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Thread: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

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    Default Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    I realize this is a discus forum, but I was hoping someone could help me with my angelfish - hello Liz! I bought some nice juvenile pearlscale Philippine blue angelfish recently. They did fine in quarantine, so I introduced them to the discus tank. They were fine for a couple of weeks when I noticed one of them had some pink at the base of their fins, a little hemorrhaging around it’s nose and a line outlining their body. I immediately removed them and put them in quarantine. I was wondering if it might be hemorrhagic septicemia - although that usually occurs from dirty water. I treated with Kanaplex - no improvement. Treated with Furan 2 - no improvement. Only change is now they all have it. They eat and act fine. Any other treatments I could try? This has happened before when I added keyholes to the tank and I landed up euthanizing them because they didn’t improve with treatment. I have two left that never got sick. Could it be something they’re getting from the discus? I have 11 discus in a 150 with 2 keyhole cichlids. I do a 50 percent water change every two or three days without fail. My discus are over four inches and perfectly happy - no issues. Sorry this is so long winded. I’m just curious what could be happening to my discus tank mates. Thank you!

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    Registered Member coralbandit's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    It does sound like the discus have some pathogen other fish can not handle ?
    Pictures of the angels might help out with ideas .
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhFp68wjRUU
    ^^ My fish room tour by Richsfishes ^^
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    Registered Member bluelagoon's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    How long were the treatments? They usually need 10-14 days for septicemia. Sometimes both those meds together when you have a bacterial infection that's hard to kick. And I would treat the whole tank and not in a separate tank.

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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    It sounds like Mervin knows what he's talking about. I'd have used kannex but this is a problem I've never delt with.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Quote Originally Posted by bluelagoon View Post
    How long were the treatments? They usually need 10-14 days for septicemia. Sometimes both those meds together when you have a bacterial infection that's hard to kick. And I would treat the whole tank and not in a separate tank.
    So you think I should put the angels back and treat the show tank even though the discus and keyholes are fine? I only used the kanaplex for a week and the Furan 2 for two treatments per the directions. Obviously not long enough. I will start again and go longer. I’m trying to get a picture, but they’re skittish of the phone.

    Interestingly, a couple of angels from the same purchase went in my daughter’s tank out of quarantine and are fine.

    Thank you.

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    Silver Member Willie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Quote Originally Posted by Stanica View Post
    So you think I should put the angels back and treat the show tank even though the discus and keyholes are fine?...
    Absolutely do not return the angels back to the discus tank. Angelfish and discus are closely related and disease in one are readily transmissible to the other. Make sure the angelfish are fully cured. If anything, I would treat ALL the angelfish to be absolutely sure. I would keep the angelfish in the quarantine tank until they start to feed again.

    The major reason I never keep these two species together (and I keep both in my fishroom) has nothing to do with aggression or food. It's because early on I've had angelfish take down discus, and vice versa.

    Willie
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Thanks, Willie. I won’t put them back with the discus. I wonder what it is that they have. They swim and eat fine. What would you treat them with? Currently, they are all in quarantine and haven’t had anything but clean water for a couple of days. Again, thanks for your help.

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    Silver Member Willie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Sorry, I've never had fish recover from septicemia.

    Willie
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Hello, everyone. Well, I still have these angelfish. I am on my second treatment with Maracyn 2. They do not appear any worse or better. I thought it was septicemia - MAYBE I’M WRONG? A few have bloody noses, but they all have pinkish swelling at the base of their pectoral fins. It started with one and spread to all of them. They eat and act perfectly normal. They’re growing. Any ideas what it could be? Any other medication suggestions? I will never put them back with my discus, but I have another community tank they could go in should they get better. I just feel bad euthanizing fish that appear in no distress. I appreciate the input I already received, I would just love to fix these guys. Even if the nosebleeds aren’t able to be helped, maybe I could save the others. It just seems like a waste. They’re really pretty fish. Thank you in advance for any input.

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    Registered Member smsimcik's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Hi Stanica,
    I'm the resident veterinarian here and I think your original diagnosis of hemorrhagic septicemia is probably correct. The bloody noses and reddening at the base of fins are pretty common symptoms. The bacteria that cause it are very common in any tank. Aeromonas, Pseudomonas or Vibrio can all cause septicemia. Since these bacteria are common in any tank, they didn't pick up the infection from your discus or any other fish. They got infected due to stress and having compromised immune systems. The stress of being introduced into a new environment with a bunch of discus is probably what did it. Or in other words, they got infected with bacteria that was already in the tank due to their immune systems being compromised.

    All the antibiotics treatments you have done will kill the bacteria responsible.
    However, the best thing you can do at this point is remove all stress to these fish if you want them to do well long term. The reddening of the noses and fin bases can eventually go away, but it takes a while, maybe months. I would keep them in their own tank. Don't mix with other fish in a community tank. Bare bottom if possible. Temp around 80F. Do frequent water changes. I would do up to 40-50% daily for a while. I do that to my own juvenile angelfish even when they aren't sick to keep them healthy and growing. Keep the filter clean. Feed high quality flake or granules and occasional frozen brine shrimp or freeze dried blackworms or bloodworms.

    I'll also mention my experience with Philippine blue angelfish is that they seem to need more pampering than other angels. I think the blue genes make them slightly weaker and in need of better husbandry than other strains of angels. Especially pearlscales and pinoys.
    HTH. Good luck with them.

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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    You know, Steve I did have this once in some Blue Platinum Angels I had once. It never went away, it never transferred to other fish, but neither did it seem to bother them in any way. Mine were in an Angel only tank. It was over crowded but I do huge WC as a matter of course. What do you make of that?
    Mama Bear

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    Registered Member smsimcik's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    If you are referring to the reddening of the nose, sometimes it never clears up. That doesn't mean they are still infected, it just means they never completely healed from the original infection damage. I guess you could call it a type of permanent scarring that never goes away completely. I had it in a couple of discus a few years ago. They developed the red noses as 3" juvies and had red noses their whole lives. I had them at least 3-4 years and their noses never cleared up.
    Last edited by smsimcik; 05-10-2020 at 02:52 PM.

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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Thanks for teaching me something I didn't know.
    Mama Bear

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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Quote Originally Posted by smsimcik View Post
    If you are referring to the reddening of the nose, sometimes it never clears up. That doesn't mean they are still infected, it just means they never completely healed from the original infection damage. I guess you could call it a type of permanent scarring that never goes away completely. I had it in a couple of discus a few years ago. They developed the red noses as 3" juvies and had red noses their whole lives. I had them at least 3-4 years and their noses never cleared up.
    Thank you so much for your response! As of today, they are done with the Maracyn 2 treatment. I will continue to keep them alone and will up the water changes to what you recommended. It’s nice to know this can have a positive income. Again, thank you for making me feel better.

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    Default Re: Angelfish getting sick in discus tank

    Hello, I wanted to update this thread I started. My angelfish made a complete recovery - they look great. I moved them to my community tank. I was afraid to return them to my discus tank.

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