South American Cichlids • My newly bought Angels will not eat!!

[Taylor Lee]

Im nervous that they wont eat. Im feeding them tetra min flakes. My neon tetras wont eat it either. they'll peck at it but not really go after it. But in my 5 gallon the 3 tetras in there love the flakes! Idk why my Angels wont eat. Any advice?

What size tank, how many fish already in the tank, how many angels did you add? Had the neons been eating well before? What's your ph and temps compared to where they were?

Some possibilities: Angels are stressed from the move and simply need some time to settle down. Neons are upset by the addition of the angels. Angels were stressed at the store or in their travels previous to the store and are not quite healthy. Angels are used to different foods and will take a while to acclimate to what you're feeding. Smallish tank or not many fish in the tank and adding the angels upped the bio-load and is temporarily more than your beneficial bacteria colony can handle.

Whatever their preferences in the wild angelfish are relatively omnivorous in a tank ime and should eat a good quality flake or small pellet, although they can be habituated to a certain food and slow to accept change-- and as already mentioned, just about any fish finds it hard to resist live or frozen brine shrimp. Good point about the glassworms also. Either way, sometimes an irresistible treat breaks the ice with a lot of fish and makes them decide their new home isn't so bad.

Thanks again for every1's feedback! 1 of them will tear up the bloodworms and my other 1 who wont eat flakes either still will not eat. He goes after it but its like he's scared of it or something he'll lip it and taste it and everything and still wont consume it! he's been pecking at my driftwood a lot and i can see how he's cleaned it up from some growths that's on it. But its a 10 gallon tank sometime next month im getting a 55 gallon so they'll be comfortable in that im sure. and i took a water sample to the LFS because its getting slightly hazy. You couldnt tell if the lights were off but when the lights come on you can see a little bit of haze but not much. My water results came back and the man told me "Ammonia is a little elevated, There are some nitrites and some nitrates and the P.h. is almost 7.8 so that's a little elevated, but it looks like your tank is about a week old (2weeks old actually) but you shouldnt have to worry because i dont think the ammonia is going to raise any higher based on your nitrites and nitrates in the water so its doing something and breaking it down" and those were about his exact words. I just took a pleco out yesterday because it had ich (3 or 4 white, fuzzy, pen tip sized spots) on his tail side and fin. That could be a factor as well. As far as how they look. Their fins stand up just as straight the day i bought them. They are active now and dont just sit in a corner. They do tend to stay together. The one that's eating is a aggressive eater where as the 1 who hasnt eaten anything i've fed him has always been stand back ish and see how it does when the other angel eats it. when he see's its ok he'll swim slowly to it and check it out more. Any ideas on what else could be goin on? oh and the tank stays at around 76 degrees. could that effect them to an extent? Idk what the temperature was in the LFS i bought them from but seein as how 1 is flourishing and the others not, i dont see how temperature could be the problem?

Thanks for every1's help so far!!
-Taylor

[ahud]

Like I asked, did you cycle? You answered the question, no. Your fish are not eating because of the ammonia and nitrite.

Usually ammonia is the prime suspect for new fish and new tanks...

[kenko]

I think you answered your own question Taylor.

New 10 gallon tank, not properly cycled as ahud mentioned? Which would show good water levels early on, as you saw in that first test. Have you done any water changes since? If not, you need to do one to get those levels down.

Secondly, if your pleco has ich, then it could be affecting the other fish causing further stress.

Are other fish showing signs of ich? Red gills?

[Taylor Lee]

No every1 else seems fine. The tetras are eating a lot better and the angels are eating as well. The one that i was most concerned about that wasn't eating at all, my striped one, he'll lip the bloodworms and eat little tiny pieces that usually the black 1 spits out sometimes. but the striped 1 is the bigger 1. His belly seems to be growing so he must be eating the food once it hits the bottom. I see no sign of any food still laying in the tank or worms either. And also i havent made a water change yet but ill do that soon! Thanks every1 i do believe my fish will be fine. i've had them for 10 days now so i guess he's eating well

[ahud]

Just because the fish are eating does not mean they are fine. I doubt you will have continued success with an uncycled tank. Also, fish can go a month or two without eating.

Ammonia causes gill damage among other things which is is well documented in peer reviewed articles.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are certainly going about starting a new tank the wrong way.

[Taylor Lee]

Just because the fish are eating does not mean they are fine. I doubt you will have continued success with an uncycled tank. Also, fish can go a month or two without eating.

Ammonia causes gill damage among other things which is is well documented in peer reviewed articles.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you are certainly going about starting a new tank the wrong way.

Ouch. Well i need to hear it good or bad. What should i do? Ill perform a water change tomorrow? And i have been putting salt in the tank as well but i forgot to metion i had a precycled tank b4 i set up my 10 gallon and i moved the decorations over and the driftwood from the pet store had been cycled as well with nice algae growing off it so if that helps any of your theories as well. I will take another water sample to the LFS tomorrow as well. i would have today but it wasnt open today.

Thanks again!

[strat guy]

Seems like you've got some tank issues, but as far as angelfish go, they'll do that for no reason sometimes. You gotta just coax them back into it by trying to feed them as best as you can. This usually involves frozen or live foods. Live foods are best if you can get a hold of them, if not, look at frozen foods. Keep up with the water changes, keep you lights dimmed and off for longer than you normally would, and they should start eating again. Just make their environment as stress-free as possible.

As far as gill damage from ammonia goes, you'll see them gasping for air if the damage is bad. It means their gills aren't processing enough oxygen, so they're seeking out a way to breathe easier. Its the beginning of the end if you see that.

[Taylor Lee]

Seems like you've got some tank issues, but as far as angelfish go, they'll do that for no reason sometimes. You gotta just coax them back into it by trying to feed them as best as you can. This usually involves frozen or live foods. Live foods are best if you can get a hold of them, if not, look at frozen foods. Keep up with the water changes, keep you lights dimmed and off for longer than you normally would, and they should start eating again. Just make their environment as stress-free as possible.

As far as gill damage from ammonia goes, you'll see them gasping for air if the damage is bad. It means their gills aren't processing enough oxygen, so they're seeking out a way to breathe easier. Its the beginning of the end if you see that.

Thank you very much for your feed back. I have a 55 gallon tank now that i am housing my angels in. My striped 1 pealed off a few weeks back because aggression got the best of him and got his butt kicked. But my 1st bought angel is doin fine. i cycled the tank the right way this time and i have had no problems yet. Except i did spray some carpet cleaner and i did so much work and am finally gettin the water back right again. Ill know never to do that again. Along with the stress from the spray ich came along in my tank 2 guppies have died but no other fish have though. All my fish are strong and healthy. Im currently treating the ich and my water is back to perfect. I hope to continue to have success with my fishkeeping. Happy fishkeeping for all who has helped and is into the hobby! And Happy Easter!!