# Help! Angelfish inflamed gills labored breathing



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

Anyone?


----------



## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Weird. Inflamed gills is a sign of ammonia burn...my only suggestion is try melafix to help boost his immune system.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

thelub said:


> melafix to help boost his immune system.


Melafix does this?
I hear something new with these products every time it is mentioned.

biweekly 50% sounds like a lot. Somethings in the water like extra chlorine or chloramine.


----------



## flwrbed (Apr 20, 2005)

Rapid breathing, flared gills. 

I say gill flukes. Formalin. Works great!! But the quick Cure should have knocked it down. If you followed the bottle, it might not work on a bad case.

If you are conditioning your water, i would not think that is the problem. 

Pm me and i can give you a great treatment if it is flukes.


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

50% is actually bi monthly.... every 2 weeks... my bad..

Its not gill flukes.. had them, this is different

As far as chlorine or chloratamine, this started 2 days before my scheduled water change. The previous water change had been done over 2 weeks before that... and i use prime.. so it cant be

as said in the initial post, all params are normal. and water change was just done. This is a well established tank, it cant be ammonia.. plus it read 0pmm

The only other thing i can possibly think is internal parasites. I went through callamanus worms about 2 months ago, but i eradicated them. No one else is showing symptoms. The fish cant be over 2 years old, so its not age


----------



## flwrbed (Apr 20, 2005)

How many angels are in the tank? How big is the tank? You have substrate in the tank?


----------



## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

mistergreen said:


> Melafix does this?
> I hear something new with these products every time it is mentioned.
> 
> biweekly 50% sounds like a lot. Somethings in the water like extra chlorine or chloramine.


I should have clarified in my post. I'm no medical professional, but I know tea tree oil isn't a medicine, it just helps recovery. I've had very good luck using it to help ailing fish revive. Not sure how much of an immune system fish have, but it seems to help them recover. Its especially good on repairing fin damage.


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

this is much worse than fin damage unfortunately... im an experienced keeper.. and I have NO idea what this is


----------



## jschwabe5 (Nov 29, 2011)

Any chance your sick angel is female? The male in one of my breeding pairs killed the female when she stopped laying eggs. He tore a chunk out of her gills. Another breeder I know told me its instinct for some angels to do that and get rid of the weak or non predictive female


----------



## JustAGuy716 (Aug 28, 2012)

How long has it been like this? I've seen similar inflammation with my angels when they are fighting for dominance. When they turn to the side to protect their eyes from an aggressor, sometimes they expose their gill flaps. When mine reddened up in the past, I kept an eye on it & the inflammation went away in a few days. NOTE: mine were never bad enough to stop eating, though - that would really worry me w/ an angel. Good luck to you and and your angel


----------



## CrypticLifeStyle (Jan 16, 2013)

I'd check the water again. 1ppm for nitrates is a suspicious low reading. I'd give more detail about your tank, filtration, what other fish, what are you dosing, how long have you had the fish, how are you treating the water for water changes etc etc


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

flwrbed said:


> How many angels are in the tank? How big is the tank? You have substrate in the tank?


4 angels in the tank. 2 adult males and 2 juvies..... tank is extremely peaceful. There were no fights that i have seen. 

Its funny because the other large male in the tank (currently i dont have a female for either of them) actually looks really concerned about the other guy. He checks in on him all the time, just coming up to him and sitting there and watching... Since my female died about 2 months ago to the callamanus worms, i would swear they have become best friends.


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> I'd check the water again. 1ppm for nitrates is a suspicious low reading. I'd give more detail about your tank, filtration, what other fish, what are you dosing, how long have you had the fish, how are you treating the water for water changes etc etc


I checked it last night... 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitirites, 5ppm nitrates. The nitrates were so low due to me just doing the WC 2 days earlier


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

JustAGuy716 said:


> How long has it been like this? I've seen similar inflammation with my angels when they are fighting for dominance. When they turn to the side to protect their eyes from an aggressor, sometimes they expose their gill flaps. When mine reddened up in the past, I kept an eye on it & the inflammation went away in a few days. NOTE: mine were never bad enough to stop eating, though - that would really worry me w/ an angel. Good luck to you and and your angel


its been about 6 or 7 days. They havent been fighting. When i had my previous 2 females in the tank, they definitely fought, but since i lost both of them, no fighting at all. It is both sides, not just one side of gills.


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

This morning, he looks a bit better. Still breathing hard, but actually swimming. I have one more dose of quick cure that i will do tonight. I just want him to start eating again. Not even his favorite bloodworms would entice a bite

Besides melafix, If the quick cure doesnt work, i may try methylene blue. It supposedly can take care of bacterial infections in addition to helping the water hold o2


----------



## flwrbed (Apr 20, 2005)

Im glad to here things are looking up.

If it were my tank i would do some more water changes. It is amazing what they can do for a unhappy fish. I would not treat for other things unless you know that is what is causing the problem. Meds are not good for fish. They cause stress. If it was bacteria i think you would see it. If you can keep your water around 82 deg. and do a follow up treatment in 5-7 days, I think you may have it licked. 

Quick Cure contains Malachite Green. Watch you bio filter, could effect that.

FLWR


----------



## bsherwood (Nov 22, 2007)

*Same issue a year or so ago*

my 120 planted- had 6 angels and a pile of Rummy nose Tetras...

Angels started breathing heavy, enflamed gills... all parameters were fine...did my water changes ... but I lost all 6 of my adults within the course of three days...massive die off and I never did figure out what was up...

I let the tank rest for about 6 weeks...and re-stocked...I now have a couple breeder pair that are quite happy and laying every 10 days or so...


----------



## Warlock (Feb 28, 2012)

flwrbed said:


> Im glad to here things are looking up.
> 
> *If it were my tank i would do some more water changes. It is amazing what they can do for a unhappy fish.* I would not treat for other things unless you know that is what is causing the problem. Meds are not good for fish. They cause stress. If it was bacteria i think you would see it. If you can keep your water around 82 deg. and do a follow up treatment in 5-7 days, I think you may have it licked.
> 
> ...


up them water changes.. !! do they for a week str8.. best thing to help fish heal is super clean water. 


ps.. some one else posted.. methalyne(sp?) is what you want for fungus


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

I definitely did 3 water changes over the last week and kept dosing with quick cure to no avail. I woke up this morning and he is not good. I still have no idea what it is. 

I order melafix this morning as a last ditch effort. Who knows........ I am extremely saddened to lose him. He has been a great pet.


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

well.. after thinking he was doing better... he died this morning. His name was Thor.... I do not think in the 10 years i have kept fish i have ever been this sad

I pulled him out, did a bit of an external examination on him and do not see anything physically wrong with him or his gills. I got him when he was about 6 months old and have had him for a year and a half.. so he was at least 2. 

I still have no idea what happened in the tank. The rest of his tank mates have been perfectly healthy and eating.

For anyone who keeps angels, it was pretty sad to see over the last few days the concern that his largest tank mate, aptly named Odin, had for him as he struggled. It was awesome to see how they interacted with each other. Having two male angels that are raised together, get along for their entire lives is something to see. RIP buddy


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Pictures?

What color were the gills, bright red? Gray?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

There was no discoloration at all which is why I am baffled. They were light pink. 

The only thing that makes any sense to me is maybe he developed a tumor or an internal growth. He was a big boy (largest I have ever had), and maybe I didn't notice. 

I even had my gf who is a marine biologist look at him right after removal from the tank (he could have only been dead for 5 hours) and she also agreed that he had no obvious external issues. 

Btw for there names, he was a blue angel (Thor) and his BFF is a large altum fluorescent colored male (Odin)


----------



## flwrbed (Apr 20, 2005)

Well, im very sorry to hear of your loss. Hope all else is well in the tank and you have no more issues.

Sounds like you gave it a good effort. 

FLWR


----------



## ADJAquariums (Jul 5, 2012)

sorry to hear he died, I have a similar situation in how much my angelfish has become more than just a fish in my tank, it'll be a sad day when he dies, I hope you get Odin another buddy, I bet after being with another male angel so long he'd be able to do well with another, maybe like cats and dogs, raise them together and they will always be able to tolerate one another


----------

