# Angel has scratches on the side.



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

My favourite lace black angel has scratches and silver coloration showing on one side, he has been until now entirely dark black with lace style edges to his fins.

Is it more likely he's scratched himself on wood or decor, or that he's been attacked? I guess I can get a photo of him if that would help. 

I have added a little aquarium salt to the tank and some melafix. I don't want to get to the stage of those white cottony growths or anything worse. 

Should I quarantine him? The tank is a 50g with three other angels, a pleco, 5 bleeding heart tetras, aquascaped with plants and wood. Nobody else looks stressed, in fact the tetras have never looked better. Water quality okay, no ammonia or nitrites, nitrates about 20 ppm. 

I guess if he's wounded, I should be trying to get the nitrates down as low as I can, but I'm worried that if I overdo it, I'll be pH shocking my poor fishies. The plants and the fish both get sickly or stressed looking if I do anything more than 10% water changes, and the last 25% water change just about killed my amazon sword. Weird how they visibly fizz and melt in hard alkaline tap water.

Anyways. Ideas?

W

Update: He lasted a month, healed significantly, and yet, I believe, aggression from the other angels in the tank ultimately killed the most gorgeous angel I ever had. I found him floating, three weeks later, dead, August 2nd.


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