Angelfish

[Sunshinebluemoon]

I just picked up an angel fish with severe thin rot who was in a look like 30 gallon bow with three mollies and I believe in a Buenos Aires tetra. The mollies and the Tetra definitely have ick and there's some minor fin rot. The angel fish on the other hand is got some major fin rot. My intention was to bring the angel fish and surrender him to the coop because you guys would know exactly what to do to get him healthy. I could not keep him and get him healthy because I currently do not have an adequate tank.

 

Well the mollies and Buenos Aires tetra are in my five gallon hospital tank. They will probably go to a friend's 36 gallon with other Molly friends to play with when they have healed up and no longer need to be in the hospital tank.

 

But this angel fish here is already growing on us and we want to do right by him we have him in a column probably 3 gallon tank. Put the metaflex in the tank for him and some prime. He has a heater and a sponge filter. For the night his basics are covered. My question is can this hospital tank be ok for a few days while we get him a little more healthy and start to get a tank cycling... I need guidance. Please don't say all things I should be doing. I think my son, he is 24, really wants to keep him so we need to do it right the first try.

[Kirsten]

Good on you for wanting to do right by your new fish pets!

Rule of thumb is that if one fish in a tank has ich, they probably all have it (and anything used in their tank is probably contaminated as well), so I'd treat for ich as well as fin rot if you think the fish is strong enough to handle both treatments at once. If you can only do one treatment at a time, try to increase the temperature, gradually, in both tanks to 82 deg F to help speed up the course of the disease and have a better chance of eliminating it. You should also consider adding aquarium salt to help boost gill function and help repair their slime coat.

The co-op has an excellent blog post and video about how to treat ich: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-treat-ich-on-freshwater-fish. Many of these treatments will probably also help with the fin rot (at least, the salt and the daily water changes certainly will). You may not have to worry too much about cycling the tank since you shouldn't be feeding much during treatment, and you'll be doing daily water changes as well as part of the ich treatment. So, I think as long as you're using a seasoned sponge filter, you should probably be okay.

If you think there's room for the angel in with the other fish in the hospital tank, that'll probably make the treatment process easier on you. But if you think the other fish are nipping the angel's fins or otherwise stressing it out, probably best to keep them separated.

Edited April 5, 2021 by Kirsten

[anewbie]

Depends on the size of the angle. I suspect it is not an adult. I have treated my angles in a 5 gallon pail before and had them fully recover when they were around 1 to 2 inches. I would definitely keep him on the warmer side of things - at least 80 (if the temp is cooler then raise it very gradually) - also do frequent water changes with prewarmed water - as long as it is eating there is a good chance of recovery. If they stop eating then it is time to panic.

[Sunshinebluemoon]

Update we are doing our best to keep him comfortable. Thank you both for your help we finally got we finally got the temp right. He is eating right off my finger and is recognizing me and my son so I think we are doing good that you for the help.

[Sunshinebluemoon]

Just wanted to give a new update Staro's he is getting healthier and prettier by the day. We are hoping to be able to move him to the tank we built for him but the parameters imploded on use about 2 weeks ago. I think we are getting the tank sorted out and hoped to put him in there anyday.