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3 weeks ago I purchased 6 Angles. All of them are doing great with the exception of one who for the last 5-6 days stopped coming up to the top to feed. He looks normal otherwise, but spends most of his time seperated from the others and stays in one spot or another around the bottom of the tank. He's not hiding though, and he's not being picked on either. He does seem to be slightly smaller than the rest, maybe he was never as agressive an eater to start with, but I have't seen him eat at all. Some white poop was coming out (not clear) so he must of found something. I've tried pouring frozen shrimp right on top of him but he wasn't interested. I'm getting worried any one have some advice? Water is good. 0-Nitrits, 0-Amm, Nitrates 6-8, (GH-8,KH-11, PH-8) PH in my area is naturally high, the Angles come from a local breeder. Thanks, Barb

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys

White slimy feces and loss of appetite may indicate hexamita. Oftentimes, fish will swim backwards. Hexamita are intestinal flagellated protozoa that attack the lower intestine. Discus and other large cichlids, such as angelfish, are especially e to Hexamita. As it is a disease of the digestive tract, a wasting away or loss of appetite may be experienced.An effective treatment is the drug metronidazole.

Transmission of hexamita
Hexamita is probably transmitted through the water from contaminated fecal material. The flagellated stage makes its way to the lumen of the upper intestine. There it swims freely in the intestinal and cecal fluids. The organism may be present in small numbers under normal circumstances; however, for disease to develop the organism must reproduce rapidly resulting in a massive infestation. Generation time for the flagellated form is thought to be 24 hours.

Signs of hexamitiasis
Weak or stressed fishes seem to be most susceptible to heavy infestation. Physical signs of hexamitiasis include weight loss, decreased activity and refusal of food. Angel fish which are severely infected with hexamita may lie horizontally on the surface of the water with the abdomen visibly distended. Angel fish may remain in this condition for several days. These severely infested fish often recover following treatment with metronidazole. Infestations in adult breeding angel fish may be associated with decreased hatchability of eggs or death of young fry.

Management of hexamita
Confirmation of hexamita infection is easily done by making a squash preparation of the intestine and examining it with a light microscope at 200 and 400x. The flagellates move rapidly and erratically. They are most easily seen in areas where the mucosa is broken. If the infestation is severe they are numerous and easily found.

The recommended treatment for hexamita is metronidazole (Flagyl) administered in a medicated food or, if the fish are not eating, in a bath treatment. Metronidazole can be administered orally at a dosage of 50 mg/kg body weight (or 10 mg/gm food) for 5 consecutive days. A recipe for a gelatinized food is shown in Table 1 . The medication can also be mixed with dry food using fish oil as a binding agent. One teaspoon of metronidazole weighs approximately 2.25 gm; therefore 2 tsp. should be added to each pound of food. The drug should be added when the gelatinized mixture has cooled, but has not yet set. The medicated food can then be frozen for storage. During the 5 day treatment regime feed only the medicated food to the fish. If fish are not accustomed to a gelatinized food they can be trained to accept the mixture by preparing the food without medication and feeding it occasionally. Training should be done when fish are healthy rather than waiting until they are sick. Sick fish do not eat well and may completely refuse unfamiliar food.

If fish are already sick and off-feed metronidazole can be administered in a bath at a concentration of 5 mg/l (18.9 mg/gallon) every other day for three treatments. This treatment is effective but may not clear the organism from the fishes' intestinal tract as well as the medicated food. (University of Florida IFAS Extension)

I would treat the afflicted nfish per the quote in a hospital tank. In addition to treating the sick fish, I would do thorough maintenance on your tank to prevent possible infection of other fish. The maintenance should include a "large" water change, gravel vacuum and filter maintenance. "Large" water change is 50% to me.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Bob, thanks for your reply. I will isolate him. I'm going for the meds tomorrow, but if I can,t find metronidazole will another anti-parasitic do? and which one? You think my other fish are at risk, should I treat the whole tank? Barb

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys

Barb,

Sorry for the delay in responding, I was on vacation.

Stick with the metro to medicate your angel. The drug should be easy to find. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of your other angelfish also exhibit symptoms.

Keep up your tank maintenance as you work your way through the cycle of the infection/infestation.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright