# angelfish uninterested behavior?



## silver51 (Nov 8, 2011)

so my nitrite levels were high and no matter what i did i couldnt get them down so i finally cleaned the tank with a gravel vacuum and got a ton of the dirt i guess i was missing and changed 50% of the water and the nitrite is practically none now which is good but now my angelfish are just sitting in the back hiding and not showing any iterest in food or anything, whereas before they were always at the front of the tank though i know the nitrite levels made them act like they werre starving but its just weird seeing them not care almost, is this normal or should i be concerned? nothing else has been changed in the tank and all of my levels are good, i just dont understand


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Sometimes the effects of nitrite poisoning are prevalent for awhile after the actual poisoning. Just keep an eye on them and watch for further symptoms, but given time and good water I'm sure they'll liven up again.


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## silver51 (Nov 8, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> Sometimes the effects of nitrite poisoning are prevalent for awhile after the actual poisoning. Just keep an eye on them and watch for further symptoms, but given time and good water I'm sure they'll liven up again.


Ok, so just keep checking the water parameters and doing partial water changes? Because I was fighting the nitrite for about a month


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Don't change the water unless ammonia or nitrite get up around 1 ppm, but by your mention of 0 nitrite I think you won't have to worry too much about that anymore. Nitrite spikes are high, but also fast. Also, there's a fine line between too many water changes and too few; fish enjoy stable water conditions, but they also enjoy water with low concentrations of toxins. So as you suggested, just keep an eye on the levels but don't change the water unless you need to.


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## silver51 (Nov 8, 2011)

Gizmo said:


> Don't change the water unless ammonia or nitrite get up around 1 ppm, but by your mention of 0 nitrite I think you won't have to worry too much about that anymore. Nitrite spikes are high, but also fast. Also, there's a fine line between too many water changes and too few; fish enjoy stable water conditions, but they also enjoy water with low concentrations of toxins. So as you suggested, just keep an eye on the levels but don't change the water unless you need to.


Alright, I just want to make sure I keep conditions the best for them because I have had one since it was a baby and it's about a half dollar size now and the other I got the same size as the first but I got it about a month ago and they get along fine together I just want to see them grow big


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

They will


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

They may have just been stressed out because of all the extra movement and excitement in the tank. Try keeping the lights out and letting them relax for a day and then try to feed


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Perhaps ther're afraid you gonna come back and destroy their home all over again? 

Hopefully they will adjust and resume normal actions.



my .02


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

How much did the pH and hardness move? A dirty tank will acidify as it dies, just as a lake will when it is polluted. Angels like acid water, although not without regular water changes. Your tap water may be a shock to their system, as it probably has a different composition than the soup produced by the waste in the gravel. 
Measuring nitrite/nitrate can be useful, but hardness and pH also have to be monitored as indicators.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

navigator black said:


> How much did the pH and hardness move? A dirty tank will acidify as it dies, just as a lake will when it is polluted. Angels like acid water, although not without regular water changes. Your tap water may be a shock to their system, as it probably has a different composition than the soup produced by the waste in the gravel.
> Measuring nitrite/nitrate can be useful, but hardness and pH also have to be monitored as indicators.


+1

especially when you did all this because nitrItes were high.

I would keep an eye on the angels to check if they are breathing heavy and rapid. If so you might have released sulfur compounds from the substrate and increased carbon dioxide as well.

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Just sound like simple stress to me brought on by the high nitrites. An Angelfish is not the right fish to throw into a cycling tank. Although they are fairly hardy from my experience, I would never subject them to that.

Regular weekly water changes will be important to keep them healthy.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I have to call beaslbob out on this one. The nitrates were high because of an ongoing learning curve - this aquarist didn't realize he was doing by accident what you so wrongly advocate. Yes, a cleaning can release organics, but only because he didn't realize that the organics were building up to dangerous levels.
With regular maintenance, this will never happen again. I'm sure the guy has learned, as any observant aquarist would. We've all done that.

In the post above mine, you have him scaring the fish by 'destroying their home'. He rebuilt it much better , Bob. Ten minutes' basic research would show you angelfish come from rivers, and guess what? Rivers flow and change. No angelfish has a home, it has a moving, dynamic territory. They handle change really well. It's stagnation and filth that kills them, as nothing in their evolutionary history has prepared them to cope with that. They are fish, not hoarders living in their own mess.

There's also nothing to say the angels are in a tank that is cycling. It got dirty (which suggests an established tank) and then silver 51 did a good job cleaning it. That often causes distress, as organic matter in water modifies it, and now the fish are in straight, clean local water, whatever that may be.


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## drzoom (Dec 10, 2011)

navigator_black, the OP said nitrItes, not nitrAtes. That sure is a sign of a cycling tank.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

True, but the angels weren't added to cycle a tank - the tank would appear to have crashed due to the build up of organics in the gravel. The angels were most likely the source of the waste, and I felt it was a bit discouraging to silver51 to suggest he'd thrown the angels into a cycling tank. This doesn't look like new tank syndrome but rather a tank going eutrophic, and getting pulled back from the brink. 
The fish show symptoms of nitrite poisonig, but held up well during the spike. It was after they got into distress. 
We speculate and try to help people through - I'd suggest watching the filtration and doing 40% water changes for the next few weeks, If I'm right, they'll bounce back quickly, if I'm wrong and it's nitrite poisoning, it may (or may not) take longer.
Either way, I think Silver 51 has done the right thing here, although maybe a little late because it was a new situation. It should work out. If someone (other than Bob with his never change the water belief) has a different solution, It'd be interesting to see and I and others would learn from it.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

With the limited information given, it is difficult to tell at what stage this tank is in. It could be in the initial stages of stabilizing or could be where you say. I thinks its safe to say it's an assumption based off the info given, either way.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Exactly.
And I'm sure if jrman, dr zoom or I can be of any help with future problems, somewhere in these mild disagreements, you may find a useful medium to work with. 

I hope the angels have already recovered.


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## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

If there is NitrIte levels in your tank it is NOT properly cycled, regardless of if it was (meaning its crashed), or still in its initial cycling process.
The fact nothing you did could bring the NitrIte levels down (other than a water change) confirms the tank is still cycling or begun again. 
The fish will be adjusting to the new levels, stressed, hopefully they will make it through. Angels are pretty tough generally.
Really keep an eye on your levels while the tank stabilizes.

My angels have been through numerous cycling tanks. I prefer in fish cycling, BUT, it does need to be done correctly. Much water testing until the tank is stable


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Make sure you have the best Angelfish water conditions. Temp >78, low Nitrates, low ph (<6.5) and low hardnss. Angel fish thrive in Discus water conditions except for a water temp <82. The siver and black breed should have very black black and very silver sliver if they are healthy.


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## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

Wild angels maybe. Domestic angels arent that fussy.


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## silver51 (Nov 8, 2011)

i appreciate all of the comments, the tank was already cycled it just had a massive buildup of dirt and other nastiness in the undergravel filter. but now the tank wont stop being cloudy, the water is clean and particle free its just clouded up, but the angels are doing good, they are eating again but one is taking longer to bounce back then the other, but otherwise everything is normal


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## silver51 (Nov 8, 2011)

heres a picture


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