Emma2889

ok, i have bought 2 angel fish and they were happy in the tank for a few months,i then bought 2 clown loaches....one died and the other one started biting one of the angel fish, it has absolutely no fins left and is completely mutilated. i got rid of the clown loach. now i just have the 2 angel fish, i have now noticed that the damaged angel fish is getting bitten by the other angel fish...his fins havent healed and it looks like he has no scales. it stays to one side of the tank while the other fish has the run of the tank. i dont want to get rid of either or them! why is this fish biting the other fish and will it ever stop? will getting more fish help?
help??

Butterfly

Emma what size tank are we talking about?
Clown Loaches while very curious very rarely bite another fish but the do check them out with their barbels. I suspect the angelfish that is picking on the injured angelfish was the culprit all along. When you have two angel fish of the same gender the will some times fight and one will end up damaged or dead. This will also happen if the tank is too small. Hope this helps.
Oh and Welcome to FishLore
carol

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore.. you'll need to divide the tank or move the injured angel fish to a different tank. He'll need VitaChem and Fish Protector, and I'd treat the water with Prime and NovAqua+. The VitaChem & Fish Protector you might have to order online (www.drsfostersmith.com for the VitaChem and www.petmountain.com for the Fish Protector)

Emma2889

quite a big tank. yeah it might have been the angel fish all along, but i actually saw the clown loach following and biting him, unless he was just checking him out. i dont have another tank to seperate them. do you think getting more fish will help? someone suggested getting fish that are bigger than the bullying angel? should i get more angels.
thanks for your help!

COBettaCouple

Unfortunately, fish sometimes will attack a sick or wounded fish out of the "survival of the fittest" instinct. More fish could help or they could simply present more targets for the bullying angel, even more angels. We're pretty new to Angels, having just got our black veiled male "Fred" in early October. So other Angels owners will have better advice for you there.

Angels fins can heal pretty well, but keeping the injured angel seperate from other fish would be the biggest help. Those treatments will help his fins to regrow faster as well as strengthen his system.

manjil

If u don't have another tank u can divide ur tank.

By the way what is ur tank size.

Emma2889

my tank is 19 litres, so small. i was wondering what fish do well in small aquariums?

COBettaCouple

Do you have 2 tanks? Earlier you said that you had a large tank and now you mention a small 19 liter tank. Angel fish need a tank of at least 80 liters, just for the angels. If they are in a tank that is too small, it can increase their territorial instincts and they'll be very aggressive.