55 Gallon Build, Born Sept '09

Well I got a feeling the ammonia is a problem here. Tougher damsels make it through the cycling and ammonia but I'm not sure angels fare as well. Acclimation procedure was good. Use some ammosorb or other ammonia absorbing media along with the carbon. I believe your tank is young (under 6 mos.) correct?

 

Correct, 2 weeks shy of 6 months, if I remember correctly. And I recently changed my substrate from gravel to sand.

I just noticed a minute ago that the angel was scratching against a rock, I had to do a FW dip on my tang and my goby 3 days ago to get rid of the ick they had. It looks like the angel's got it too if he's scratching. Bummer!
I still don't think that's the reason he's not eating though, any ideas? I have tried soaking the mysis in garlic for 30 minutes before feeding, everyone goes crazy but the angel does not show interest in the food.

I have not ran carbon in a while, I'll hook it up, maybe it'll help?
The ammonia is gone now with the water change, but I'll keep a close eye on it. I'll test every day for the next 4 days to see what's up. Nitrates went down to 5 also after water change.

Keep the suggestions coming, I need to get everyone healthy and eating again!

- Mag.

 

Yes, carbon will help, but to insure against ammonia get some ammonia absorbing media and use that also.

 

I was lead to believe that ammonia removers are a time bomb, per say.
For example, one of the things I read was that they will "lock" ammonia, and not get rid of it, and as such, any imbalance in the future could cause this "Locked" ammonia to break free. Is this a myth?

I did a WC and the ammonia is gone, nitrates went down and I've been running carbon and phosBan.

Thanks for your help unclejed.

- Mag.

 

It looks exactly like some sponge I had on my rocks. I didn't know that it was 'good' until I'd removed most of it. Had some on a shell and moved it to my fuge. It grows pretty quick.
I see you hail from Knoxville. Do you know Paul Morse by chance?

 

The name sounds familiar, but the face doesn't come up in my brain. I was thinking that he was involved somehow in one of the LFS's here, but again, I'm not sure of that. What does he do?

Regarding the lemon peel, I'm afraid I'll need to return him. He's not eating, and I'm out of options. Yesterday I bought those arcti-pods for $20 to see if he wanted them. All my other fish and inverts went crazy for them, but he stayed in his hiding place. I'm worried he'll die here like my other 2 angels have. It must be something in my water, but I can't think of anything and I'm running out of ideas.

I'll run my tests again and come back with the results. Maybe somebody can help me with this issue since I'm not sure why I can't get angels to eat once they're in my tank.

- Mag.

 

Sorry about your fish and I honestly hope you get it figuired out so you can keep the fish you want in your system. I'll be getting a pair of h. kudas in the near future and am paranoid I'll have the same not eating issue. Kudo's for your plan to return instead of letting it waste away. Wish I had some advice or help for you.
Paul is my wife's uncle, which I guess makes him mine too. He builds hot rods for the C&W stars and lives there in Knoxville. Many attempts at getting one built for me at 'family' price have so far been fail..

 

Thank you. I'm trying tonight again to feed him, and then, I'll take it back in the morning if he doesn't.

About your uncle, I don't think I know him then. I would suggest to keep bugging the tight sucker until he agrees with the responsibilities of a family member and put a nice hot rod together for you.... cheap!. That's how we do it here.... put pressure on them until they just do it so you stop bugging the crap out of them. Afterwards they move on with their normal lives

I just Tested the whole set of kits I have and this are the results. Much better than expected, actually. pH is little low, but must be because of the Vinegar + Kalk combo.

Temp: 29F
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Magnesium: 1195
Calcium: 420
Carbonate Hardness: 9.3
Alkalinity: 3.31

Thoughts? Suggestions? Anybody see anything that could cause my angel to be lethargic and suicidal (by not eating anything I try to give him)?

- Mag.

 

Angels can be very hard to get eating. Mine loves brine with spirulina (algae is a main part of their diet) soaked in garlic. Also, they require sponge, which I see you already know. Try to find a good frozen/flake food that has sponge in it. Ocean Nutrition actually makes a frozen food for pygmy angels. I have it in my freezer, but haven't tried it yet.

Does your angel pick off the rocks? If so, you can try making a paste out of your food and smearing it on the rock.

Good luck!!

 

That's a great idea!! I've seen him pick at the rock at the beginning, but I think he's giving up. I'll try that Pygmy Angel Formula (which I have in the fridge from when I had the other angels) and put it on a rock to see if he likes it.

Thanks for the help.

- Mag.