Angel Stress Virus

Question
Hi Karen,
Back in October I caused my 3 angels to become stressed by catching them to transfer them to a smaller tank whilst I completely gutted their 260 litre tank for a clean up. It took ages to catch them and I wish I hadnt done it as they were all happy and 2 had paired up and were laying eggs frequently. 3 days later they went down with the stress virus. They were slimy and sat in the top corners of the tank with their heads pointing upwards and stopped eating. To cut a long story short, 2 of them have died along with the other 17 fish. The 2nd angel died only yesterday having spent 2 weeks lying on its side on the gravel. The 3rd angel is now the only fish I have and he now has a big appetite so am hopeful of his survival. The water test results have been very good throughout and I  change 25% of the water every week so no problems there. I would like to get some more fish but I have read that this virus can be active for 6 months  what do you think ? Have you come across this herpes-like virus before ?

Answer
Hi Lynne,
It sure does sound like your poor angels do have the "Angel Stress Virus"

Unfortunately there is no cure and the best thing you can do is prevent it in the future by taking the best care you can of your fish, vitamin supplements are very important and avoiding stress as much as possible, feeding a high-quality diet and making sure water conditions are the best possible.

I've never come across this before and I've never had my angels develop this before. It's true this virus can be active for 6 months so quarantine is definitely important.

I've contacted some angelfish breeders so maybe they can offer more information. I'll be sure to contact you right away when I get more information.

I'm sorry again about your angels, that is most unfortunate...
Best wishes,
Karen~
____________________Follow-up Below______________

This is what Angels plus has to say about the Angelfish stress virus:

"A Potentially deadly disease. It is highly infectious. All exposed angelfish that are not immune will come down with symptoms within 2-3 days of exposure, usually quicker. If you suspect that a quarantined fish has this, you should destroy the fish. The risk is too great to keep such a fish around. There is no medication for this virus. The fish's immune system must be relied upon for the cure. Symptoms: Clamped fins, excess slime, listless with nose pointed up slightly, usually towards the back of the aquarium. It has an approximately 3 week infectious period. This disease is so undesirable, because if an angelfish survives the virus, it will likely become a carrier for up to six months. This can put an angelfish breeding operation out of business very quickly. These symptoms can also be caused by other infectious diseases which may be secondary or tertiary infections, that are unrelated to the virus.

The object is to keep the angelfish comfortable while giving the immune system time to kick in. Remove any bright lights from the aquarium and treat with an antibiotic to prevent secondary infections."

I hope this helps...
~Karen~