Flame Angel in distress

dpeter51

Member
I'm not sure if my Flame Angel is starving or is sick with something. Nitrates are a little high but not too bad, maybe 40. SG is 1.025. He isn't swimming very fast and doesn't seem as flexible as usual. Also he looks thin especially above and right behind his face. His face looks a little pale, maybe. Also, he seems to have a bulge in about the middle of his body--not sure if that's just his insides poking out because he's too thin or if he has some disease that is causing a bulge.
My tank is a 50 gallon and I try to keep the algae down, but I do see him pecking at it on the sides and on the live rock (normally--haven't noticed him doing it the last couple days). I only feed generic flake food, not algae flakes or sheets. He does eat the normal flakes just fine, even now (although he doesn't "get excited" like normal, just casually swims up and gulps them)
Is he starving because I'm not supplementing the natural algae in the tank with flakes/sheets? Or does it sound like something else?
I'm off to the LFS to get some algae food just in case...
One other thing that I've wondered might be a problem is that I have my sump on a timer. My wife hates the noise, so I run it from about midnight until about 4pm, so it's off while we're home in the evening. The display tank is steady at 78 degrees with a heater, but the sump is not heated. But, our room temp is a constant 75-76, so I haven't worried about this until now. The sump is probably about 14 gallons (it's a 20 gal tank partly filled). Could the daily slight temperature fluctuation when the sump pump turns on cause a problem?
Ah, one other detail: I do have a voltage probe in the main tank (don't have one in the sump).
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
My goodness. You absolutely can not shut down a sump. All the water in the sump will go south fast without continuous water circulation. Either remove the sump to make your wife happy, find a way to dampen the noise, or get used to the noise. I have to say, that those noises do "grow on you" so they become not such a nuisance with time. This is no small issue.
Start doing small water changes daily to get the nitrates down (which are way too high). Always use well mixed saltwater that has been aerated and run through a pump for at least 2 days prior to use in your display.
Get started with this sooner rather than later. Like today. I would not turn that sump off again.
 

dpeter51

Member
Whoa--ok! Didn't realize the water sitting for a few hours would cause a problem so I never thought to ask the question, I only wondered about the temp. Thanks Beth!
 
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