Angelfish?

Question

In the past, I have bought angels from Petsmart and Petworld, which haven't worked out well because with in a few days they died. (We even turned the water EXACTLY how angelfish like it and they still died.) and I had a koi, a half black, and a white angel and they were gorgeous! (I only see the striped and marbles now.) Where is a good place to buy angels that actually LIVE? I have a 30 gallon tank that is filling with mollies (that I have to get rid of because there are so many babies) and I want some angels in there after they die.

Um, I don't want goldfish. I am sorry, but I want something graceful and peaceful to enjoy, not have a group of goldfish crap up my tank. I'll stick with mollies if it has to be like that. Sorry if I came across as a rude, goldfish hater.

Yes, we made the levels perfect for angels to live in. I just don't understand what happened.

To Redhed:

Um, yeah I do care. That is why I am ASKING! I take good care of all my animals and that is why I was wondering where to get angelfish because I heard that ones from petsmart die!

Answer 1

The problem is where you are getting your fish from, as well as where they get their fish from. They generaly get hem shipped in from huge Indonesian fish farms, they are weak strains to begin with, that are not properly acclimated to their tanks, which makes it difficult to acclimate them to your tank.

You do have to keep angels at a warmer temperature, at least 80F, and feed a higher protein diet, plain flakes won't work. You need to feed live or frozen brine shrimp a few times weekly, as well as live or frozen bloodworms once weekly, besides the flake.

First of all, find a small privatly owned shop that gets in locally bred angels. These will be bred in your tap water, put into the shop's tanks with tap water, then your tank, again, tap water. Forget trying to make your tank's water "perfect" for angels, unless you are starting with ro water this is nearly impossible, and the resulting pH, hardness, and tds swings could be what is killing them.

I sell hundreds of angels monthly to lfs, bred in hard water with a pH of 7.7. Here's some pics of my setup from a few months back; http://www.fishforums.net/content/forum/209553/Fishroom-Tour/

If there aren't any shops with locally bred angels check out this link to find a local club; http://fins.actwin.com/dir/clubs.php

Some of the links are out of date, try googloing the club name. Angels are fairly easy to breed, there should be someone in your area breeding if you live near a major city, if not e-mail me, as I yak with breeders around the country, and many ship.

Answer 2

Finding healthy Angelfish is not as easy as it once was,there is a "mystery" disease that ravages the major breeders in the Far East and the US periodically and those are the supply sources for the "big box" retailers in the US. Try to find a real pet store (privately owned and operated by the store owner and you will have a much better chance of acquiring healthy stock.
You may also be able to find private breeders in the want ads in tropical fish magazines. Another source would be the American Cichlid Association,if you are serious about Angelfish you should join.

Answer 3

Try Flower Horn Fish. It is beautiful .

Angelfish are kept in a warm aquarium, ideally around 80°F (27°C). They will do best if fed a mixture of flake, frozen and live food. Care should be taken to not overfeed, they will continue to eat even what they do not need. This will lead to a bulidup of fats resulting in inactivity and early death. Angelfish will do best if kept in an acidic environment, pH should be below 7.5. Although most aquarium-bred angelfish can survive in a wide range of pHs, wild-caught angelfish will need water with a pH of at least 6.5. Even though angelfish are a member of the cichlid family they are generally peaceful, however; the general rule "big fish eat little fish" applies. Other aggressive fish should not be kept with angelfish because their flowing fins are vulnerable to fin nipping!

Answer 4

are you sure its not your tank that's killing your angel fish i have 3 beautiful angel fish there water has to be perfect no ammonia no nitrite they also get easily stressed mine do very well in my tank,
Ive had mine for nearly two years and they are kept with a variety of fish,i would be checking the levels in your tank first,angels just cant tolerate poor levels in tanks.
angel fish can be very difficult to keep my friend cant keep them as she cant keep her levels perfect enough for the angel fish if yours keep dying maybe you cant keep them i will confess i cant keep mollies mine die but i Can keep cichlids in my tank no problem good luck

Answer 5

I had the same problem, but i soon tryed a simple goldfish and he lasted 3 YEARS! plz let me know when you find out.

Answer 6

I don't really think that it is Petsmart's fault.. but i would go there again

Answer 7

You're sick. You really don't give a sh*t about your animals dying, do you?