Angelfish Died

[shell]

I recently (2 weeks ago) bought an angelfish which just recently died.  All my other fish are fine, it just mysteriously started kindof going on its side and sticking to my filter.  Are angelfish suseptible to things that other fish are not?

[Rocktopus]

The important things to look at would be the size of the initial angelfish, water conditions, and compatibility with other fish.
I find that Angelfish in general can be a bit tempermental when moving them, especially the small delicate juvies.  If you got your angel really small, he may be more susceptible to shock etc.  Originating from South America, they tend to like softer water (unlike most platies, african cichilds etc.) but close to 7 pH works fine for me (last I checked it was 6.4 up from 6.2).  Temps around 78-80.  Angelfish like to be king of a tank, and as such, should be the most aggressive fish in said tank.  Keeping them with fin nippers (barbs) or territorial fish of similiar size certainly can't be advised.

When I first introduced 4 juvies to my 55 g community, 2 of them were dead within the week from what I could only assume were poor initial water conditions.  Only one survived and I ended up adding 3  young adult angels a few months later.  With softer water conditions and a temp of about 82 I find they are striving.  They have recently formed 2 mating pairs and have spawned at least 3 times in the past 2 months. 
I feed them a wide variety of foods, not just the regular flakes but earth worm and brine shrimp supps as well as complete pellets.  They are housed with platies, small tetras (which they NEVER attack, perhaps from growing up alongside them?), and keyhole cichilds.  There are also random bottom feeders in the tank.  10 - 25% water changes every 10 days or so.  I also have another breeding pair in a 20 gal and the are doing great in somewhat different conditions (~7.6 pH and 74 degrees), although no spawns as of yet (no suitable sites).

[Julie]

Was your angel eating and what temp was the tank at?

[shell]

It was about the size of a loonie.  I always change a third of the water once a week, the temp is kept at an even 82, and I was feeding flake food twice a day, and frozen bloodworms about once a week.  It was fine for 2 weeks, the all of a sudden.  I read that they could get internal parasites which cause that or overfeeding.  Its tankmates were 1 female sword, 1 female mollie, 2 female guppies, 3 head/taillight tetras, 3 neon tetras, 2 small bala sharks and 1 male crowntail betta.  It seemed fine with them all, there was no fin nipping or anything going on.  I'll try to get another one, but if this one dies I guess I'll give up on angels.

[Julie]

Hex, but was it the only angel fish?

[shell]

Yes, it was the only one.  My tank is a 33 gallon long, also.  I was told at the LFS that it was perfectly fine to just have one, 2 would probably fight, other than than, I would have to have gone with 4 or more, and I didn'nt want that many.  Was this wrong info?

[Julie]

To my knowledge they are better in groups.

[mseguin]

They usually do fine both on their own or in groups, part of the problem is that alot of angels (and cichlids in general) available from mass producing suppliers can be of somewhat poor quality, you just have to be a bit more careful with water parameters and acclimatization for the first little bit, then it should be fine,

[RoxyDog]

I've always had trouble with angelfish, I'm thinking b/c of what Matt said.  If you want them, maybe get them privately where you know the quality will be better?

[Rocktopus]

I find it's pretty easy to tell the good from the bad when buying at LPS.  When they're the size of a loonie, you simply want to look for the one that's most active, has least fin damage, and responds to your presence.  Plus you can ask staff to feed them a little so you can see how they respond to that.  Healthy feeding is a good sign.
When I bought my first 4 angels, I got them from one of the bigger stores and they were all loonie sized.  I wasn't very careful in choosing them, going more for colour than apparent health.  The biggest one was the only one to survive.  I eventually picked out 3 very obviously healthy and strong ones from the Little Critters at Billings and my heightened selection standards paid off as they've all grown up very strong.

Also, with the tank mates you mentioned (alot of quick fish), perhaps it was being out competed?  The smaller angels were never very aggressive in my tank and I needed to feed them at the side of the tank while the others feasted in the centre to make sure they were getting what they needed.

[Julie]

Get them to eat and check the feces if possible before buying.

[SuperT]

Is it me or does this hobby always lead back to....POOP!   

I've never looked at so much fish poop in my entire life as I have in the last 6 months or more with those crazy discus.

Terry