Swallow tail angel not eating or actively swimming

Benjamin Riley · Mar 3, 2019

So I purchased a swallow tail angel and a Chocolate tang. Both were in QT with copper at 0.4-0.5 for a little over a week. the whole time i never saw the angel eat nor swim around the take the way the tang did. when ever i walked past the tank the angel would dart behind the rocks. The crazy thing is her breathing is fine, she hasnt gotten skinny, no spots or anything. I was forced to move the two into the display tank (nitrites spike after these two were in there) that was my bad! the tank was a 20 gallon that previously only had a diamond tail fairy wrasse in it for 3 weeks. The angel and tang are both in my display but again the angel just isnt out and about swimming. She doesnt seem to have a swimming problem, but im very worried at this point due to the fact that i cant seem to get her to eat. Ignore the bubble algae lol but heres a some pics.

Benjamin Riley · Mar 3, 2019

just noticed her trying to stay upright. Could it be a swim bladder infection??

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 3, 2019

Can you get better pics without the blue lights? Unfortunately today’s distribution of fish is so rife with illness and parasites there is a good chance it may have another issue. .04 is below therapeutic level and everytime it went down you restarted the QT clock. I’m assuming you used cupramine, correct?

Benjamin Riley · Mar 3, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
Can you get better pics without the blue lights? Unfortunately today’s distribution of fish is so rife with illness and parasites there is a good chance it may have another issue. .04 is below therapeutic level and everytime it went down you restarted the QT clock. I’m assuming you used cupramine, correct?

Yep! She basically swims about 8in back n forth behind this one rock in the tank. i saw her come out and up a little bit but then goes right back behind the rock. She even flares up at the the tang if he gets too close. heres the best i can get

Benjamin Riley · Mar 3, 2019

Caught her struggling to stay up right again. Does Bifuran help with swim bladder? like dipping her?

wesman42 · Mar 3, 2019

I've had a similar experience with a Genicanthus angel. Mine is still in QT, but she's recovering quite well. Improved probably 50% in the past week. Apparently this genus of angels are very timid (or so I was told here). They are also prone to swim bladder problems, but I've had other fish as well as my Lamarck's angel improve from swim bladder problems in a QT so I could ensure they were eating. I'm not familiar with the nature of what causes swim bladder problems, so I'm not really sure it has anything to do with protozoa or bacteria.

Benjamin Riley · Mar 3, 2019

wesman42 said:
I've had a similar experience with a Genicanthus angel. Mine is still in QT, but she's recovering quite well. Improved probably 50% in the past week. Apparently this genus of angels are very timid (or so I was told here). They are also prone to swim bladder problems, but I've had other fish as well as my Lamarck's angel improve from swim bladder problems in a QT so I could ensure they were eating. I'm not familiar with the nature of what causes swim bladder problems, so I'm not really sure it has anything to do with protozoa or bacteria.

Well i cant get her to eat and not really sure how to treat her even if i could put her back in qt. i placed a huge piece of rock from my sump in the qt to help bring the nitrite levels down

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 3, 2019

Benjamin Riley said:
Well i cant get her to eat and not really sure how to treat her even if i could put her back in qt. i placed a huge piece of rock from my sump in the qt to help bring the nitrite levels down

I would remove the rock, do a large water change and get her back into QT. That will be your best opportunity to get her eating and figure out what treatments she needs.

Benjamin Riley · Mar 3, 2019

should i keep the copper in the qt?

Frtdrmrose7 said:
I would remove the rock, do a large water change and get her back into QT. That will be your best opportunity to get her eating and figure out what treatments she needs.

Should i keep the copper in there and if so, what level??

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 3, 2019

Benjamin Riley said:
should i keep the copper in the qt?

Should i keep the copper in there and if so, what level??

You’ll need to start the copper at a lower level and ramp up to therapeutic. I would start between.50-.75 then ramp up to 1.75 (copper power) I would also recommend the Hanna high range copper checker. If you don’t have one and buy one make sure to buy an extra box or two of reagents as it only comes with 6