Angelfish not eating

[jessaB]

my angelfish hasn't been eating the past 2 days and he looks bloated but I also noticed his gill on the right side of his face was missing, I'm pretty sure it was from him getting it caught on a plastic plant but I'm not 100% sure. Does anyone know what could be going on?

 

[jessaB]

To note: he is acting a little strange by sitting in the corner and stretching his mouth out.

 

[Andy Sager]

Sounds like you are dealing with 2 different issues. Bloating is not a good sign. It could be constipation or could be the beginning of Dropsy. I would consider doing Epsom Salt baths to see if that helps induce defecation. You can do these baths 2-3 times per day ( spread out over hours). If there is no reaction to the baths after 3 or 4 baths, you will have to make a decision. The early stages of dropsy is when the there is organ failure so the fluid builds up in the body cavity which causes the bloating. The only cure for this is antibiotics. Which one is dependent on your water parameters ( Ph & GH). Cost and availability of the medicines is where there is an issue. It can be very costly to treat Dropsy. ( Sometimes many times more than the cost of a new fish ) The best time to treat it is early as when the fluids build up to the point that the scales " pinecone", there is very little chance of survival. Here's the other catch: even with the right medicine to fight any infection that may be causing the organ(s) to shut down, there is no guarantee that the organ(s) will recuperate and function normally again. This means that eventually, the fish will just repeat this episode. So for now, I would do the baths to see if anything else is necessary.

Regarding the gill, the fish maybe having discomfort from the plant episode so it's not unusual for the fish to be trying to exercise it out as that is their only option. It's not like they can hold an ice bag on the injury to help heal it. As long as the "injury" does not show a fuzzy appearance or a redness from blood, clean water will help heal it on it's own. At this point tho, the bloating is more important to deal with.

Hope this helps.