Sick Angel? Swimming strangely?

**imma24** · 05-07-2012, 01:59 PM

How are your water parameters?

A torn fin from what I've learned here does well with very clean water.

**Lady Hobbs** · 05-07-2012, 02:48 PM

Water must be replaced with the same temp that was removed or your fish can get gas bubble disease. Also the tank needs to be dechlorinatored before adding the new water. They do not like their fins touching anything and need space. Sounds to me as she is in too small of a tank or the tank has too much "stuff" in it.

They can get their fins caught in fake plastic plants that are tight, bushy things. They need be to able to swim thru plants..........tall things like Vals.

**TheVoldevader** · 05-07-2012, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by andreahp

How are your water parameters?

I know this is completely less than ideal, but I have no more test strips left and no money to buy anymore.

As soon as I can I will be buying more but for the mean-time I'm keeping careful watch and doing plenty of waterchanges. I did lose my cycle a few days ago (filter media fell apart) but I've got some seeded material in there at the moment, and am watching the cories particularly because it is my understanding that should there be any buildup of toxins it will affect them first?

Originally Posted by ladyhobbs

Water must be replaced with the same temp that was removed or your fish can get gas bubble disease. Also the tank needs to be dechlorinatored before adding the new water. They do not like their fins touching anything and need space. Sounds to me as she is in too small of a tank or the tank has too much "stuff" in it.

They can get their fins caught in fake plastic plants that are tight, bushy things. They need be to able to swim thru plants..........tall things like Vals.

Yes m'am, I've been doing all that. She is in a 37g tank. It is currently stalked with:
1 angel
10 black phantom tetras
1 bolivian ram
6 bronze cory cats

I have no plastic plants, and plenty of swords and vals and crypts that she loves. I imagine she got the tear from the phantoms, even though they've never bothered her before and steer clear of her now. The phantoms nip each other every now and then and their fins heal up within a day, but I've never seen them swimming strangely, like the angel is now.

**TheVoldevader** · 05-09-2012, 02:38 AM

I think I might have found the reason for the messed up swimming... I watched today as she wedged herself in between a piece of driftwood and the side of the tank. Seems to be some algae/something growing there she's crazy over. Well she'd have to fold in all her fins to fit and then she'd get stuck and start thrashing... I moved it around though and have the part of wood she was pecking at exposed, so hopefully things will get better now.

**Cermet** · 05-09-2012, 12:04 PM

Don't waste your money on test strips. They are not as accurate as a liquid test kit, do not hold up well and are very pricy. Rather, buy the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate liquid test kits (a pH kit is useful, too.) Most major stores carry them and of course, on-line. These are far less costly on a usaged bases. They last forever and are not that hard to use.

**imma24** · 05-09-2012, 01:23 PM

+1 to cermet about staying away from test strips - most forum members use the API freshwater kit - it might cost more initially but there are tons of tests versus shelling out money for strips repeatedly that aren't even reliable or very accurate. At this point, doing water changes is the best thing you can do until you get another way to test your water.