Flame angel sick
- Thread starter Rctreece
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
My angel suddenly can’t swim. Keeps barely moving and has labored breathing. Might be losing some color also
How long have you had it? Did you freshwater dip him? Did you acclimate him? How long have you had your tank set up? What's your water pramameters?
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
How well has it been eating? What foods?
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
What other fish do you have in the DT? Any aggression?
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
May have internal parasites. How was it's poop? Stringy?
Could have been Flukes as well. If you didn't freshwater dip him when you got him.
Could have been Flukes as well. If you didn't freshwater dip him when you got him.
OP
OP
Rctreece
Active Member
Never noticed any. He was treated with copper and parize pro. Showed no signs of illness. Up to today was doing fine
Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
OP
OP
Rctreece
Active Member
Nope. Added some corals tonight but it was already showing signs. My tank is only 2 months old. Could that have been part of the issue. I don’t have much algae but I did watch it graze. Also it would eat but was very shy so I didn’t see it eat all the time
Big G
captain dunsel
Dwarf angels will literally wear themselves out trying to feed in a new tank. They are looking for their natural foods: algae, worms, crustaceans, sponges, etc. They can starve themselves to death pecking at the bare glass and bare rock until their condition is so weakened and stressed, they don't survive.
Can you get some black worms or white worms? There's a vitamin product made especially for angelfish called Angelixir. It contains proteins and fats from sponges that can greatly help the overall health of the fish.
Big G
captain dunsel
Yes, copper can be hard on dwarf angels, especially Flame Angels. What kind of copper did you use and how did you measure the concentration? We've found that Coppersafe's bottle to bottle concentration varied quite a bit and has injured and or killed some fish due to overdosing. And the API test kit's have been very unreliable for testing copper levels. Most of us have switched to Copperpower. Its concentration in the bottle has been tested and is right on. And along with that, many of us are now using the Hanna HL Copper Checker. It's amazing. You can truly, accurately dose copper now using it. The bottom line is lots of folks have probably been overdosing, me included, fish due to the problems with Coppersafe and the very inaccurate API testing kits and have been losing/injuring fish without even knowing we were doing that. The good news is you could consider using Coppersafe and the Hanna Checker and really be able to slowly dose up, watching for problems with a copper sensitive fish right up to the minimum level of 1.5 ppm. I've used these with other copper sensitive fish like puffers and it worked beautifully slowly dosing up to 1.75ppm which is where I feel comfortable dosing my fish. Who knew I was severely over dosing my fish for a long time? The darn API test is VERY unreliable. So it's not your fault! Here's the good news. Check out this link on the Hanna Checker. @HotRocks has done breakthrough work. Best of luck. Hope this helps a bit.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ratios-for-dosing-copper-power.385871/#post-4684551
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/ratios-for-dosing-copper-power.385871/#post-4684551
OP
OP
Rctreece
Active Member
Thank you for the information. I was using Cupramine with a Salifert copper test kit. I feel bad for losing the fish but glad I learned and will change my techniques next time. Thanks again.
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