Dwarf Angelfish Killing Eachother?

[piranhaman00]

I have a 180 gallon tank that originally had 5 dwarf angelfish and 1 Koran angelfish. The dwarfs were all QT together in a 29 gallon with minimal aggression and have been in the 180 for about a year.

Well all of a sudden every month or so I am finding a dead dwarf angelfish

Half black (First deceased)
Rusty (Second)
Coral Beauty (Found dead yesterday).
Red Stripe (alive)
Lemonpeel (Alive)


I never noticed aggression and all are fat and eating well. All are around 2-3". The deceased are found with torn fins and scars but not sure if it was post mortem.

Will dwarf angelfish suddenly turn on each other? I am not what else would have caused them to die?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I have a 180 gallon tank that originally had 5 dwarf angelfish and 1 Koran angelfish. The dwarfs were all QT together in a 29 gallon with minimal aggression and have been in the 180 for about a year.

Well all of a sudden every month or so I am finding a dead dwarf angelfish

Half black (First deceased)
Rusty (Second)
Coral Beauty (Found dead yesterday).
Red Stripe (alive)
Lemonpeel (Alive)


I never noticed aggression and all are fat and eating well. All are around 2-3". The deceased are found with torn fins and scars but not sure if it was post mortem.

Will dwarf angelfish suddenly turn on each other? I am not what else would have caused them to die?

Very sorry for your losses.

Dwarf angelfish are known to need solitary tanks, and you put 5 in your 180. My LFS wouldn't even sell me a coral beauty because I already had a different dwarf angel in my 180g.

Strange you aren't seeing ANY aggression... scars imply healing, which can only happen if alive. Torn fins could be before or after, if things in tank begin feeding on body before you find and remove.

If there wasn't scars and tears, I'd be asking you about your salinity and if you've confirmed your salinity (which reminds me I need more recalibration solution...)

 

[piranhaman00]

Very sorry for your losses.

Dwarf angelfish are known to need solitary tanks, and you put 5 in your 180. My LFS wouldn't even sell me a coral beauty because I already had a different dwarf angel in my 180g.

Strange you aren't seeing ANY aggression... scars imply healing, which can only happen if alive. Torn fins could be before or after, if things in tank begin feeding on body before you find and remove.

If there wasn't scars and tears, I'd be asking you about your salinity and if you've confirmed your salinity (which reminds me I need more recalibration solution...)

All other fish are doing great so I dont think it is a tank param issue.

Salinity is solid at 1.025.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

All other fish are doing great so I dont think it is a tank param issue.

Salinity is solid at 1.025.

I'm going to be sending lots of positive thoughts and wishes for your lemonpeel and red stripe to live long and healthy lives together

 

[CanuckReefer]

Ugh. Sorry to hear this. I have a Coral Beauty 4 years, and added an Eibli (Red Stripe) in December. Rough first few days but now best buddies. Makes me wonder what might come down the road though hearing your unfortunate events....

 

[jaganshi066]

Ugh. Sorry to hear this. I have a Coral Beauty 4 years, and added an Eibli (Red Stripe) in December. Rough first few days but now best buddies. Makes me wonder what might come down the road though hearing your unfortunate events....

I had a flameback and multicolor in a 40 and at first same the flameback was chasing a bit but now nothing. They are both in a 60 now but still no real aggression. A bit of chasing every now and then but no nipping.

 

[gentlefish]

Sorry for your loss. Aggression is high on the list, alternate is flukes. Did you freshwater dip the body of one of the deceased? I had flukes before and it slowly tends to kill one after another . Frayed fins would be one of the symptoms.

 

[piranhaman00]

Sorry for your loss. Aggression is high on the list, alternate is flukes. Did you freshwater dip the body of one of the deceased? I had flukes before and it slowly tends to kill one after another . Frayed fins would be one of the symptoms.

All fish were treated for flukes. Also there are other fish in the tank that are healthy, only losing the dwarfs. The CB and Rusty were much smaller than the lemonpeel and red stripe, Im wondering if they just turned overnight....

Im keeping an eye on the remaining two.

 

[Weasel1960]

Sorry for your losses. We’re they all introduced at the same time. Based on some other threads I have read lately I was considering having 2 or 3 different dwarves in a 120 bit now not so sure. Following along, I hope you find an answer.

 

[piranhaman00]

Sorry for your losses. We’re they all introduced at the same time. Based on some other threads I have read lately I was considering having 2 or 3 different dwarves in a 120 bit now not so sure. Following along, I hope you find an answer.

All introduced at same time yes.

 

[gentlefish]

Fish may behave differently when we are not around. You could set up a video recording on your phone and watch it back.

 

[dennis romano]

Here is my humble opinion on what happened. When introduced, the angels were relatively young. As they age, hormones kick in. The lemon peel matured first and established a territory. The others are now seen as intruders and must be eliminated. A 180 may seem large to you, but is nothing compared to territory in the wild. To top it off, lemonpeels are usually more aggressive than other dwarf angels.