# Tricks to angel fish?



## InuGirlTeen (Oct 26, 2008)

I've wanted angel fish since I started my tank last year and finally decided to get some. I bought two healthy looking ones from my lfs. I settled them in to the quarintine tank and they looked okay. The next day one was dead. So I went back to the store and exchanged it for another. The second angel that I had orginally bought still seemed perfectly fine. That was two days ago. Today both the original angel and the replacement are dead. I've tested my water and all that I can see is that it's a little hard, which I already knew.

Are they -that- sensative to hard water or could my lfs be handing out sickly fish? Is there any trick to keeping angels alive?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

There are sensitive to sudden changes, so acclimate slowly. And you can kill them with the wrong food. They can die of constipation. But its more likely that there is a new "angelfish plague" going around. Maybe a virus. I hear a lot of this lately. Time to bleach your QT tank and buy from another source, maybe a breeder.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

InuGirlTeen said:


> Are they -that- sensative to hard water or could my lfs be handing out sickly fish? Is there any trick to keeping angels alive?


IGT: to the best of my knowledge there is no trick as I have raised several to almost full adult size from dime size.

If these are like silver dollar size angels IMHO your results have been due to acclimatization.

I have had very good luck with purchasing dime size angels and raising them.

TR

em: posted while I was preparing my post.


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## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

If all the fish in your sig are in you tank, need to rethink it before getting angels.


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## InuGirlTeen (Oct 26, 2008)

jones57742 said:


> IGT: to the best of my knowledge there is no trick as I have raised several to almost full adult size from dime size.
> 
> If these are like silver dollar size angels IMHO your results have been due to acclimatization.
> 
> ...


Yes, the ones I purchased were silver dollar sized. Do you really think that buying them younger will make a difference in their survival chance?

None of the stores around here sell angels any smaller than what I already purchased and I really don't want to trust the postal system to not kill them in transport. I'll buy plants online, but not fish.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

InuGirlTeen said:


> Yes, the ones I purchased were silver dollar sized. Do you really think that buying them younger will make a difference in their survival chance?


Absolutely! Back in the days when the earth was young (ie. my early days of fish keeping) I tried the late juvie/early adult but joy was limited.

I subsequently have purchased late fry/early juvie with much joy.

Somehow fish at this stage of growth are very hardy "little devils" and, IMHO, have not become acclimatized to the water conditions in which they were grown.




InuGirlTeen said:


> None of the stores around here sell angels any smaller than what I already purchased and I really don't want to trust the postal system to not kill them in transport. I'll buy plants online, but not fish.


I have never had a problem with purchasing fish and receiving the fish healthy on_line.

I rarely purchase fish these days as my focus is on the development of a Guppy strain which I will enjoy as well as "getting down" an appropriate dry fertilization and lighting protocol.

When I do very infrequently purchase fish I just do not get into on_line purchase (if another avenue is available) due to the "raping and pillaging" associated with shipping costs.

John: are you listening here and you got any nice Angel fry?

IGT: you just gotta have a PetSmart proximate to you and the store will have a tank full of dime size angels.

IGT: if you do indeed have "room for" Angels (refer to ca's post) then you might consider purchasing four as at 2" in length probably one or two will die due to some inexplicable reason.

TR

BTW: if this works out for you I hope that you will consider getting back into a planted tank.

SueM can be a ton of help here and sells her plants at a "way more than reasonable" costs.


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## Hydr0 JoE (Jan 13, 2009)

that happened to me when i first started trying to get angel fish, every one died that was from a big name store like petsmart, but once i went to a no name, ma and pa type of fish store i got 3 and have not had a problem since then


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## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

jones57742 said:


> SueM can be a ton of help here and sells her plants at a "way more than reasonable" costs.


I just got my package from sue and I haven't seen it yet but i will call her a GODDESS!!! She had reasonable prices, especially with shipping as high as it is. I HIGHLY recommend her. And thank you for acknowledging me. 

(4) Zebra Danio I would beef it up to 6.*
(10) Platy Depending on M:F ratio probably good. 
(3) Silver Tip Tetra I would boost it to 6.*
(6) Neon Tetra PERFECT!!!*
(1) Male Betta  Personally I would lose him.**
(1) Chinese Algae Eater  Not a lot of experience but I think your ok. 
(1) Goby What type? Most likely okay. 
(2) Angels Refer to Jones' post. (4 will be good) 

if this is your stock list the red is what my opinion is. 

* Since you have a larger tank a bigger school like 9-11ish is always better. 

** What you have is also known as a Siamese Fighting Fish, like its name says it will fight and nip the angels fins. I'm surprised you haven't had any problems yet.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Hydr0 JoE said:


> that happened to me when i first started trying to get angel fish, every one died that was from a big name store like petsmart, but once i went to a no name, ma and pa type of fish store i got 3 and have not had a problem since then


HJ: I must have said something wrong.

I have had just as much luck with my PetSmart angels as with on_line Breeder Angels (and some of these include very high end German Koi Angels).

TR


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## Hydr0 JoE (Jan 13, 2009)

oh no jones, i was just putting my 2 cents in, i tried every type from petsmart and they all died on me :S


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## InuGirlTeen (Oct 26, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the awesome replies!

Jones: I really blame my local area for the bad shipping. I've never recieved a package that wasn't beaten or battered in some way and I am just too scared to put any fish through that. I'll keep on the lookout for smaller angels, though, and try them. I really want to have some in my tank. I have two petsmarts that I frequent and they don't recieve any angels smaller than silver dollar size. As for having room, see my reply to Caca.

Caca: I'm actually trying to find new homes for my danios, silver tip tetra, and all my platy. I have a few small local storest have agreed to purchase them from me. I'm selling my goby as well. I purchased him to keep my platy population in check [crazy livebearers!] As for my betta, I've been keeping bettas for twelve years and am very aware of their personality traits and their needs. Since there is so much room in my aquarium and with the special hiding places that I have set up for him, he doesn't bother any of my other fish. 

Thanks again for all the replies. I'm going to try and clear out my aquarium a little first and then I guess I'll try again. I have a small local store that just opened in November that I'm pretty sure will order the angels for me from a good supplier. =3


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

inu girl...if you want some really beautiful angels contact this guy... jeff... aka; coryloachfreak on aquabid.. his e-mail is [email protected] .... tell him that i sent you.....he lives in oolitic or whatever the heck that place is called in indiana.. i garauntee that you won't be sorry or disappointed with his fish...


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## InuGirlTeen (Oct 26, 2008)

Thanks, Loha. Oolitic is actually only two hours away from where I live. If I decide to buy from him, I wonder how open he would be to meeting me half way with the fish.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

jeff is the best...wouldn't surprise me if he did it..


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## triks (May 13, 2009)

Patience is the keyword here
What I always do with fish that are hard to catch is as follows
First of all I don't put my hand in there
I don't chase them to hard, because it will only stress them out
I take my net and go with slow movements through the water, try to corner them and usually am able to catch from the back, or sometimes even from the front
Remember, never fast movements, he will only go wild and you will stress him out


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## Guest (Jun 4, 2009)

nice suggestion Triks! thats something i belive in as well. slow movements till they up against the glass and then gently nudge them into the net.

BTW the post is about 3 months old!


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## thegotoguy (Dec 16, 2008)

everyone i would reccomend pet safari if there is one around you


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Oh man.. I sure hope we aren't seeing 1986 all over again. That last round of "Angel AIDS" wiped out nearly all the world's captive angels in only some two months. Before that, angels were super cheap and very plentiful. We STILL haven't recovered from that mess 23 years later, and still can't keep P.altums. *ugh* Please, please no mas!
EDIT: Isn't it strange that one of the most significant events in fishkeeping history hardly gets a hit on Google? I guess the internet wasn't around then.
Hmmm...The dreaded "4 days in September" when all Phillippine imports were banned, leading to the big shakeup which finally saw the beginning of the end of cyanide, is also curiously absent. Man, I wonder how much different the world would be today if the internet had been invented only 25 years earlier?


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## Guest (Jun 11, 2009)

lol TOS!!!!!!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

odd thing....i have not had any problems with my angels as far as the ones already established...but i am having a terrible time getting fry to stay alive....eggs will hatch..but as soon as they become free swimming they start dying..couple of days later and they are all gone..


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