Runt of the litter Angel - advice needed

[Jawjagrrl]

I got some lovely angelfish babies (dime size) around two weeks ago after an extended ship. I only lost one, a Philippine Blue superveil that the seller threw in as a freebie. Another in the same bag came through ok, as did the third fish in the bag, which was very well packaged.

I loved the remaining superveil so much I added more a week later from the same hatch, doing great. They get a mix of crushed xtreme krill flake, coop Fry food and live baby brine shrimp.

The original superveil is about 20% smaller than his hatchmates, but seems healthy enough except for size and disinterest in food. He has even spit out bbs! But then I will see him foraging, just not sure he is eating anything he finds.

ADVICE NEEDED: What can I do for this little fella, is this a case of Failure to Thrive? Sometimes he wants to be near (but not too close) to the others, while other times I will see him off to himself (Qt is a half filled 75). He'll seem interested in food, but then spit out what's offered, usually while near the bottom of the tank while the others are scrumming up top. No one is bullying him that I have observed.

I did just get in a new 5gal I was setting up for my killies, but I could set up for this angel for awhile first - maybe intimidated by his bigger siblings? I sure hate to lose him, beautiful markings and hopefully a future in the angel side of my dual 75s project. Here he is with his Bulgarian seal point friends from the same breeder.

[Fish Folk]

Cute! Do you think this wee angel might have worms / parasites? Not eating . . . looks a bit fragile . . . just wondering out loud.

Forehead marking is a bit unclear. Hole-in-the-head disease possibly?

I've had runts like this. Sometimes they grow and size up well. Just depends.

Got to get the fish eating something. Spits out live BBS??!! Really??!! That's a shock.

I buy frozen foods often these days, and mix cubes together in warm tank water in a specimen container before serving. Maybe a mix of Daphnia + Spirulina Brine + Blood Worms + Mysis would trigger _something_ . . . just thinking out loud.

Have you tried any fresh Xtreme Krill Flakes? Some fish are obsessed with them.

[Jawjagrrl]

On 7/1/2022 at 10:41 PM, Fish Folk said:

Cute! Do you think this wee angel might have worms / parasites? Not eating . . . looks a bit fragile . . . just wondering out loud.

Forehead marking is a bit unclear. Hole-in-the-head disease possibly?

I've had runts like this. Sometimes they grow and size up well. Just depends.

Got to get the fish eating something. Spits out live BBS??!! Really??!! That's a shock.

I buy frozen foods often these days, and mix cubes together in warm tank water in a specimen container before serving. Maybe a mix of Daphnia + Spirulina Brine + Blood Worms + Mysis would trigger _something_ . . . just thinking out loud.

Have you tried any fresh Xtreme Krill Flakes? Some fish are obsessed with them.

I thought about illness first, but the other fish he is in QT with all came from the same source/tanks and they look tremendous. Very active, eating a ton. 

I'm not close to any source for frozen food unfortunately. I am feeding:

- Hikari micro pellets

- Xtreme krill flake (opened recently, every fish in the house love (except my green neons)

- Instant Baby Brine Shrimp (just opened past week for them, kept in the fridge)

- Coop Fry food

I also have bug bites (too big), sera shrimp pellets, shrimp and algae wafers and repashy (community).

Not sure what marking you are wondering about re: HITH? Haven't noticed any signs, source tank and my qt tank both very clean. Mine also has live plants.

These came from a home hobbyist/breeder, so I am less worried about illness compared to an LFS or wholesaler. I keep coming back to the thought that because of his small size, he is intimidated by the larger fish. I know netting and moving is stressful, but perhaps he would do better alone in a smaller setup for awhile. Even half full, the 75 is a pretty big environment for a large pea size angel.

[Odd Duck]

Have you tried hatching some live bbs?  That might be better than the instant.  Even decapsulated is sometimes taken better by finicky fish.  Can you get live Daphnia?  That’s often a big hit, too.  What about live whiteworms or blackworms, maybe Grindal worms?  Anything to boost the appetite and food intake.

Sometimes you will just end up with a finicky one that just doesn’t grow as well.  They can grow out of it sometimes but some remain stunted.  I would probably do at least a couple doses of Expel-P just to make certain there’s no intestinal parasites interfering with the appetite and stealing nutrients.

[Axredx]

Try these, they work fine for a couple of my shy and slow angels.

Edited July 2, 2022 by Axredx
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[Jawjagrrl]

On 7/2/2022 at 10:01 AM, Axredx said:

Try these, they work fine for a couple of my shy and slow angels.

hmm... I do have freeze dried bloodworms on hand that I forgot to mention. Only some of my fish enjoy repashy, but it might be time to try this this tank.

[Brandon p]

I hate to say this but it doesn’t look right. I think may be deformed. It doesn’t mean it won’t make it. I have an angel that looked similar. The body looks to long. Most not all seem to have a more round body. The other thing I see is the where the bogey and gill plate meet it looks similar to a cull that my kids had tho save. Fish don’t always  cooperate But I did mange to get a couple pictures the first was just front vie of where the body and gill plate meet. The second shows better how the body drops down and widens. I got her as a dime sizes about a year ago with a pair that breeds now. I had the move her to the 20 gallon that had shrimp and a some neons so she could eat more.  Think with the bbs and the other foods it’s probably eating well. I like moving it to a smaller tank for 2 reasons. First you can really make sure it gets food. It’s hard to control feeding in a larder tank. Second it will give it sometime to fill out. You my have feed small amounts a few times a day. It could always  e a smaller in diameter but still fat and happy. IF you do move it you can take a small amount of reapashy right out of the container. Just little especially in a small amount. I use the small end of a chopstick and drop just a little in and stir it so if falls in to the water. I plan on doing this tomorrow for some angels fry. @Fish Folk and @Odd Duck have always helped me. Now that I read there posts here I repeated some of the info. One last thing the fish pictured has the mouth more to the side as well and I still rub some krill flakes together so it can eat them. I think it will make. The live BBS is a big key to my fish keeping. I have never had a fish not eat them. With the instant they don’t move so it doesn’t trigger the natural predatory response. It’s still good but if you are still having issues you may want to think about it. 

[Brandon p]

How are things looking? Better I hope.