flame angel not doing so good

[cbrjenkins]

my flame angel for the last two days seems to just hide behind my live rock and doesnt come out, not even at feeding time whereas hes usually really active all over the tank...any ideas? The only other fish in the tank is a clown whos doing good...there was a blenny but the angel chased him out also, all of my coral are doing great, so i dont know if stress is an issue.

ammonia:0
nitrates:0
nitrites:0.25
p.h: 8.4
s.g: 1.022

 

[ericmcj31]

How long have you had him in your tank?? What size tank?? How did you acclimate?? Is he eating?

 

[jennm]

Welcome to ARC

I see in your parameters you noted 0.25 nitrites. This *is* nitrite, yes? Not nitrate?

If so, that's toxic and may be stressing the fish (hence he may not want to eat).

As Eric requested, please fill us in a bit more about your tank - glad you posted parameters as that's the first thing we always ask for

Answers to those questions will give us something more to go on.

Cheers
Jenn

 

[cbrjenkins]

yes thats nitrites...my tanks a 20 gallon been going for six months and ive had the fish a little over a month now, he doesnt seem to be eating, just kind of picks insted of the "violent frenzy" he usually does when i feed him which is usually flake or mysis shrimp. I acclimated him for an hour in wich every fifteen minutes id let a little of my tanks water in the bag, hes been good and healthy for the past month its just recently hes not seeming so good. I know the tanks probally small but ive read different things on this subject, any suggestions? also, i did a 2 gallon water change and dose with prime and stability, what else can make my nitrites go down, possible overfeeding? thank you for your responses and any more info!

 

[smoothie]

RO water? Kind of a small tank for the guy too.
Take some water to you local store and let them double test it for you. May catch something you may miss. How much are you feeding and how often?

 

[cbrjenkins]

i use r.o bottled water...i feed once a day, usually a pinch of flake or 1/2 teaspoon through a syringe of mysis soaked in reef plus (usually spot feed coral and the rest that float around the fish get) id say 15-20 mysis. Something i didnt mention earlier, i have 10 lbs. of live rock, 20 lbs. of base rock, 3 1/2 live sand bed, topfin 50 powerhead, and an hang on filter.

 

[jennm]

Bigger question is what made nitrites rise in the first place? Solve that - solve the problem.

Jenn

 

[ericmcj31]

I'm not gonna flog you or anything on the boards--but the 20 gallon is way too small for a F.A. That's all-and have youadded anything else recently??? I assume you're using a HOB filter? skimmer?

 

[cbrjenkins]

yes im using a h.o.b filter, no skimmer. The only thing ive added recently is a candy cane coral and started dosing strotinum(sp?). I thought the tank would be to small but my LFS said i shouldnt have any problems with only having him and a clown, but i guess you cant allways trust them. That being said i guess ill have to get rid of the guy and then find out what made my nitirites go up, any suggestions on that? I know its usually bio filter or over population, where do i go from there?

 

[cbrjenkins]

well just went down to recheck my nitrites, and my flame angel is dead , his right fin and back fin look chewed off but other than that i cant tell what happened to him. My nitrites are down to zero now. My clown is o.k and all my coral are o.k.

 

[cbrjenkins]

honestly i cant blame it on my LFS theyve allways treated me and my family great, i just jumped the gun blaming the LFS i had talked to a few people who said itd be o.k. i apologize for that i was just mad, please forgive me.

 

[jennm]

Well, if he'd looked in Scott Michael's book it would have told him that a 20 is OK for a Flame Angel, and I don't necessarily disagree with that, depending on the individual. Is a bigger tank for it better, of course. I've seen them kept in smaller tanks just fine.

Sorry for the loss... clearly something was amiss in the tank

Jenn

 

[cbrjenkins]

no hard feelings Cliff like i said you've allways done us right.:up:

 

[ericmcj31]

flame angels are kinda finnicky by nature-even if you had a 1,000 gallon tank to put him in...it sounds like something may have been nipping/bothering him--I've been through like 3 or 4 of the FA's and I'm not gonna buy another just because they would be doing fine-and in just a couple of days I'd lose them But at any rate, welcome to the ARC and read around-you'll find some good info on here.

 

[jennm]

I rarely ever have problems with Flame Angels - I usually get Marshall Island ones... usually they eat pretty well, pretty quickly.

Jenn

 

[ericmcj31]

hmmmm

 

[cbrjenkins]

will my clown fish be o.k being the only fish in the tank?

 

[jennm]

What are the parameters today?

 

[cbrjenkins]

ammonia:0
nitrates:0
nitrites:0
p.h: 8.4
s.g: 1.022

dont know what caused my nitrite issue:confused2:
mine did eat good up until two days ago that thing was fun to watch

 

[cbrjenkins]

first of all thank everyone for helping, even cliff after what i said.
second, what should i do about filtration?