Flame Angel Question.

[beenbag497]

I bought a flame Angel from my LFS about a week ago and I'm having some problems. Friday his eyes started to get a little bit blurry, then his pectoral fins started to look like they'd been nipped at. But there are no other fish in the tank.
Does anybody know what the problem is?

 

[juniors04]

Could be poor water quality. Did you check your water before adding?

 

[beenbag497]

Yes. I got it checked at my LFS the day I bought him.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 10
Salinity: 1.026
I've fed him mysis every couple days since I got him and It just doesn't make since. The guy had had him for 3 weeks at the fish store before I bought him and said he was very healthy.
It's not ich, is it?

 

[meowzer]

You say there are no fish...do you have anything else in there? they also need algae in their diet...and vitamins
do you have your own test kit....cause it also sounds like poor water quality to me too....what type of filtration do you have? what do you have for flow??/ how long has this tank been set up??

 

[beenbag497]

just a basic CUC and the fish. I've read all about them and thought it was just the larger angels that needed algae in their diet. Maybe not...?
Yes, I have my own test kit but it reads different from my fish stores test kits so I reckon' it's not workin right.

My flow is a koralia 3 and the stock AP filtration. Now I know 24 gallons is a bit small for a flame Angel but I plan to trade him in later on when he gets bigger. Right now he's just a couple inches.
The tank has been set up for about 2 1/2 months.

 

[meowzer]

read this
The Flame Angelfish is a flashy addition to many aquariums. One of the most popular of the dwarf angelfish, the Flame Angelfish is a bold red/orange color with vertical black stripes highlighting the body and horizontal black stripes along the caudal portions of the blue-tipped dorsal and anal fins.
The Flame Angelfish requires at least a 30-gallon aquarium with lots of hiding places and live rock for grazing. The Flame Angelfish is prone to nip at stony and soft corals (sessile invertebrates) and clam mantles. If the Flame Angelfish is to be added to a peaceful community, it should be the last fish introduced. The Flame Angelfish adapts well to aquarium life, but should be kept in an established system and housed with dissimilar genera. The Flame Angel is very sensitive to elevated levels of copper, and should never be exposed to levels near or above 0.15 ppm.
The Flame Angelfish is hermaphroditic, very difficult to breed in an aquarium, and has no distinguishable differences in color between male to female.
The diet of the Flame Angelfish should consist of Spirulina, marine algae, high-quality angelfish preparations, mysis or frozen shrimp, and other high-quality meaty items.

 

[yannifish]

Originally Posted by beenbag497
http:///forum/post/3286267
just a basic CUC and the fish. I've read all about them and thought it was just the larger angels that needed algae in their diet. Maybe not...?
Yes, I have my own test kit but it reads different from my fish stores test kits so I reckon' it's not workin right.

My flow is a koralia 3 and the stock AP filtration. Now I know 24 gallons is a bit small for a flame Angel but I plan to trade him in later on when he gets bigger. Right now he's just a couple inches.
The tank has been set up for about 2 1/2 months.
You're thinking of sponge. All angels need algae.

 

[btldreef]

Regardless of the size of the Flame Angel now, the small tank will stress it out. They are territorial and a 24G does not offer enough LR for them to pick at. As for saying he's only a couple inches, well they're all only a couple of inches. At full grown they only reach about 4".
Also, all angels need sponge and plant matter in their diet. I highly recommend that you add vitamins to any dwarf angels food as well. You need to find a food that is designed for angels. I prefer Emerald Entree mixed with Boyd's VitaChem vitamins for Saltwater fish.
What brand and how old are your test kits? It sounds very much like poor diet and poor water quality is what is effecting this fish right now. Flame's really can't handle poor water quality. At 2 1/2 months old, your LR is not established enough for the flame to pick at so you MUST supplement with plant/algae. Seaweed and Algae sheets much be provided as well as feeding a food designed for angels that contains sponge. Mysis is good, but they are omnivores and need both plant and meat in their diet.

 

[beenbag497]

Well, he just passed...
He stopped swimming around, so I got him into a quarantine tank for a little until he stopped breathing altogether.
It was strange, when I took him out of the QT tank to throw him away (I couldn't look at him anymore without almost tearing up) it looked like one of his eyes had just been eaten away.
Could that help anyone determine what might have happened? I know alot of you think it's poor water quality, but I would like to know for sure.

 

[btldreef]

Still sounds like poor water quality and poor diet. Pictures would have helped...

 

[srfisher17]

I don't think a week is enough time for the diet to cause his death. It's common for many fish to go a week without eating anything. There have a lot of Flames having problems during the last several years. Cyanide collection is a possibility; your dealer must really know where his fish are coming from.
Poor water quality is also possible and you say you want to know for sure. Many fish die without us ever knowing why; but you need a good test kit and learn how to use it. Water tests on your tank are useless now---a dead fish in a small, new tank will screw up readings. I'd suggest you do a lot of reading and research before you buy another fish.

 

[btldreef]

Yes, I do believe that one week is not enough time for a poor diet to effect the fish. That being said, it probably wasn't being fed a proper diet at the LFS where it was bought either, especially if the OP was not made aware of its care requirements. I've seen many LFS's that do not feed anything more than brine shrimp to their fish in hopes that they'll be bought before they're completely malnourished.
To the OP, if you decide to go with another Flame, or any other dwarf, I'd wait a few more months until you're tank is more stable and mature. In the mean time, get good test kits and learn how to use them. Dwarf angels, as well as many other fish are very sensitive to poor water quality. Also, I do no suggest another dwarf for this size tank, it's going to stress them out. If there was something wrong with your fish ahead of time, the small tank might have stressed them out just enough to make a difference. Unfortunately, I do not think you'll ever get a definitive answer on the cause of death, but here's what I can say to you:
Poor Water Quality
Small Tank
Improper Diet
Under established tank