Flame angel in trouble

[ryano]

I have a flame that has been in my tank for 2 weeks now. At first he hid for several days and slowly started coming out. 4 days ago I didn't see him at all. Now he is out again but won't eat and looks like he has lost weight. Any suggestions on what to try and feed him? I have tried Formula 2 and a mix of frozen blood worm and brine. Some flake too.

 

[beth]

Better to try and figure out why the fish is hidding out. Is he being harrassed by tankmates? What else is in your tank, and are the other fish behaving normally? When you see the flame, how does he look--fins, tail, etc.?

 

[ryano]

2 tangs, 2 clowns, big red starfish, cleaner crew. The fish is unmarred and healthy appearing other than the apparent weight loss. Everytihng else in the tank seems healthy, water tests look good, and nothing has been picking on him.

 

[kris walker]

What is his color like? Is he losing his color or a bit pale? If the poor guy's not eating and hiding like you say, I bet he is sick with some sort of bacterial infection. He may have brought it with him from the lfs. If you have a hospital tank, you might want to put him in there. If not, you might consider buying saltwater "Maracyn-Two", but I don't remember if this affects inverts at all. If I were you though, I would try to take him back to lfs for a refund. Treating fish for disease is often futile.
What are your ammonia and nitrite levels? If they are not zero (especially your ammonia), your angel probably got sick in your tank, not the lfs.
good luck,
sam

 

[car guy]

try feeding him live or frozen food, such as brine shrimp or natures mix

 

[mr.marine]

hmmmmmm... my flame died about 2 weeks ago and this sorta sounds like the same thing? you dont see any spots do you? i didnt at first . ADIVE if he starts to loose color after 2 weeks like mine did start treatment RIGHT AWAY. that was my mistake. dont take any chances. if it doesnt look that bad you can prob do hyposalinity but if it gets really bad fast like mine did id use copper or something that doesnt take as long caus well from what ive heard to lower the salt level in hypo takes abou 48 hours. copper or other chems would start right away. just some advice and keep us posted! you may want to move this or ask a shark to move this to disease forum. this is where i got most of my help!
good luck and hope u have etter luck than i did.
Mr.Marine

 

[bhav_88]

Hmm... Sounds weird. I have not had any luck with flames. The one I got was... er... defective? He swam in vertical circles constantly and ate up to death. It was from SWF.com, but he didn't act mental for about a week so I don't blame them at all. They are great for fish... prices are the best I have ever seen. Only problem is shipping.
Good luck with your angel...

 

[ryano]

Ammonia is 0.
I noticed last night 1 white bump. Looked like a zit. I have not seen him today which is not unusual but late last night I saw him pick at the rock a couple of times. Is it worth tearing apart my reef to try and remove him?

 

[mr.marine]

Yes it is in my opinion definately worth disturbing the reef for about 5 minutes to try and save the life of a fish. sounds to me like a fungal infection.ull prob want to check w/terry since hes the expert!
Mr.Marine