Droopy Fin

[lingotheowl]

I guess I'm just having tons of Angelfish problems currently. I have a marble angel who is probably a year and a half old. He has had some issues before and is blind, nonetheless still a beautiful fish. But recently his top fin started to droop a lot , so I took a water sample to be tested and the ammonia levels were between stressful and harmful so I did a 75% water change yesterday and will probably continue to do 50%-25% water changes until the ammonia level drops. However, his fun is drooping even more than yesterday and I'm scared. He's still eating and responsive.

 

[Bob]

I don't know much about angelfish, the one fish i haven't really kept. But it seems like i see that fin deformity quite a bit in pet stores. I am curious to see what people suggest.

 

[clownie]

I have seen it quite a bit actually. It could be cramped conditions but also it could be a genetic deformity that expresses itself later in life. Angelfish are very inbred so you can expect deformities at time. if it's eating I wouldn't worry. The main thing is to get your cycle corrected in the tank. That ammonia spike is what could've caused the other angel to go off it's feed.

 

[BabyGirl77]

What size take do you have? Angels need a tall tank more than wide, because of their dorsal and bottom fins. The drooping could be caused by not tall enough tank. Or a disease/deformity.

 

[lloyd378]

Also make sure not to overfeed.... An excess of uneaten food Hidden in the substrate or under decor could also cause some nasty ammonia spikes.

The water change is a great start. What's the prognosis since the initial post?

 

[lingotheowl]

He is in a standard 29 Gallon. Since this post, he still looks the same but his water parameters are good. I believe he may just be cramped or have a deformity. I haven't had luck putting him with any of my other fish since hes blind and that makes him especially aggressive

 

[BabyGirl77]

Yeah, he needs a taller tank. Like you said, he could be cramped or have a deformity. What do you mean water parameters are good? That doesn't tell me anything. What is the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Cory]

I wouldn't say the fish needs a taller tank. There aren't that many tanks that are taller than a 29 gallon. A 55 gallon would be 2 inches taller and a 75 3 inches taller, but really that'll make a pretty small difference. There would be other factors like how strong are currents etc from filtration, that is more likely to have an impact on fin structure. But mostly what is shown in the picture is caused by genetics. It's not uncommon that veiltail gene causes that even though he isn't a veiltail it doesn't mean he's not carrying the gene.