Why did my angel fish die?

Question

I bought two angel fish from Petsmart late one night. I put them in my 10 gallon aquarium. They both died overnight. I returned to the store and PetSmart replaced the angel fish for free. I put the new fish in the same 10 gallon aquarium. Within two hours, those angel fish had died too.

All my other fish in the aquarium have been fine. None have been sick or died. The filtration is working well and the water temp is 78 degrees.

The water is crystal clear and the fish have been eating normally. The water does not smell bad. My aquarium set-up is about one month old. Any ideas on why my angel fish died. Serious responses only please!!

Answer 1

I don't own Angelfish but I looked into having them and I think that Angelfish like more acidic water. If that didn't kill them, it could be high concentrations of ammonia or nitrite. Try to test those. If they seem normal, check to see compatibility with other fish in the tank as they may have killed them. Other than that I can't think of anything. Maybe they just don't like your tank?

Answer 2

  First problem is buying fish from Petsmart.  They are poorly bred imported angels, that Petsmart pays about 20 cents apiece for.  Anyone can get them for this price, if you want to ship in $1500+ of fish in about 10 styros.  This is why they rarely complain about replacing them multiple times.  Ask for a refund, and buy some supplies, they really can't s***w them up.  Get your fish from an independent shop that deals with local breeders, or find a local breeder, they are usually affiliated with clubs; http://fins.actwin.com/dir/clubs.php

  Second problem is tank size, you need a minimum of a 20 gallon high tank for angels.

  Your problem is not pH, I breed angels by the thousands, my pH is 7.7.  I've gotten fish shiiped in from other breeders for my breeding program, which originated in different pH, and they do just fine.  Your problem is one of quality now, and tank space in the near future.

Answer 3

Got this out of Wiki:

Care

Angelfish are kept in a warm aquarium, ideally around 80°F (27°C). They will do best if fed a mixture of flake, frozen and live food. Care should be taken to not overfeed, they will continue to eat even what they do not need. This will lead to a buildup of fats resulting in inactivity and early death. Angelfish will do best if kept in an acidic environment, pH should be below 7.5 (note: 7.5 is still slightly alkaline - acidic is defined as below 7.0). All angelfish will need water with a pH of at most 7.0. Even though angelfish are a member of the Cichlid family they are generally peaceful, however; the general rule "big fish eat little fish" applies. Other aggressive fish should not be kept with angelfish because their flowing fins are vulnerable to fin nipping. Some smaller more aggressive fish may even nip at the fins of these fish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_...

Answer 4

As you want serious answers you already know that 10 gallon tank is not going to be big enough for them.

I would suggest a couple of things, the parameters of the water are different to those in the shop so they're been shocked as soon as they're placed in your aquarium.

Secondly the power of your filter could be to strong as they graceful fish and can be intolerant of strong flows.

Solutions, try a different shop.

Point the nozzle of the filter at the rear wall.