# Rufas the Frusterating Angelfish



## PaigeGwenn (Jul 29, 2011)

So, im very new to the fishtank thing, and as i posted in my intro, i need some help. My uncle gave me my fishtank, along with all but 5 of the fish ( I had to add color of I was going to look at it all the time.) 

One of the fish we inherited was a nice big angelfish we named Rufas. Hes the only agressive fish we have, and had been the centerpeice of the tank for the first 3 weeks or so that we have had it. But this past week, he has stopped eating. His Tummy began to swell, and his little butt seemed blocked. We Thought maybe he was a she, but that is not the case. Then we thought, maybe he was constipated. So we looked all over and tried treating him for that. We checked all the water conditions, and While the Nitrate and Ammonia were a little tiny bit high, that wasnt an issue. 

Infact, the main issue we have with our tank levels seems to be the PH. I cannot, no matter what i try, get a steady reading! Its so frustrating. I have the API drop tests, and they ALWAYS say its high, even on my sisters tank! I got Jungle fish care dip tests, and they say that it is normal, and I had a Ph test that stuck to the inside of the tank that said it was high, and my local pet store tested it and gives me varying results as well. 

I was advised to fast Rufas for 24 hours, so the whole tank fasted. I have done water changes. The chemical levels, aside form perhaps the PH, which only god knows about, are under control. The tank is clean. 

I am currently treating it for parasites, that perhaps i picked up from one of the new guppy. As soon as we put the treatment into the water, Rufas's pale stripes turned a nice beautiful encouraging black. ( I was informed that dark stripes were good, and when they got pale that was bad.) We were excited, and thought we had found the problem, and were on the road to recovery. 

So, tonight i put the second part of the treatment in, and tried to get Rufas to eat, because he has not done so in about 5 or 6 days. He didnt care a bit about the bloodworms, and has never been interested in shrimp, and wont even eat the algae pellets he used to like to bully away from the little fish. He is still hiding in his spot, and his breathing seems to get heavier everyday, and tonight it looks like gasping. He still swims true though, and he still looks dark in the stripes. 

The only other thing I can think of is that when we got Rufas, he seemed to be a normal striped angel, and after a while i noticed he infact has a golden section on his top, and just in the past two days his bottom fins have a blueish tinge. 

Thats all i can think of to share right now.. any ideas that we have not yet had? From anyone?


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Sounds like there is something in your water Rufus doesn't like. Start makeing partial water changes (10-20%) every day with distilled or deminerlaized water for several days. Make sure his water temperature is above 78F. Hardness should be low. Angelfish like water that is clean (low Nitrates). They also like plants that give them security (Val and Sag). The water conditions that Angelfish thrive in are similar to Discus but not as exacting, they don't turn black and die.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If your ph is high, whatever that means, have you tested with the API high range ph test? Do you know how hard your water is? Were the fish acclimated to your water properly? Sounds like stress to me, which can just as easily kill him. What type of med are you using for parasites?


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## PaigeGwenn (Jul 29, 2011)

@ Neon, We have done the water changes, The water temp has been between 80 and 82 the whole time we have had the tank, and we have lots of plants, even a live one for them!

@jrman, I have used both of the API drop tests. The basic one says its way high, all the time, every time. The High range says its at normal range? It dosent quite show up on the scale. The meds are a General parasite Cure, Also API. When we acclimated the fish we got from my uncle, We moved them into a bucket that was half their water, and added about a gallon of mine, and waited about 15 min , then added about another gallon, waited again, and then added them with their water into my tank. When i added my other new fish i did a similar procedure, Letting the bag rest on top of the water for about 15, adding a cup of my water and waiting ten and repeating one more time before adding to the tank. The pet store says our water hardness is good, and i condition the water when i change it, which, to my dismay, has been too often. 

Im not sure if it would matter, but the stripe of gold i mentioned seems to have gotten darker, and the blue tinge on his bottom fins has only been noticeable over the past 2 or 3 days. Also, my cats, of which i have several, love to sit and watch, and "play" with the fish. While i haven't noticed them really caring about the angelfish (They mostly like the fast silverfish and the big pleco) That may be stressing him out a bit too?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Still not getting what normal range is? Is it 7.8, 7.6, 8.0.....? Normal ph is 6.0-8.0...or somewhere close to that. Drip acclimation is the best method for acclimation.


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## PaigeGwenn (Jul 29, 2011)

The issue with my PH is that I am not even getting readings that are close to eachother. My high range says 7.6, but my dip test says 6.8, and my in tank test says above 8 (but it might be broken) and the Pet store said 8ish. 

I have no idea what drip acclimation is.... Is that what i have been doing?

Rufas ate a little bit today... like two bite, which is nothing compared to what he used to eat, but yey? His tummy is still very swollen, but he is once again chaseing the other fish away from him. He was to the point where he didnt care if they were in his space or not, but he is once again moving around and chaseing them! So i think we have a little progress! 

Tomorrow, as for the finial stage of the meds, i have to change another 25% of the tank...I didnt know when I agreed to let the fish tank be installed in our apartment i would be doing so much work for it. I cant say it thrills me.. i hope it gets normal soon and wont be such a pain...


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## PapaM (Jul 10, 2011)

Go to this link and scroll down to constipation. It sounds like your problem.

Fish Disease and Treatment


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

PaigeGwenn said:


> The issue with my PH is that I am not even getting readings that are close to eachother. My high range says 7.6, but my dip test says 6.8, and my in tank test says above 8 (but it might be broken) and the Pet store said 8ish.
> 
> I have no idea what drip acclimation is.... Is that what i have been doing?


Forget trying to get a multitude of test to get one result, it will just drive you crazy. I would use the API liquid tesy, high range, and use that as my result. Pet store probably uses strips and the in-tank ph thing you have is based off of strip technology, so they aren't very accurate either.

Drip acclimation is explained in the general forum....stuck to the top.


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## PaigeGwenn (Jul 29, 2011)

@ PapaM- Yes, it does sound like my problem, but it was not.

We are examining Rufas today, and he seems a lot better, thanks to the parasite treatment. His tummy is still a little bit swollen, but a few days ago he looked pale and alike he was about to explode, and i have read that fish will still eat when constipated. He wasnt eating. We do the last step of the treatment today, which is just to change the water. 

I was very concerned about Rufas, but i think he is pulling thru. 

@Jrman, Thank you for the advice XD Im still curious about the acclimation thing you were talking about, but i will defiantly stop worrying about all the Ph tests and just go with the drops for now. You were right, it was driving me absolutely up the wall! 

Thanks to everyone for trying to help, I was so frustrated and fed up with the situation...


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