Angelfish Problem! Fish upside down (Please Help)?

Question

OK,
Background:
First let me thank you for reading this- I appreciate this a lot. Last night I returned from a 6 day holiday. The fish were checked on everyday by a trusted knowledgeable friend, they also at an automatic fish feeder that dispensed the same amount/type of food I feed them usually. They also had a back up air pump. The sick fish also had red dots on its face. Is this internal bleading? I treated it with melafix but no change?
Stock:
-36 gallon tank
-3 angelfish (the smaller two are a breeding pair )
-8 neon/cardinal tetras
-1 very and I mean VERY VERY docile betta
-2 cory cats (more and these later)

Problem:
Upon my arrival, my two breeding angelfish (Spot & Sparkle) were in the area they usually lay eggs. Upon a closer look though, my new cory was on they angelfish (spot) I knew that meant that he was sucking off the slime coat off the angelfish. So i transferred the two troublesome catfish into one of my hospital tanks so they would stop pestering the breeding angels. I put in some more melafix just in case any damage occurred to Spot's slime coat. He was swimming fine and they proceeded to lay their eggs. I would just like to say also that my betta and other angelfish were minding their own business hiding/playing in various ornaments. There was NEVER any aggression. (The betta had lived with the angels for well over a year)

To the point:
When I woke up this morning the angelfish was upside down by the heater breathing slowly. To my surprise my betta was actually guarding the poor sick fish by chasing away any fish that tried to go near it. What should I do? I have an 8 gallon hospital tank with filter and a heater. Should I transfer him there? Or will the stress kill him? Please Help

PS.
ammonia: 0
Nitrates: 0
PH: a steady 6.9 as always

I repeat the betta did nothing to harm the angelfish please do not just say that bettas will kill any fish. That is not true.

Answer 1

Well, maybe the betta did nothing, but what about the other Angels? Are you sure there was no aggession - like you sat back and watched the tank for an extended time, long after the fish forgot you were there? If you did this, then I will take your word for it.



Anyway, an upside down fish, if it is not a catfish, is generally a dead fish. The best thing you can do is put it out of its misery now - quickly cut it's head off for a quick but gruesome method, or place in clove oil to put it to sleep and then add alcohol (like vodka) to kill it for a painless and bloodless method.



In the future, forget about feeding them - just go on vacation and have fun. Fish are designed to go long periods without food, and this method is truly the safest and healthiest way to do it. I always leave my fish without food for up to two week vacations and have never come home to a dead fish. The only exception are fry, as they need to eat more frequently. Some fully mature fish can go months without eating.





PS: If your nitrates are 0, that means either you have lots of live plants in the aquarium to use them up, or your test is faulty - without live plants it is pretty much impossible to achieve 0 nitrates.





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To set up the hospital tank use water from the aquarium and transfer some gravel from the tank. Transferring the water ensures the fish will not be further shocked by chemistry change, while transferring some gravel will move over some bacteria. It won't hurt to try it - but don't be surprised when the fish dies. I get lots of thumbs down for being the bearer of bad news - but I don't care enough about points to tell people what they want to hear just so they feel good inside. Life sucks sometimes.

Answer 2

It could be that the slime coat was damaged. Transfer the fish, in water using a cup, to the hospital tank. Make sure the hospital tank is warm and pristine. That's the only thing I can think of that will help. What's your Nitrite readings? Do you have live plants?



A bowl then... you just don't want the stress from netting him to kill him. I was picturing small since you said "...the smaller two are a breeding pair ..." sorry.



80 degrees. Put the plants back they're a big part of your cycle.



Transfer some dirty gravel (transferring the filter cartridge will cause your other tank to go through a mini cycle)



Clean water is all I would suggest. make sure the PH stays constant. No substrate other than the substrate you add to cycle it. Monitor your levels VERY closely for a 6 inch angel 8 gallons is like a cup... so you're going to need to test every day and do water changes accordingly.



This is why I use a 20 gallon hospital tank and keep it cycled with pure ammonia added daily that way I'm not putting an already compromised fish into a "sterile" tank.

Answer 3

Red marks on any fish indicates hemmorage septocemia. Its obviously a bacterial infection that could be fatal , and its caused by water being colder than it should be or bacteria caused by unclean water. Coarse salt for fishtanks and plus another medication will help it

Answer 4

Aah, yeah.. as quickly as I had fish, in the event that they began to compliment the flow the different way up, they have been in many situations lifeless by using day after on the instant. it must be any style of issues. previous age, poor nutrition plan, ect. ect. there is not any telling.