I'm just about to give up!!!

It started when I moved my 135 from one room to the other.(about two months ago) One by one my angelfish are dying. It starts out looking like velvet then very, very quickly holes start forming on them. All treatments I have tried seem to make it worse. Melefix, fungus clear, I can't find any antibiodics locally.
I have done water changes till i'm sore. I just today uped the water temperature to 82 and added salt in hopes that if it is a parasite that it would make the environment less likeable for them.
I have lost four as of today. Today it was the angel that one POTM.
It doesn't seem to be affecting any other of the fish in the tank just the angels. I have tetras,flying foxes,kribs,and cories in there also.
I am totally devastated by this. I just don't know what to do.

I read on line that there is a angelfish virus that only affects angels and no other fish. I'm starting to strongly believe that this is what they have. Maybe the stress of the move started it. I just don't know.

I have two angels in a hospital tank but honestly I don't believe they will make it through the night.

All my water checks are okay and the kribs are breeding. I just don't understand.

Any ideas????

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your angels. I wish i could help more but I'm not that familiar with fish meds. Hopefully SF and/or Wyite will be able to give you a better idea of what to do. Good Luck!!

Thanks dawg.

As I figured the two angels didn't make it. Off to do another water change. I just wonder if when I moved that tank maybe the massive water change killed off the good bacteria? My head is just spinning I just can't figure this out.

If you have a Petsmart they sell antibotics now and you have a $25 gift card on the way! Do you have a smaller tank you can put them in for a few days to seperate them? Even 10g temporary would be ok. I would treat them with something....not sure what they have from the description but sounds fungus or bacterial like esp if it is not effecting the other fish....parasites usually move fast and you would see more signs. The antibotics sold at Petsmart are made by API You might start with the quick cure, which has Metronidazole and Praziquantel. If that don't seem to help something like erythromycin or tetracycline will likely kill about anything which you can also get at Petsmart.

Sorry to hear about your losses....I would slow down on water changes sense angels are wimps when it comes to too many. I would also try and get them alone together and treat them with something at this point.

Thanks MC! Petsmart is a good hour away. But i'm willing to make the trip. Petco is about thirty minutes away so I may call them in the morning.
Tonight they are moving good and eating good. Seems like they have a gray coating on them. The water change seemed to make them look better. I went ahead and put some stress coat in the tank.
I will get some antibiodics and try that. I do have the 10 gallon tank set up just in case. I'm willing to try anything. I hate that they are suffering like they are.

I just wonder why it doesn't seem to be affecting the other fish.

It may be internal, some fish are stronger.....

Well believe it or not they are looking better today.
I called Petco to see if they had any of the medicines MC listed and they do have the Quick Cure so tonight i'm off to get some.

Good luck!! I hope it works for you. Glad to hear they are looking better.

The usual symptoms of angelfish virus are clamped fins, excess slime, listless with nose pointed up slightly or hiding in the back areas of the tank.

There isn't really any cure for it, but getting antibiotics will treat any secondary infections and may keep them alive. Metronidazole is a fairly specific antibiotic and I've had much better luck with using it on parasites, same with Prazzi. If you want to spend the money, tetracycline or erythromycin is a much broader antibiotic. (Cephalexin would work too)

Anyway, the bad part about it is, the virus it self isn't able to be treated. So for at least the next 6 months if they survive it, they'll be carriers and you can't add any more angels. The guys at the fish farm would immediately dispose of any angel that even had the hint of anything resembling that virus.

If you do want to keep them, at a bare minimum I would qt all the angels that are left in a separate tank.

Thanks Dawg.

Thank you Saint-I'm pretty sure from all the reading and the things that you have said that this is what they have. After adding the stress coat they seemed to lose some of the gray slime on them.
I added the quick cure to the hospital tank and put them in. They act like they are gasping for air. I guess time will tell. I don't want to add to many medications at once. But as soon as I can get to Nashville to the "better" pet store I can get some erythromycin.

Does this disease stay in the tank after all the angels are gone? Or would it be best for me to break it down. There are still quite a few fish in there and that would be a big job but I don't want to go without having angels in that tank.

I think I cursed myself a few months ago when I said if God forbid something ever happened to my angels I would put flowerhorns in that tank. I really wished I hadn't said that.

Just a quick update. So far all angels that are left seem to be doing better. Their appetites has inproved and they sure are more active than they have been in a couple of weeks. Tommorow is the last day of treatment so I will try the erythromycin after a few days just to see if it's needed. If anyone thinks I should go ahead and start it let me know.
I kind of feel bad that they are in the smaller tank but I do think it's best they stay there for a while.



Thanks for all the help.

It cant hurt to do another treatment.....depends if you want to spend the money on it or not and if you think they need it.

So glad to hear they are doing better!!!!

Awesome that they're making a recovery.

The Angels you have left alive are carriers. If you plan on keeping them, you can not put them near any other angels. Discus can also get it, and I'm sure there are other fish that could as well, but I'm not sure what.

Depending on how many you have left, you could start a nice planted tank and just keep them in there. Also if they breed, any fry are potential carriers as well.

As for the current tank, I can't find much else on it in any of my books, but if you want to be thorough, you can break down the tank and wash out everything with a 5% or 10% bleach solution.

If you do want to go with more angels, and don't want to break down the tank, give it at least a month on the off chance that one of your other fish has it but isn't showing symptoms.

Or you can go with Flowerhorn, I saw some called Silk Thai that are sparkly white that were pretty spiffy. But then again I like the FH more than Angels anyhow, so I may not be the right person to ask.

Thanks Saint.

I lost another one yesterday. He was one of the worst looking ones. So I believe he was just to far gone. I'm gonna just wait this thing out and see what happens. The rest of them are looking so much better but I don't believe they are out of the woods yet. From all i've read it may take a while before they recover.

I know it sounds bad but I wish they didn't have to suffer so long before dying. I have six left now. Three are babies i've raised from eggs. It will be hard to see them go if they do.

All the other fish in the tank are fine. The tank sure looks emtpy without the angels in there. If this things goes on for much longer I do have the 49 that I can use. Will have to put those fish and snails in the 135. I sure hope it doesn't come to that.

Sorry, i'm still frustrated with this.

Well it does suck esp. when you have raised them up....hoping for the best for you and your fish.

Any updates?

I think I just prolonged things because they are still dying just more slowly now. I've lost two more since the last update. I'm throwing in the towel on these guys. I'm really considering stripping this tank down and starting over. Just not sure which direction I want to go in.

Any suggestions on cichlids, besides angels, that don't eat or destroy plants?

My heart says go with a cichlid only tank with lots of driftwood and rock. I'm just so unsure of what to do yet. Maybe start a thread to show off all of your cichlid tanks would help me decide.

Maybe even a discus tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See I told ya!lol

Discus might work out for ya.

I would be seriously careful starting a Discus tank now if you currently have Angelfish virus running through your system. Discus are susceptible to it as well.

As far as cichlids that don't destroy plants? Outside of angels and discus, the only ones that I've seen not be active plant wreckers was the parrots. They'll occasionally dig them up though for fun. JDs don't seem to eat them but again, they like to move things around now and again. Nearly all the live plants I have are sturdy and meant to take a whoopin, so all bets are off if you have something that isn't a sword plant, water onion or marimo ball. :

Thanks for the advice Saint.
Discus are definatly out as I looked at the local LFS and they run 49.95 a peice just for a small one. So I wont take that risk.
I'm sure I will come up with something. I've still got all the other fish in there to consider. I don't think they will all fit in the 49 so I will have to leave it alone for a while.
Wish there was a way to sterilize the tank without breaking it down. Just taking out the sand is gonna be a tough job.

I figured I would give a quick update on my 135. I have two angels left and they seem to be doing fine.(knocks wood) So good in fact that they spawned. Of course the plecos took care of them after a couple of days.
I've decided to focus on the plants and I even added co2 back on the tank last week. I can't believe the growth in just a weeks time.
I would like to add another group of tetras but just not sure what kind yet. I have a total of 11 diamond tetras in the 49 and I just might add those to the large tank.
No other fish have showed any signs of illness.
I would love to add more kribs in this tank as mine spawn frequently but still have no babies yet.
Anyways thats my update. Any suggestions?

What about a nice group of Bosemans rainbowfish or turquoise rainbows. Good to here the Angels are doing good and the tank is stable.