About 2 months ago he got stuck behind his spawning slate while I was at work. He was trying to get some fallen wigglers and squeezed into a space that was way to small for him. When I got home and rescued him his fins were in tatters, and both his eyes were scratched very badly. I added melafix and did daily water changes to aid him in his healing. He appeared to get completely better from this, but now I am having my doubts. A month after this happened I moved houses. The angel is too big for any of my nets, so I had to chase him into a bowl to move him. Not long after the move I noticed he was showing symptoms of hole in the head. I resumed the daily water changes, using prime to dechlorinate the water, but that hasn't seemed to have helped. I feed a variety of foods to the angels, including pellet food, frozen blood worms, on occasion frozen brine shrimp, and vegetables such as peas and zucchini.
Last week I tried to find metronidazole or any medication with it as the main ingredient, to no avail. The last few days it seemed to be getting better, but this morning I woke up to him looking like this:
I have no idea why his mouth looks like that! I really need to know what I can do to help him. He is one of my most favourite fish and I can't stand the thought of losing him. If I have to drive across the city to get him medication I will, so any advice is greatly appreciated.
This is my stats:
Tank size: 55G, heavily planted, gravel/fluorite substrate
pH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: <5
tank temp: 80
Tank inhabitants: 2 angels, 1 gourami, 5 otos, and 6 Boesmani rainbows
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): none, the tank has had the current inhabitants for well over a year
Exposure to chemicals: none
About 2 months ago he got stuck behind his spawning slate while I was at work. He was trying to get some fallen wigglers and squeezed into a space that was way to small for him. When I got home and rescued him his fins were in tatters, and both his eyes were scratched very badly. I added melafix and did daily water changes to aid him in his healing. He appeared to get completely better from this, but now I am having my doubts. A month after this happened I moved houses. The angel is too big for any of my nets, so I had to chase him into a bowl to move him. Not long after the move I noticed he was showing symptoms of hole in the head. I resumed the daily water changes, using prime to dechlorinate the water, but that hasn't seemed to have helped. I feed a variety of foods to the angels, including pellet food, frozen blood worms, on occasion frozen brine shrimp, and vegetables such as peas and zucchini.
Last week I tried to find metronidazole or any medication with it as the main ingredient, to no avail. The last few days it seemed to be getting better, but this morning I woke up to him looking like this:
I have no idea why his mouth looks like that! I really need to know what I can do to help him. He is one of my most favourite fish and I can't stand the thought of losing him. If I have to drive across the city to get him medication I will, so any advice is greatly appreciated.
This is my stats:
Tank size: 55G, heavily planted, gravel/fluorite substrate
pH: 7.0
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: <5
tank temp: 80
Tank inhabitants: 2 angels, 1 gourami, 5 otos, and 6 Boesmani rainbows
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): none, the tank has had the current inhabitants for well over a year
Exposure to chemicals: none
/www.worldcichlids.com/diseases/Adamhith.html
. I don't think he is going to recover and I really don't want him to suffer. I know for a fact that I personally could never do this to my favourite fish, so I am going to have to ask my husband to do it for me. Of the acceptable methods of euthanasia, which is the best for a fish that is about the size of the palm of my hand?
I am sad to say my angel has passed away, with his mate at his side. I knew the end was coming, so I have already dug him a grave under one of the apple trees in my yard. 
