# Angel fish at bottom of tank



## Mandy (Dec 30, 2004)

Hope someone can tell me this is fine:

I bought three small (size of a quarter) angelfish yesterday for my newly cycled tank. It's 37 gallons tall and they're in there with four little ottos. The ottos went right to work, eating algae and swimming all around. The Angel Fish stuck together in a corner at the bottom of the tank. They have moved around a lot since yesterday but they're still sticking to the bottom few inches of the tank. I have plants (vals all the way to the top) and driftwood so there is plenty of place to hide at the top but they're not hiding. They're right at the front of the tank, just at the bottom. 

How am I supposed to feed them like that? They don't come to the top for food and they don't seem to notice the little pellets which are meant for top and mid water feeders. Are they going to starve? :icon_frow 

Water paramaters are
NH3 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 40 ppm
PH 7.6
KH 6 degrees
CO2 conked out yesterday, just added new batch this morning. PH will go down to 7.0 when it gets really going. 

Thanks for advice!


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## badmatt (Nov 19, 2003)

give them time to adjust wait 2-3 days they should be ok


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## Mandy (Dec 30, 2004)

Update - they're still not eating fish food but they're eating something. I did a fishless cycle with lots of plants so I had algae. Between them and the ottos, I can't see a spec of algae anymore.

Having said that, one of the angels died today. I notice this morning that his siblings were venturing out more and higher but he was just staring at his reflection at the back / bottom of the tank. Got home from work and he was dead. Everyone else seems to be fine and my water parameters are exactly the same. I had a good look at his little corpse - no spots or anything visible. No lfs trips possible until Saturday.


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## Mandy (Dec 30, 2004)

Is it possible my angel fish are just dumb??? Today they were sort of near the top of the tank and I know they saw the food, both at the top and slowly sinking in front of them. They don't eat it! I've tried two different types. I've never seen them eat fish food at all. 

What treats do Angels like? They're pretty small, maybe the size of a quarter. 

Also, my tank is sparkling clean now - all the algae, from what I can see, is gone. What should I feed my ottos? I only have five in a 37 gallon tank. Thanks!


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## GDominy (Jul 30, 2002)

For the ottos try Algae wafers.. for hte Angels.. Try Frozen bloodworm.. if that doesnt get em going then they might not be adjusting well to the new tank or they could be suffering from some ailment


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Good suggestion, Gareth.

If the Angel are not eating, attempting to get good, high protein food into them would be the way to go.

Mike


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

If you have access to any sort of live food (e.g. bloodworms, blackworms, etc.), give that a shot. Picky fish usually go for these, and then you can just wean them off it.


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## Anthony (Jan 11, 2005)

I just got 2 angels of the same size. They won't touch the daphnia I give them, but really seem to like freeze-dried brine shrimp from Hikairi.


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## BigJimSTL (Sep 18, 2004)

i got an Angelfish about two months ago and mine acted the same way. It hid away for the first few days and refused to eat. It would actually take in small flakes that others didnt get and spit the right back out. Refused to eat anything for the whole first month... anything except... algae! That quarter sized angel tore through hair algae like there was no tomorrow and basically took care of the outbreak. I watched on many occasions as he/she nibbled and tore the algae from the leaves, and noticed it rather often had a big plump belly. Once it got through whatever algae it was fond of, it started eating and competing for food with others. I still see it checking leaves for algae, but theres not much algae left, except for bba which im battling right now, and the angel isnt too hip on the bba  Mine also loves algae wafers, so maybe your ottos wont be the only ones eating them as someone has suggested. Id be willing to bet your ottos got some help from the angels in cleaning your algae so fast. Now that youre out of algae for the most part, give them a couple days and keep an eye on their bellys. If they dont eat, thats fine. A couple days not eating wont hurt and if theyre healthy and out of algae then theyll start eating. A hungry fish is a healthy fish.


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## Mandy (Dec 30, 2004)

Thanks so much for your response. I feel much better! I just wish one wasn't growing so much faster than the other. The big guy is clearly fat and sassy. I'm still worried about the little guy - he looks skinny and he's just not growing nearly as fast.

Thanks again!


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

As long as his tummy is full, I wouldn't worry about it (if his tummy is sunken in, then I'd be concerned). Growth rates on angels are different depending on the sexes and how aggressive each fish feeds (not really something that you can control).


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