Angel fish laying on its side and sinking when swimming

Hi, we have a 55 gallon tank with some neon tetras, a couple of mollies and gouramies, one algae eater, two bottom feeders and two left over zebra danios from when we started the tank. We have live plants and I feed them flakes and crisps along with frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms at least twice a week. I also have two male angels that are 2 and 1/2 years old and one female that is the subject of this message. One of the male angel and the female have paired up over a year ago right after I bought the girl. I don't know how old she is as she is the same size of when I brough her home. She has layed eggs at least twice a month for the past year and just had swimmers three weeks ago. After having the babies (and after I removed them from the tank) she started to hang in the same spot at the top of the tank. She would move around to eat and then go back to the same spot. About 5 days ago I found her laying on the back at the bottom of the tank. Every so often she tries to move and swim up but it looks like she doesn't have control of where she's going and after a couple of seconds she sinks to the bottom. She's not eating anymore and she's been trying to sit up straight by using a plant but she's often laying on her side on the rocks looking around as if she was asking for help! Her mate has been hanging around her this whole time and it's so haeart breaking!! I read it could be a swim bladder problem. Could there be another reason or do you think that is her problem? Is there anything we can do for her? Should we get her and her mate out into a tank just for the two of them? Any help will be much appreciated!! We love our little girl angel, she brought so much joy with all her babies! I also have another question.. I have 7 of her babies that are almost 4 months old in another tank and was wondering when it would be the safest time to introduce a couple of them in the big tank with the two big male angels. THANKS!!!

A spawning pair of angelfish need their own tank of at least 20 gallons capacity, but moving the female right now could be fatal to her. I hate to say it, but with the symptoms she has it may be too late. As a last resort, you could put her in a hospital tank and medicate her. A similar thing happened to a spawning female in one of my aquariums; she was at least eight years old and within a couple days of laying on the bottom, she expired. It could have been old age and the stress of spawning. In a community tank like you have, spawning would be especially stressful, since angelfish attempt to protect their eggs and fry.

No matter how you decide to treat the angelfish, be sure to check the other fish for signs of diseases or parasites, and check all of the water parameters. It's very important to do regular, partial water changes for angelfish, and they like an aquarium at about 82 degrees. If they don't have just the right conditions, their immunity to diseases and parasites will be compromised. Angelfish are somewhat more delicate than other aquarium fish, and they usually do better in a single species tank.

Sorry I couldn't be more encouraging. Several of us on this website raise angelfish, and in a while, you may get better answers. Good luck, and thanks for checking out our aquarium club.

Thanks for your quick reply! When she layed the last batch of eggs we thought about moving the couple and the eggs to a 20 gallon but never had time to do it. I wonder if that would have prevented her illness. We tried to give her some boiled peas this morning but she did not eat it. We don't know how old she is, she was smaller than my males when I got her and was expecting it to grow bigger.. she never did so maybe she was already a few years old? Who knows. Our water is at about 78 to 80, I will definitely raise it to 82 and will consider having angelfish only in the future. How many do you recommend having in a 55 gallon? Would it be OK to keep all 7 of her babies together with the other two males or should I give them to the store and buy different ones. Thanks for your time!

Female angelfish are usually, but not always, smaller than males. Juvenile angelfish will get along fine in a 55 gallon aquarium; in fact, that makes a good grow out tank. The Cichlid aggressiveness develops in angelfish when they reach sexual maturity (one year give or take a few months). Even though they are siblings, they will eventually form viable pairs and will chase all the other fish away. That's when you start to need more aquariums. Mating rituals can get pretty violent, and some pairs will prove incompatible. I would not put small juveniles with mature males, because they may eat them or worry them to death (literally). Angelfish can be a real pain, but they're also the favorite fish of many aquarists, including me.

When you raise the temperature, do it slowly (one degree a day). Also make sure that your maintenance routine includes 20 or 25 percent partial water changes every week or two, and syphon the waste off the bottom. The sick female angelfish does not need peas unless she has a swollen abdomen, indicating constipation. As long as she is sick, she will not be interested in food. Other than behavior, does she show any signs of parasites or diseases?

If I didn't answer all of your questions, please feel free to ask more.

Hi. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge! My husband just asked me if I wanted to move the young angels in with the rest. I'm so glad I had your answer ready to show him! We'll get another aquarium for them as they are outgrowing the one they're in. As for our sick female... she's still doing the same thing.. yesterday she came up to eat two bites of food and then she sunk again. She doesn't have any other signs of parasites or diseases and everyone else in the tank is doing just fine.. escept her mate. He's been with her 24/7 and he hasn't been eating much. He looks fine but he doesn't attack the food as much as he used to. I'll keep you updated on that too and thanks again!

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear about your fish!

Adult fish can go nearly a week without anything to eat. That being said... I know how tempting it is to try to feed the sick fish, and keep trying to feed it... The extra uneaten food with foul the water, which is way worse than them not eating...

It does sound bad with your Angel... But sometimes fish will suprise you. If she makes it through... I would recommend getting the pair their own tank. I use a 20 tall or even a 30 if they're big...

Adult angels need 10 gallons per fish... So keep that in mind when purchasing a tank for the babies...

The BIGGER, The BETTER!!!

Good Luck with your fish!!

Hi! I just wanted to post an update on our sick female angelfish. She's been hanging on a fake plant (the only one of two fake plants we have-the others are all real) by the side of the aquarium at about mid tank. The male has been hanging around her but he's now eating as usual. Every time I put food in the tank, the female tries to move to catch some of the food but the movement makes her fall out of her spot and sink to the bottom. When she's on the bottom she also tries to eat some of the food that sunk. A while later she's back in the same spot supported by the plant. That said, how can I not feed her?? I've been using a baster to give her blood worms and brine shrimp and she's been eating it. I know her swim bladder is probably not going to fix itself but it looks like she's trying to survive! That is all for now. Will update more later. Thanks for your support!

Wow, your poor fish. It certainly does sound like she is trying to survive so I would definitively not give up yet. The fact that she is eating is a really good sign. I don't know is she will ever be able to swim normally again though.

She at least deserves a chance. Please keep us updated on her condition.

Any update on your female?

I hope she's still hanging in there...

I'm sad to say that my female angelfish finally past yesterday. I can't believe how long she lasted. I noticed a change about two weeks ago when I realized she wasn't trying to come up for food anymore. She had gotten smaller and most probably weaker. I tried to feed her but she just let the food go past her so we left her alone and we let nature do its course. We thought about taking her out and someone told us to put her in a bag and then in the freezer but we just couldn’t do that to her. Well, now we have two large males fighting quite often. We’ll probably add a couple of young (but big enough) angels to reestablish a bit of balance and hopefully one will be a female. Thanks for all the support!!! I really appreciate it!

A battle well fought, my friend.

Eventually, one of the male angelfish will probably establish dominance over the other one and make things pretty miserable for him. A popular way to get a spawning pair of angelfish is to start with six juveniles then watch them mature and make pairs. If you do that, buy some large fish and some smaller ones; males tend to be larger than females, so a mix of sizes gives you a better chance at a pair. After that, get ready to buy more aquariums.

I'm sorry your angel passed, I just read your story. How romantically sad. I am facinated by fish and all their different personalities. I don't have a female for my angel fish so I couldn't imagine the dynamics of staying by her side while she was ill. I'm glad you decided to let her pass in her tank. Who ever suggested putting her in the freezer is a monster!