angelfish sick swimming in cartwheels

Help please. My angelfish is swimming in cartwheels. Yesterday it was hiding in corner and staying at top of water. Last night it was tilting to one side and staying near bottom.

50 gal tank with only one other fish, an angel. Four fish died suddenly four days ago. Before all this happened, the angels had fungus which I treated with fungicide. Man at fish store said stop using that, don't use ammonia remover (something about our city's water system that made no sense to me) and just do 25% water change.

The fungicide seemed to be helping. Next I did the water change as he suggested. He said ignore the fact that test still shows high nitrates, that it's not the toxic kind.

I'm afraid I have been misled! Nitrites are 0. Nitrates are 120. I want to use Ammo lock but he said not to. Again, please help!

i would try to do a huge water change then littler ones every day after that but it sounds like parisites or a dissease and i wouldnt lissen to the store person and do some research. do you live in Ohio? we are having water problems too with them putting to much chemicals in the water and to be careful and too use more water treatment in it to revome that stuff

The store guy had the right idea about water changes since they will fix most things before you even need medicine. I have to admit your nitrates are alarmingly high. They are not toxic at lower levels and anything less than 20ppm is acceptable for many fish. I am sorry your angel is ill. At this point it sounds as though its swim bladder may have been affected and it may have whirling disease. There is not much you can do. I would keep up with the water changes. As for medication I do not know what will help. If your fish still has fungus, try using methylene blue. I hope someone can give you a better answer.

If you decide to use the meth... blue, please note that it will turn your silicone and any airline in the water blue... Unless it's black silicone, then it won't matter.

Unfortunately it may be too late for your Angel. When they start doing cartwheels that's just not a good sign.

Water changes have always been my friend, and usually on this forum, we stress Water changes before meds. Sometimes meds are necessary, but you need to know how to use them. Unfortunately, a lot of stores will sell you a lot of "quick fix" chemicals that cost a lot, and tend not to work.

There's a great list of medicines and usages on I think it's dr foster smith. If... No... When John checks this he might remember the link... It was on an old forum. I have it printed out somewhere... Might be a good thing for the blog. It was very informative.

I'll check it out.

Sorry... I'm rambling.

I wish you and your fish the best!

Please keep us posted!

Oh... And WELCOME to the Forum!

Welcome to our forum. Have you checked the ammonia level in your aquarium? It usually requires a separate test. Ammonia should always be at zero, as should nitrite. If they are not, the nitrogen cycle has been interrupted or overwhelmed. A 50 gallon aquarium with just two angelfish should be easy to keep balanced so long as you avoid over feeding and do a partial water change every week or two. The beneficial bacteria live in the aquarium substrate, on live plants and in the filter media if you have one of those fancy filters. The more places the bacteria have to live the better they will colonise your aquarium. Uneaten food, plant wastes, fish wastes and even fish respiration produce ammonia. One type of bacteria converts the ammonia to nitrite, and another converts the nitrite to less harmful nitrogen compounds, which get used by the live plants. I hope that makes sense.

Assuming the aquarium is well maintained, one possibility for the trouble source is the unintentional introduction of a parasite. They can hitch a ride on plants, decorations, etc. Another possible source is over medicating, which could kill the beneficial bacteria.

The angelfish seems very stressed, so I've focused on causes rather than fixes. Both angelfish have been exposed to the parasite, but one or both of them may be strong enough to fight it off. The partial water changes will give them their best chance. Please keep us posted.