Angels are getting positively obese

[SlimmSnake]

I've had 2 angels and 5 discus in a 100g tank for about a year now... the discus are between 4" to 5" diameter, and both angels have bodies that are about 2-1/2" square (excluding fins). Have been feeding twice per day (morning and evening) a variety of beefheart, Mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, bloodworms, and "Cichlid Delight" (turkey-based cube), about 7 grams total each feeding. The angels are fat as heck... round bellies, bulging foreheads, meaty sides... I've been wondering for awhile now if they're heading towards serious health problems (fatty-liver, heart-disease, etc).
One of the angels suddenly started losing equilibrium this morning, tilting and drifting slightly (although still able to swim, but with more effort). I am guessing his fat is compressing or affecting his swimbladder. So I pulled both angels out into a separate tank and am now treating them with Epsom salts, and they are about to go on a Weight-Watchers diet.

Has anyone else had the other companion fish in with discus get too fat, to the point of health problems?

[Dhavalsp]

yes, I had similar issues with Rams...they were just too fat being subjected to 'discus diet'....

[Ryan]

It's because angels often out-eat discus tankmates, so they probably get a bulk of the food. It's one reason why it's hard to mix discus with other cichlids.

[SlimmSnake]

We've been pretty careful about feeding, making sure the discus get their share of the food, but yes, the angels are pigs. As I've been trying to help my fat-angel the last several days, I've actually been reading online about how angels are particularly susceptible to fat-induced disorders, and how you should not feed angels food that contains fat (like beefheart). Uh oh. Up until now, I had been thinking that the angels were good companions with the discus (they all got along great and schooled all together); but now this diet discrepancy is quite unfortunate. (The discus are missing their two angel buddies... they're a little more skittish and have been re-affirming their pecking order, now that the two big dudes are gone from their tank.)

[JonAir]

Airjon Discus.jpg
When I got my Angels their bodies were about quarter size; now they are bigger than my juvenile discus.

[SlimmSnake]

Well, my angel that started having the apparent swim-bladder problem continued to deteriorate over the next several days. We treated him as though he had bloat or an intestinal obstruction, with Epsom salts (tried various concentrations) and a few other meds that have laxative or diuretic properties, but he didn't respond at all. Continued to have worse and worse ability to swim, sinking or floating and drifting uncontrollably. He finally died The day before yesterday.
That evening I did my own "necropsy" on him... carefully cut him open, and was astonished to see HUGE globs of FAT just caked all around and between his organs! I mean, I knew he was fat, but on the inside, the fat was equal or more in volume to the totality of all his organs put together - it looked a lot worse than I expected. I have now learned that fish do not gain fat between their muscles and their skin, like mammals do, but they gain fat in random lumps within their body cavities, so by the time they actually visibly LOOK fat on the outside, the amount of fat that has accumulated on the inside is very serious. (I didn't take pictures, sorry! It occurred to me later that I should have.) His organs were all pushed out of place by the huge globs of fat - his swim bladders were compressed in bizarre positions much lower in the body cavity than they should have been. No wonder he couldn't swim.
So be warned people - if you are looking at your other fish that are in with your discus, and they are looking a little chunkier than they should, their health is probably already in danger. After this experience, I will only be keeping angels and other fish with older discus that are not growing and can be minimally fed (amounting to a "normal" diet for the other fish in the tank). I won't be keeping other species with juvenile or still-growing discus again.

[Kyla]

i have some monster fat kuhlii loaches that im actually rehoming today. they r the last of the miscellaneous loaches and tetras left over from past adoptions and i didnt intend to keep them with the discus so long. they gorged in the discus tank, to the point they look like they will burst! i think they will be much happier in their new home, and hopefully i didnt wait too long to move them out.