# What could my Angelfish have???



## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I have two large Angelfish that I have had for about 3 years. This past week they became somewhat in active hanging mostly at the back of the tank near the surface. A few days ago I noticed they have a thin film on them like they were peeling from a bad sunburn. It is a bit off white/greyish in color. No other fish are affected. Yesterday I added some Melafix and they seem a bit more active. Not sure if its Columnaris or possibly Costia necatrix. It is not cottony growth but more like mucus slime coating that is peeling.

I'm trying to get some pictures to post but its difficult to get the film to show in the pics.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I was able to get a few pics. Mostly of the larger one.


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

Mash up some garlic and soak their food in the juices. Then let it dry and feed it to them. Its a good home remedy to help out with medications.
Can't really tell anything from your pics but it sounds bacterial. You could try adding a little salt to the tank, too.
I'm not big on medications and usually try natural approaches first.
Did you change anything or add anything new to the tank in the last month?


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

oh man...luv angels, hope they get better!!


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I have changed nothing in my tank maintenance. Nothing else has changed except started using a different batch of KNO3 that has an odd odor which I complained about when I got it and again last week when this happened as I also got a case of GSA. Was told it is 100% KNO3 and the odor is normal. I have never had KNO3 that smelled. However, these 2 are the only ones that have this. Never seen anything like it and havent had a disease in many years.

I like garlic.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

My Angels seem to be doing better this morning. A little less 'slime' and much more active.


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## Lizzz (Nov 28, 2010)

Did you use the garlic? When my angels had a weird bacteria growing, my LFS convinced me to buy a 10 dollar bottle of garlic powder, swearing that somehow it was different than garlic found in a food store... I used it in conjunction with melafix as well (so i had a great aroma of tea-tree-garlic for a few hours...) and it seemed to do the trick; in about 5 days everyone was back to normal. Plus I think fish enjoy the melafix, kind of like me using teatree shampoo because I like the way it makes my head tingle...


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I have not used the garlic yet.
I was going to look into Seachems Garlic additive.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

malafix = is not work buying I would go out and get prazil-pro.
or some antiprotozoan flakes from angelsplus.com

it looks to me like your angels have parasites I would treat them for worms just to be safe... a deworming flake food can also be bought from angelsplus.com


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Melafix is good stuff. Keep it up. Some of those other harsh meds will end up killing your fish.

What's this with the smelly KNO3? That's weird.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

vancat said:


> Melafix is good stuff. Keep it up. Some of those other harsh meds will end up killing your fish.
> 
> What's this with the smelly KNO3? That's weird.


My angels didnt make it. The large one began wildly darting around the tank and banged into the glass a few times. That night I found him belly up on the bottom barely alive and the other was very listless. I had to euthanize them. They were the only fish affected. I've been keeping fish for many years and never seen anything like this.

I've also been struggling with a weird algae issue since the smelly KNO3. KNO3 is supposed to be odorless. The algae is like a combo of GDA and GSA and is on the glass and edges of many plants. I have KNO3 on order with Rex Grigg - will never do business with GLA again. Besides the shipping costs are way overpriced.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Hey Newt,
Bummer! I'm sorry to hear about your angels. Great fish, and it's sad to see them die. 

You should post a separate question asking if anyone else has ever had this smelly KNO3. Sounds fishy!


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I do miss them. At some point I will switch over to an angelfish only tank (except for some bottom dwellers of course).
I dont want to start any issues. All my problems began when I began using the new batch of KNO3 and the GH booster (personal blend) which is very off color (low grade salts) with tiny black specs in it. Great customer service only goes so far.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

Yeah. I hear ya. Don't want to make any enemies, and those guys seem nice enough.

I had a tank full of altums a few years ago and I miss their wonderful personalities, even if they were a bit skittish. Since then, I switched to a smaller tank & smaller fish. Too bad their weren't some angels who stayed smallish.

I see you have some swordtails. Much fry?


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I'm basically a tetra guy but I always liked mating nice looking male guppys with fancy female guppies and the big angelfish ate my favorite hybrid during a feeding frenzy so I decided to switch to swords for awhile until I switch out my substate and go back to tetras. Maybe I'll see some fry now that the angels are no longer in the tank.


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

well good luck Newt, hope the new KNO3 solves your remaining problems.


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