Koran Angelfish Sick?

[kmclayman]

Hello,
We have had a Koran Angelfish that is approximately 3 years old. Within the past week, it has all but stopped eating and its lip looks swollen or puffy. The lip does not appear to have any fungus, redness, or growths on it. It also seems to be hiding in its place under a rock and does swim much. It seems to have lost some color mostly on its face and side of the body. Other than that, we can't see any signs of parasite or fungus. The other fish in the 72 gallon tank seem to be doing just fine. Any thoughts? We have talked about trying a stress coat or bacterial medication but not sure what would be best. Any help, suggestions, or links would be greatly appreciated. We want desperately to save this fish if we can.

Thanks,
Kristy

[Lance]

More info would be needed.
Water readings?
All equipment from skimmers to powerheads?
Amount of LR and LS?
Brief stock list from CUC to coral to fish?
Have you done anything differant in the last week or 2?

[kmclayman]

Temp is fine, don't know ph levels or nitrite levels, but things have been fine until now. Recently acquired a goldenhead sleeper goby, but they seem to have gotten along fine.

Also have a damsel, hippo tang, lemon peel angel, two clownfish. All have coexisted just fine since we have gotten them. No other fish are showing signs of sickness. Also have two starfish. Some micro sized hermit crabs.

Have a wet/dry filter, lifeguard - mechanical and chemical, uv sterilizer.

Live rock - 45 lbs and no live sand.

Really no problems until just recently. This seemed to crop up without any changes.

[Lance]

DO you have any powerheads?
Do you have a skimmer?
You cant get any long term success without the proper test kit. Nitrite is usually seen in the cycle only. Readings like Nitrate , ammonia , PH,Alk,Phosphate,Calcium,Salinity,Dkh.

[leebca]

Kristy,

If you've eliminated possibility of disease, then this fish is exhibiting signs of long-term deterioration. Long-term deterioration of marine fishes usually fall into one or two or all three of three possibilities: water quality, and/or diet, and/or environment.

From your description I'd say the fish not diseased directly, but suffering from a slow decline which is now culminating in a variety of secondary symptoms.

With time hobbyists tend to get lazy on tank maintenance. Review your maintenance. Time to check on all water quality numbers. Are you not keeping the Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium in balance? If you have live rock or even if you don't. this is a control you should check monthly or after every water change. Get more info on water quality here: What is Water Quality. Look for things going slowly wrong with water quality.

Next, diet is of great concern. An Angel marine fish should be able to live quite some time (decades) in captivity. They don't have a long life when their diet slowly deprives them of the nutrients they need. What you feed, how often you feed, and the supplements (vitamins and fats) you use are all key to long-term thriving (rather than surviving).

Lastly the environment. This is an Angel from the Large Angel class. If this fish is a juvenile under 2" in length the 72 is fine. But if this fish is 2-4" it should be in a 180. If this fish is between 4-6 it belongs in a 300 gallon display and larger than about 6" in a 500+ gallon display. Large adult Angels do not make good captive marine fishes for a home aquarium unless that aquarium is very large. Also in this category is fish stocking limit. Have the fish outgrown the tank or is the tank overstocked? This is what I mean by environment. Space stress is a cause for slow deterioration of fish health, too.

Once deterioration sets in, secondary problems show, including bacterial infections and organ malfunctions. Although such a fish can make a comeback, it is difficult to correct years of less-than-good captive care. Sorry if this sounds critical. It isn't meant to be. My observations are just to let you know these things, not to pass judgment.