Angels - have not seen them eat now for 4 weeks, very concerned

kel123

I have a 75 gallon aquarium with male/female angel about 4", 3 half dollar Koi Angels and 2 loaches
Aquairum is 4 weeks old
water quality
ph 6.2
ammo 0.25 (Prime added daily)
nitrites 0
Nitrates are still 0 (still have not cycled)

All fish in the tank eat well accept for the 2 male/female 4" angels, I have not seen them eat anything for 4 weeks now, I have tried everything for them to eat, blood worms (frozen/fresh) brine shrimp (frozen/fresh), various flakes, granules, flakes with garlic, peas.

I have been told so many different stories on how to get the ammonia down to 0 with several 50% to 75% water changes several times a week to 10% water changes daily, to dont do anything just let the cycle run it's course.

What I am doing now:
NOTHING , well I still add the PRIME daily, recently added 6 little tiny guppies to see if the big angels would eat them......put them in a week ago and only 3 left, not sure who is eating them.
Added a couple peas (without skin) couple days ago, little angels eat/spit out but they are gone.
Big Angels when I add food (once daily) seem almost scared of it, they do not try and go for any at all so I never see them eat. They look healthy to me, he seems perfectly fine, she swims and seems to run into leaves often like she does not see them. She looks great, all fins perfect/straight out.

I am about to go crazy worrying about them, not sure what I should do or try, they seem okay but what do I know . any suggestions/thoughts would be appreciated, I am a newby to this hobby and really enjoying it.

Kel123

GwenInNM

You can't just keep dosing with Prime. Do a 70% water change, and hope for the best. Your tank is cycling, and as much waste you must have going on with fish being eaten etc., you're fish may not make it.

Large water changes will be your best friend.

Geomancer

Hunger strikes are very common in Angelfish when they are stressed.

There can be many causes of stress.

-Hard water
-No plant cover from bright lights
-Other fish (some loaches are too aggressive. You didn't say what you have)
-Uncycled tank
-Illness
-Brightly colored substrate and decorations
-etc etc

How do you know the sex of the fish? This is pretty much impossible to determine until they spawn.

AbbeysDad

Your approach is incorrect! Ammonia and nitrites are toxic and can be killers, especially when they spike (and in a new tank, they almost always do).
They are not only toxic to fish, but toxic to the very beneficial bacteria we need to culture to process nitrogenous waste.

You definitely should do at least a 50% water change, continue monitoring and be prepared to do another water change as/if necessary. You might also consider adding a bacteria supplement to accelerate the process.