sideways swimming Angelfish

Inga

So, since I got my Angelfish, I have noticed that they tend to swim sideways. They always appear to be looking up at the water surface but they tend to tilt to one side or the other. It seems they look out of one eye or something. They seem normal in every other way and will swim normal most of the time. I am assuming this is some type of hunting behavior?

One of the fish does it more then the others. I thought this fish would be a great hunter and would help to keep the Guppy population down by eating some of the Fry. That doesn't seem to be the case yet though. For the most part, they leave the Guppy fry alone. Disappointing for me as that is part of the reason I got them. No worries, I love the look of the fish as well and enjoy them for other reasons. It just seemed like they would be great hunters in the beginning and though they still do the behavior they are an epic fail in that area.

Is sideways swimming normal for Angelfish? Do your Angelfish hunt at all? Are they any good at it? At what age can I expect them to get more skilled in fry hunting? Did I get the only 5 super peaceful Angels out there?

Jakiebabie

I wonder if some floating plant cover would help? Are Angels fish that like to feel secure with cover overhead? Just a thought.

Inga

I have tons of floating plants. I think they are secure, they certainly are not afraid of me, they will almost eat out of my hand. I think in time they will eat out of my hand. This behavior started on day one and SEEMS like a hunting behavior. I can't say for sure that it is, or is not. There is something funny about the way it does it. Kind of like looking out of the one eye makes it easier to focus. They did chase the baby Guppies (fry) right away but the Guppies lose them in the floating pennywort.

A good half of the tank is covered with Pennywort. They swim under it but don't necessarily hang out under it. Has anyone noticed this behavior in their Angels?

jodymaze

Hi- I have Angelfish juveniles (aprox 2 monthes old) They look and act perfect ...but every few days one just lays down and dies in a matter of hours..I have treated for parasites and have been very attentive to water quality and nutrition needs. Does anyone have any ideas about internal bacterial infections ? This is my first experience with raising angel fry...thought it was going so well...

jodymaze

How do i start a new thread?

Tomsk

@Jody,
Go to the main page i.e http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/

Click on the forum you want to post on i.e Tropical fish diseases Tropical Fish Diseases

Near the top left of the page you will see a box marked "New thread",just click on that.

Tomsk

Inga

I am sorry to hear about your Angelfish. It is hard to lose a fish. It is even worse when you don't know what it was and you are trying to prevent any issue with other fish in your tank. I hope that you can figure out what the issue is and stop it from happening again.

jodymaze

Thank-you -I received some input from Byron on another thread about what the problem might be..I am embarrassed to say i was erroneously putting drops of white vinegar in the water changes to lower the p.h.because we have a p.h. of 8 . BAD Idea. That plus bigger water changes ..Think he figured it out for me. the babies are all doing great now..and.....We are putting the young angels into a 30 gallon tank tomorrow instead of a 10 gal.
Hey- wanted to tell you one of the youngsters was swimming sideways yesterday, like he was just looking upward,it worried me so i watched for awhile, but just normal activity followed.