Sick Angel Fish?

Question

I have a pretty good size Angel Fish that is probably 2-3 years old. I inherited from my ex wife who had him in a 5 gallon tank that you couldn't even see into it was so green. I nursed him back to health and have had for a year now. When I fed them yesterday he didn't eat which is unheard for for him. Today he was face down at the bottom of the tank and when I moved him a little he swam around with no control(on his side, upright, like having no balance).

Any ideas what could be causing this? 30 gallon tank, regular water changes, I monitor my water quality, no new fish for 6+months.

One odd thing I need to mention. He is a Zebra Striped Angel. From his mouth up to his dorsal fin along the top is kind of a rusty color. I just figured it was natural. I added a white Veiled Angel about 6-7 months ago that was completely white, but I noticed it has developed this rusty color along the top as well.

Any help is appreciated. I don't want to lose Bubba after all he has gone through.

New details - I was looking at him really close and it looks like his anus is protruding.

Answer 1

I have no ready explaination for the rusty color except that it's natural coloration. Certainly any disease or parasite that could cause this coloration would have spread and killed that fish by now.

Since this is the only fish in the tank with the problem and since you have noted that it appears his anus is protruding or prolapsing some, I would suggest that this is an internal infection. It may or may not have started in his swim bladder but it certainly sounds as if that organ is affected. There is also the outside chance that the fish is constipated. If you feed almost nothing but dry foods it's a possibility, but if his diet contains the occasional frozen or live food I would call constipation a very long shot indeed.

I would suggest moving the fish to a quarantine tank or container and treating away from the main tank. Since this is internal and no other fish seem to be affected, there is no seeable need to trash your biologial filtration in your main tank at this time.

In internal infection will require antibiotics to treat. Since freshwater fish don't drink the water they swim in, you need antibiotics that are well absorbed by the fish through it's skin and gills. The best choice is Furanace and a second best would be Maracyn TC (or any tetracycline). If neither of these are avilable there are a few human antibiotics that will work well including Cipro, penicillin and ampicillin. If you need to use one of those medications, most will require a prescription from a Dr. or Vet. Dosing should be 250mg per 10 gallons for any except the Cipro, it's a bit stronger and requires being diluted so if you have that please email me for directions in it's use.

Hope this helps and feel free to email me with any questions.

MM

Answer 2

You didn't see any improvement because your fish don't have ich. Ich is characterized by white spots ONLY, it looks like your fish has been rolling in salt. NOTHING ELSE is Ich. That said, your petstore guy doesn't seem to know what he's talking about - which is nothing new - so in the future, take what he says with a grain of salt. The stuff you are describing could be fungus or columnaris. They are both typically a result of poor water conditions and/or stress (from moving or whatever). Fungus looks like cottony white stuff; columnaris looks more like they've been swimming through cobwebs. Most fish illnesses can be fixed by fixing their water problems. So, make sure their water is crystal clear - so do weekly 30% water changes(do a large water change immediately). Make sure you have enough space in the tank - each angelfish needs 10 gallons on top of a 20 gallon base - so if your two angels are by themselves, they'd need about 40 gallons, give or take, as adults. You can add some salt to perk them up, about 1 flat tbsp of aquarium salt per 5 gallons of water, disolved first in dechlor water. If you do not see any improvement, or if they stop eating, you may want to treat with Maracyn, which will treat columnaris and fungus. Edit: Actually, salt is preferable to using parasite-killing meds because they are far less harsh on the fish and the biological filtration, and they are just as efficient when killing the ich. Ich has 4 lifestages, and it's only killable during ONE of them, when it's freeswimming, so regardless of the amount of mucus the fish produces, the ich will be killed only when after it detaches from the fish and reproduces. Once the ich detaches, it leaves an open wound which will make the fish more susceptible to infections, so a thick mucus coat is VERY important.

Answer 3

Something is definately wrong with him. Every time I have noticed this kind of lethargic behavior in one of my fishes it has never ended very well. The problem doesn't seem to be due to parasites or "ick" but some other kind of problem. The rusty color doesn't seem to be the issue. I suggest you discuss the issue with someone knowledgeable at a pet store and see if they have any medicine that would help.

Answer 4

Is Bubba really a girl? Maybe she is having babies?

Answer 5

They only thing i can think of is your water is out, But you said you tested it, What all did you test, ph.ammonia etc?

Answer 6

most likely velvet -- heres a couple pages on velvet.

http://www.flippersandfins.net/velvet.htm

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/velvet.htm