One Sick Angel

I've had a pretty great run with my angelfish but over the past few weeks, I've been noticing a problem with one of them.

It's a female and she's been getting larger and larger. If angelfish were live bearers, I would swear she was pregnant. But since they lay eggs, I know her big round belly is a sign of something else - dropsy.

I had some snails in the tank until recently to help keep the algae down. Someone advised me to feed the snails turtle food to keep their shells in good, strong condition because turtle food contains calcium. Well, the snails never ate it. But I suspect this black angel did. Why? Because the same thing happened to a friend and her betta.

In the photograph here, you'll see her next to a male angel. The male is vertically compressed - as all angels should be - but the female (on the left) is obviously very well rounded.

The food may have obstructed her intestines. The remedy is feeding the fish green peas (out of the shell) and other foods that should dislodge the obstruction. But she won't eat.

If she was a human, we'd do surgery on her - just open her up, cut out the obstruction, keep her in the hospital for a couple of days and then onto a soft diet until the intestines healed. If she was a dog or a cat, chances are we'd do the same thing.

But what can you do with a fish? Know any good fish surgeons? I rest my case.

I had another angel that this happened with: a beautiful golden angelfish, the original Stevie Fishnick. Her mate wouldn't leave her side so I put both of them into a hospital tank and gave her medicine. Unfortunately, the medicine didn't help and within a few days, the angel passed away. Her mate was Fleetfish Mac (she had separated from Lindsay Buckingfish) and I put the big fella back into the tank and he eventually found solace in Christy McFish's fins.

Sadly, I don't think this angel will last much longer. She has taken to hiding from the other fish, which is a sure sign that she feels vulnerable. Tomorrow I'll discuss what to do when an angel is terminally ill.

Friday Friends

One of my first rescue dogs was a Mastiff/Lab mix named Charmer.

Charmer grew to about 140 pounds, which is small for a mastiff. He was the gentlest dog I'd ever seen. He was also addicted to Frisbees.

When he was about six months old, he had the full run of the ground floor in my townhouse near Washington, DC. I arrived home one day to find that he had gotten lonely and decided to find out where I'd gone.

So he chewed a hole in the stairwell's drywall to get onto the second floor. The hole was large enough for a full-grown man to climb through.

He went through obedience school twice because the first time, he didn't get it. When it was obvious he had separation anxiety, I rescued another dog, a blue merle Australian Shepherd I named Buddy. Buddy and Charmer were constant companions. And Charmer never did try to chew his way through the house again.

Charmer passed away from old age. On a Tuesday, he was running around the yard catching the Frisbee and having the time of his life. On Thursday, his heart began to fail and the next day, he was gone.

He lived a great life. And I was very lucky to be part of it.

When Tragedy Strikes

No matter how I try to keep conditions ideal, losing a fish is going to happen at some time or another.

When I notice a fish acting strangely, the first thing I do is observe the others in the tank. Are they all acting strangely? Or just that one?

If they are all acting as though they are in distress, there could be something wrong with their environment. The heater might have malfunctioned and is either getting the water too hot or allowing it to grow cold. If painting occurred nearby or a carpet was cleaned or cleaning vapors got into the air, their water may have become contaminated.

In that case, the best thing to do is fix the problem (for example, if the heater is malfunctioning) and change some of the water (if it has become contaminated.)

More likely, one particular fish might be in distress. I have small hospital tanks in which I can isolate fish who are ill. There is a practical reason for this. First, it prevents others from getting ill. Second, it allows me to medicate the fish in a smaller environment. Because my angels live in tanks that are 60-70 gallons, that requires a lot of medicating. And if the other fish are not ill, I am forcing medicines into their bodies when they may not need it. Placing a sick fish into a smaller 10-gallon tank allows me to concentrate solely on getting that fish well.

Why Angelfish?

I know many people who enjoy fishkeeping. Some have tanks filled with guppies or neon tetras. Others with shrimp or snails. Some have community tanks in which one or two from dozens of species are kept together.

So why do I keep angelfish?

I have to admit that a big reason I keep angelfish is because each one is unique. I also have a neon tetra tank and except on rare occasions, I can't differentiate between one neon and another. (Though I hope they can.) However, every angelfish has unique markings. Even those of a single color - such as a golden or platinum - have unique characteristics such as the height of their fins.

Angelfish can be taught to eat out of your hand. I love the size - several of mine are ten inches tall. (Shown in the picture here: Mick Fleetfish, the platinum angel; Christy McFish, a smoky leopard; and John McFish, a black marble.) Yes. I name my angels and my bettas because I can tell them apart.

I also enjoy watching them take care of their young. They are excellent parents.

However, angelfish can be aggressive toward other angelfish - especially when they are breeding or caring for their fry. They can be territorial and need more space than many other fish. Consider the neons or guppies, in which one fish per gallon is not overcrowding. But angelfish need a minimum of five gallons per fish and ten gallons is even better. During breeding, no matter how large your tank might be, it might not seem like enough.

Angelfish select their mate early and don't generally stray. They can live to be ten years old; far older than a lot of tropical fish.

Receiving New Fish

There are two main ways in which fish are purchased: through a pet shop or retailer or through direct mail.

If you are receiving fish through direct mail, they should be packaged in thick plastic bags, preferably with a water conditioner and heater or coolant in the box to keep their temperature stable. The plastic bags should then be placed into a Styrofoam box or some breeders use a material similar to drywall. Either method ensures additional safety and temperature control. The box is then placed into a heavy mailing box. It should clearly state that live fish are inside.

When receiving fish through the mail, it's important to turn off all lights and keep the fish from bright sunlight because they are coming from complete blackness. I set the bags into the tank and drape a towel over it to keep the daylight away from them. I keep the bags in the water for at least thirty minutes so the temperature begins to stabilize to the tank's water.

I then open the bags and wrap the plastic back in a roll so the bag floats on the top of the tank water (see picture above.) I do a water test to determine the Ph balance. Testing for nitrates, nitrites and ammonia isn't necessary because they will soon lose that water.

I use a turkey baster to suck up water from my tank and inject it into their open bag. I continue this process every fifteen minutes over a period of one-to-two hours until the Ph balance is identical to the water in which they'll be placed. This also helps with changes in water hardness, as many areas have softer or harder water than where the fish will soon end up.

Once they've become acclimated, I use a net to transfer them into the tank. I don't pour them in for one simple reason: I don't know if the tanks in which they originated had snails, and I don't want a snail problem.

I then remove the material that kept them in the dark but I don't turn the light on the tank for several more hours.

If I am purchasing fish from a local pet shop, I don't need to worry as much about water hardness. But I still use this system for angelfish, as they are more sensitive to water changes than many fish, such as tetras and bettas.

The picture in this blog today shows 11 baby angels shortly after I purchased them from a breeder roughly 600 miles away. They mailed the fish via overnight delivery. All the fish were received in healthy condition and they are now nearly a year old. Only one has had health issues unrelated to the shipping or environment.

Friday Friends

If you've been following my blog, you may know that while I am working with the angelfish, I am surrounded by four rescue dogs.

I also had the good fortune to help start a program called New Leash on Life in Robeson County, North Carolina.

Volunteers go to the animal shelters and select dogs which are scheduled for euthanasia. Dogs that are more difficult to place are generally those that are large. Black dogs are more difficult to place in good homes than light-colored dogs. When a large dog is unruly and hard to manage, it's almost certain that he or she will be difficult to adopt out, and will often spend their life in a revolving door of homes.

In an attempt to make the dog more adoptable and give him or her the best chance at a good life, the New Leash on Life program pairs one dog with two prison trainers. The prisoners must apply for the job, get interviewed, and adhere to certain guidelines in order to keep their job.

They must take complete care of the dog, ensuring their safety, cleanliness, adequate food and water, freedom from ticks and fleas, adequate exercise, and plenty of love. They also learn how to obedience train the dog WITHOUT PUNISHMENT, teaching them how to sit, stay, come, heel, and lie down. The dogs love the training and attention so much, the prisoners usually teach them tricks as well, such as agility training.

After the dogs have been trained (usually in eight weeks) they are adopted by loving homes. The program has had a 100% effectiveness in placing the dogs. Only one has been returned due to an owner's terminal illness, and that dog was immediately adopted by another loving family.

Below is a video showing one of the prisoners demonstrating his dog's ability to obey commands using only the praise method and no punishment. Chevy, the dog in the video, is part Newfoundland and part Lab. His biggest problem was hyperactivity. You can see in the video below how calm he is; the trainer demonstrates sit and stay, heel, and lie down and stay.

More videos of Chevy are shown on YouTube. My channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/terrellpm. You'll find many other dogs in training there as well, as I had the privilege of working with several groups of dogs before passing the torch to another trainer.

Chevy was adopted by a wonderful family in Pennsylvania, who still phone me once a week to tell me how much they love him!

Moving the Angels

This week or next the first four angelfish will be moved to the local pet shop. In speaking to the owner about the process, I learned of another angelfish breeder who seemed to be doing everything wrong.

The water in which the parents are kept must be ideal because angelfish won't breed unless conditions are right. The breeder described his tank water as "green" which could mean he has algae growth. Although algae is not pretty to look at, it is not harmful to the fish and some actually prefer it.

But when the angel babies are prepared to be sold, the breeder fills the plastic bags with water "straight from the tap." When I heard this, I was absolutely horrified. First, the water he was using had chlorine in it - which burns a fish's gills. Second, the temperature would be different; fish are cold-blooded, which means their bodies become the same temperature as the water in which they live. Changing their temperature rapidly means the fish are instantly shocked.

He then transports them or mails them to the pet shops or buyers. It's no wonder his fish have a 100% mortality rate.

The proper way to move fish is to transport them in their own water. If a breeder is embarrassed over his or her water conditions, that is a serious red flag.

Second, something is added to the package (if mailed) to ensure a constant temperature. If they are shipped in the winter months, a heater is added to the box that keeps them from becoming too cold. In the summer months, a small packet of ice might be added inside the box (but not inside the bag) to keep the fish from steaming. In the hottest of days or the coldest of days, many reputable breeders will not ship them.

Fish are shipped by all postal carriers - USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. They should be shipped overnight to avoid further shocking them in transit.

Tomorrow: what to do when you get your new fish.