FEMALE ANGELFISH

Question
Answer -
Dear Dave,
That's a first one to hear about a female Angelfish jerking to position her eggs inside of her! I cannot say of this is true or false. It's really hard for anybody to know.

Angelfish can jerk for a few reasons. I have noticed mine (included females) to jerk as a  territorial/aggressive display to the other Angels in a "I'm king/Queen of this land" sort of thing. Oftentimes, the other angel will jerk his/her head as well. Angelfish will also jerk if they have an itch near their head they need to scratch. Oftentimes they will jerk and then find the nearest rocks/driftwood to scratch their head on. Now and then Scratching on rocks and driftwood is normal. But as you probably know excessive scratching is not normal.
Another thought is head jerking and shaking is sometimes related to pH instability. But if you don't adjust pH and the regular water changes are preformed this shouldn't be the problem. It seems to me that the eggs inside a female Angelfish would be positioned in a natural way as it is and just swimming foreword or jerking around may not be effective at adjusting her 'load'. But I'll be sure to ask fellow aquarists and see their opinions as well. I've spawned Angelfish many times but oddly enough, my females would only jerk their heads in a display of  territorial/fighting issues to other angelfish nearby.

I hope this helps. If I find out anything new, I'll be sure to let you know.

Best wishes and Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~"

Dear Karen,
Thanks for your reply!
I am familiar with "territorial shaking/jerking", but this jerking while swimming is not "that".  This female Angel now appears to be sick, as her fins are mostly in the closed position.  I just purchased another female Angel and within 2 days, she also started to jerk while swimming.  Now, both females appear to be "not normal" in their behavior of fast jerking while swimming.  The adult male Angel (Eddy) has been in my tank for over 7 years and is vibrant and healthy as a horse.  What going on with these female Angels?  I've had other female Angels that have become sick after noticing their fast jerky swimming.  They eventually died. I can't seem to keep any female Angels in my tank!  

Answer
Dear Dave,
Make sure she isn't being stressed by the other fish. If she is, stress may be causing her to act clamped. I've also read that sometimes fish need water conditoner that helps replace electrolytes. If electrolytes are low some fish get shimmies. Make sure you do frequent water changes and water testing.  Sometimes tap water will fluctuate as to chlorine, chloramine, and ammonia. Sometimes you may have to add extra water conditioner due to these fluctuations. Observe your fish carefully to see if there are any unusual developments that indicate disease,such as spots etc. Lastly, is it possible that the fish store you purchased your fish from have fish that have been stressed from shipment or maybe the tanks at the store have sick fish? I've seen this happen so many times at all fish stores. You buy a fish and then in a few days they act sick. I had a really hard time finding Angels that weren't sick at several fish stores. Be sure to keep checking your water and make sure ammonia and nitrites are always at 0.
Hope this helps!
Karen