# how to make an angelfish eat?



## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

In the morning of the 14th, I woke up to see that my female angelfish had a large bump on one side of her abdomen. She was behaving normally. I reduced feeding to the entire tank (minimal feeding one day/no feeding the next). Thinking that she might be constipated, on the feeding days, I gave mostly mashed peas. I also tried frozen brine shrimp. No change after a few days and I hadn't seen her poop. (Her mate has been entirely fine as have all the other fish in the tank -- bnps, sae, otos, apple and assassin snails.)

Over the past week, she has, I think, developed a swim bladder problem. She swims vertically with head up and favours staying in a corner of the tank tucked up behind the filter outflow. I continued with the feeding regimen, kept the lights off, and wondered whether to try epsom salts. I don't have a spare tank big enough to move her into though.

Today (ten days later), the bump is gone (diminished over the past couple of days) and she is able to swim normally. When she's at rest though, she is in the same vertical, head up position.

I am particularly concerned because I haven't seen her eat at all during this time. I have tried to syringe food directly at her/in front of her face/above her mouth -- anything I could think of to help her get food. She either is not interested or is not able to get food into her mouth. Her mouth looks like it's working normally. There are no sores or other injuries on her. Her colour and her eyes look great. But she is getting thin.

Today, I took her out of the tank into a very small container that I use when doing water changes on my nano tanks (like a tupperware cereal container). I tried feeding her bloodworms. I laced her food with garlic. I tried just the normal flakes fed the normal way she would get them (out of my fingers just below the water surface). Nothing.

I'm really worried about her. 
Advice would be welcome.


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## outsider (Jan 13, 2015)

Might be dropsy which is bad as fish usually die. You can try boied pea and smash to feed her. (mix with garlic.) Don't feed her any more bloodworms.


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## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

Seriously?

From my OP:
*on the feeding days, I gave mostly mashed peas....I laced her food with garlic.*

There is nothing remotely like dropsy indicated (and I have seen it twice before in past years)

Does anyone have any successful experience with getting food into a fish that they can share?


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## Transposon (Sep 19, 2012)

Maybe the wiggling or jerking motion of live worms or live Daphnia might help?


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## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

That's a good idea. I don't have any, but I'll check with the LFS tomorrow to see if they have some.

Or...anyone know of anyone in the Abbotsford area who would sell some to me?


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## outsider (Jan 13, 2015)

Well

For some reason I complete miss the part you have feed it the mashed pea. Anyway, what happen to your angel fish is exactly what happen to my Dwarf neon Gourami last year. My dwarf neon Gourami ate like pig. (pretty much ate all the frozen blood worm by itself as I put frozen blood worm in a feeding ring and it basically parked right under it and prevented other fish to get to the feeding ring.) Than one day I noticed it stop to come over for food and had a large bump on one side of abdomen while hide next to my fluval u2 filter. Next fewe days past on it start to have trouble to swim to surface for air and I had to build a platform in the tank to allow it to rest on it while stay close to surface; sadly it died few more days later. I asked people in the fish store and they suggest it is dropsy. 

Hope your angel recover.


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