Angelfish always dying

[PCMinNeed]

At the pet store where i work, whenever I receive angelfish (they in groups of 3-4) they always die within 3 to 5 days. The tank is 5 gallons and tends to have 1-2 plecos in it. Its low turbulence and all water flow is directed towards the closest wall. Does anybody have any advice for me on how i can keep these fish alive?

[smy_749]

At the pet store where i work, whenever I receive angelfish (they in groups of 3-4) they always die within 3 to 5 days. The tank is 5 gallons and tends to have 1-2 plecos in it. Its low turbulence and all water flow is directed towards the closest wall. Does anybody have any advice for me on how i can keep these fish alive?

You shouldn't keep even a single angel fish in a 5 gallon tank, its far too small and they grow pretty quickly. My angel fish is almost 6 inches top to bottom and probably 4 or 5 snout to tip of his tail. 3-4 even for babies is too much for a 5 gallon tank. What type of plecos do you have?

Take a sample of your water into petsmart and let them to a free testing of it to see if your parameters are correct. Also make sure you have a heater with the built in thermostat to maintain the proper temps....maybe its too hot or too cold.

[PCMinNeed]

I work at petsmart, and i know 5 gallon is not ideal but its a pet store and its just a temporary home, and everything all levels and temperature is fine.

[Nobodyspecial]

Its not a temporary home if they keep dying in the tank. And a 5 gallon is not just "not ideal" its a death sentence. The two pleco's are already putting the bioload well past a 5 gallon's limits, (I'm amazed they're living through this, but they're tough little buggers) adding 4 angel fish of any age is pretty much going to kill them no matter what you do, if from nothing else from the ammonia spike from the tank having to cycle itself because of the new additions. See if there's a bigger tank you can add them to instead. Preferably at least a 30 gallon. Same with the Plecos. Only very certain fish can be housed in a 5 gallon tank, even then I'd never recommend a 5 gallon tank to anyone. And I'm sure you already do this, but be sure you're acclimating the fish to their new homes before just dumping them in.

I know you work at petsmart and what you're able to do is incredibly limited, but surely your supervisors can see the logic of changing the set up if they're just going to keep loosing money on the fish dying every time they're added to this dinky tank. If even after all of this they're still dying you guys need to get a hold of whoever you're getting the fish from.

[Jim Smith]

My guess is that they were probably not properly acclimated to the new water you had in the tank. On the next batch, try mixing the water half and half with the water they come in or even 3/4 original water to 1/4 new water of the same temperature. I'll bet the PH was also very different between the two waters. Many people in the fish business trans-ship fish. That means that they get a shipment in at the airport in Miami, and repackage them right there at the airport (usually in the back of their vans) and then ship them directly to their customers. That way they don't have to house them and move them to repack them. It means much more money very quickly for them, but it causes a tremendous strain on the fish. I spent over 5 years in the import export tropical fish business in Miami and you would not believe what goes on in that business. I had one very large importer offer to front me the money to get started and have my own business, but other than this one importer, there were so many crooks and thieves in that business that I just wasn't interested at all. I saw family members stealing from each other and if you weren't there right when Customs and U.S. Fish and Wildlife releases an inbound shipment to the trans-shippers, they would do stuff like stick knitting needles into all of your boxes of fish so that when you arrived all you had was 50 or 100 boxes of wet cardboard and dead fish, all of which you had to pay for anyway. That was their way of eliminating competition. Sounds like a fun business to be in huh.

Jim Smith

[mistersprinkles]

Put the new fish in a small bucket with their bag water, on the floor, take an air line tube and start a syphon on it taking water from the tank you plan to keep the fish in, and pouring it into the bucket. Tie a kink in the airline so that the water only comes out about 1 drop every 4 or 5 seconds. Leave it like that until the bucket fills up. then net the fish out and put them in their tank.

As per the keeping angels in a 5 gallon tank, that's pretty insane. You guys should really do something about that. I hope that these are small angels, dollar coin size bodies at the absolute maximum, and preferably much less.

I'd suggest you guys stop ordering them altogether, honestly. I don't see the point of killing angels until you find the right formula.

[PCMinNeed]

Thanks everyone for your advice, just to be clear, they are not in a 5 gallon tank that is just the space there in. Its a part of a whole wall with a Cysco-5000 filtration system. And yes I know that I still not ideal space but the levels are always perfect. Stopping the order is possible and most likely will be done.

[alessia55]

Thanks everyone for your advice, just to be clear, they are not in a 5 gallon tank that is just the space there in. Its a part of a whole wall with a Cysco-5000 filtration system. And yes I know that I still not ideal space but the levels are always perfect. Stopping the order is possible and most likely will be done.
This is what PCMinNeed is referring to:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sWkThKS9DBk/TZLCyLBQAFI/AAAAAAAAHmw/RBdrBaPrzpI/s320/petsmart+2.JPG

[Pareeeee]

At the store, are there ANY other species of fish being kept in the same tank with them? There is a number of fish that do NOT get along with angels.

Also, float the bags in the tank for 15-20 mins to let the water temperature acclimate before just 'dumping them in'. Don't pour the water from the bags into the tank.

A small amount of salt could be added, which helps fish maintain their slime coat and fight off disease. (every water change I dissolve 1 tsp of salt in my 33 gallon tank. I have noticed a difference over the years from doing this. When I forget, sometimes fish get stressed or sick. BE SURE it's aquarium salt, not table salt.)

Finally, it could be your supplier's fault. It may not be your end at all. What do they look like when they come in?

[mistersprinkles]

(every water change I dissolve 1 tsp of salt in my 33 gallon tank. I have noticed a difference over the years from doing this. When I forget, sometimes fish get stressed or sick. BE SURE it's aquarium salt, not table salt.)


It doesn't have to be aquarium salt. It just shouldn't contain yellow prussiate of soda. It's an anti caking agent they add to most table salts. Kosher salt doesn't have it. Many "Sea Salts" don't have it (ie, Aurora Mediterranean Sea Salt). You don't need to buy "aquarium salt" at the pet store and over pay. Just use Kosher salt. Don't over salt unless the fish you're keeping come from naturally salt rich water. Angels do not, so keep the salt level low. I don't recommend adding salt to your whole pet-store system as you'll have fish like plecos who despise salt.

[Pareeeee]

Table salt also has iodine which is the main reason it should be avoided.

[mistersprinkles]

Table salt also has iodine which is the main reason it should be avoided.

That trace amount of iodine is not harmful to fish. It's the yellow prussiate of soda you have to be worried about. Actually, the trace iodine is beneficial to inverts like shrimp.