Is my Jack Dempsey sick?

[Ko7Ad]

Hi Guys,

firstly i.m not sure if i should post this here on in the appropriate cichlid section... anyhow hope someone could help?

Questionnaire:


General
Where do you stay? Richards Bay Area, Kzn
How long have you been keeping tropical fishes? mmm... first tank since i was a boy, cant remember much from then so 2-3 months
How long has the tank been running before you added fish/this fish? 2-3 months
What fish do you have in your Tank (type, number and size)? 1x +/- 4" Jack Dempsey
When did you last buy any new fish? 2-3 months
Which food are you feeding and how often do you feed? Aqua Plus Cichlid Food (small granules)


Disease
Describe the problem that the fish is having (behaviour, breathing, excretion (droppings), food intake, colour)? okay main issue is colour, let me explain. My JD looked like most young JDs (http://www.fishchannel.com/images/exclusives/aquarium-fish-international/cichlid-sexing-500.jpg kinda like this) with the dark line coming from the head to the center spot. Well one day i noticed that the spot is getting lighter and lighter.. been like this for the last 4wks or so. I left it as i know JDs change colour under different conditions and stresses, etc. but when i researched about the white - black spot i couldn't find anything. So if there is anyone that can help me out or ease my mind?
Is the fish eating? Yip
Has the problem occurred before?: Been the same for 4wks
Have you treated the problem and how? increased 10% water changes twice a week from week 2.
Have you had any other problems in the past? nope
What were they? N/A
Did you treat for these problems? N/A
How? N/A

Your aquarium & Maintenance
How big is the tank. (L x b x h)? 450x250x250 ish (my grow out till i get a 4ft)
How many litres of water? 30lt
What type of filter do you run? corner filter
What is IN the filter? 1/2 gravel, 1/2 filter wool
How many litres per hour is the filter rated for? Dunno
How often do you clean your tank? weekly
How do you clean your tank? grav vac and 10% water
How much water do you take out for Water change?
Do you prepare your water for water changes? How and what do you add? nothing :(
What water do you use. (Tap, bore hole, RO)? RO water with some de-clorinator a drop or five per 2lt jug
What substrate do you have? some gravel i got with the tank
What else is in the tank (Rocks, plants, fake plants, shells, anything else)? 2x rocks, 1x plastic plant and since this week some foxtail from our pond (washed prior to placement)

Water parameters in your aquarium
Describe the water (smell and colour)? no smell and clear
Temperature of the water? 26c
Sorry still to get testing equip in few days (30th must come) so no further water parameters, i know its bad... :cry:


Lights
What light do you have? 30cm ish 10w T8 some weird make from lfs
How long is the light on for? last month or two been on natural light, my JD hates the brite lights and goes in stress mode
Do you have lots of plants in the tank (real or fake)? 1x plastic plant and since this week some foxtail from our pond (washed prior to placement)
How do you fertilize the plants? nope

Pics:
Before:
9489
After: he is a bit dark after i switch the light one for pic, but its helps illustrate how light spot is
9488

[TankMaster]

That tank + fish + filter combo . . .not the best of choices.

My thoughts tell me that your parameters are all over the place and that your tank is still in cycle mode which is slowly killing the fish because your filter cant handle the bio load.

Are you de-chlorinating your water in any way before you do water changes or do you take it straight from the tap?

Please state the steps you take to remove chlorine from your water.


TM

[Ko7Ad]

That tank + fish + filter combo . . .not the best of choices.

My thoughts tell me that your parameters are all over the place and that your tank is still in cycle mode which is slowly killing the fish because your filter cant handle the bio load.

Are you de-chlorinating your water in any way before you do water changes or do you take it straight from the tap?

Please state the steps you take to remove chlorine from your water.


TM

I know the tank is small, but i thought it would suffice while is still so small.

I am super paranoid about the water, i wanted to get one of those 1in5 test kits to get an idea of what my water parameters are but the lfs only had single test kits, so i thought i would order online. haven't go to it yet, will get some test kits form the lfs 2moro.

as for water prep, think i answered all yours in the questionnaire, but here goes. 10% twice a week (to compensate for bad filter, i hope) i remove and add back RO water with some de-chlorinater in mix it and leave for 15min prior to adding it to the tank.

[Zoom]

I don't know JD personally, nor have I had any experience with them, however I see some critical points to mention that may be attributing to problems...


Your tank is absolutely FAR to small for the fish. I've read that a single JD needs a minimum of 200litres , (2 will need 400litres etc). Just because it is a juvinile doesn't mean it's ok. (We don't lock our toddlers in their bedrooms until they have outgrown their bedrooms do we?) Because the fish is a cichlid, they tend to be messy fish in general, so you would need good filtration and a good water changing regime going there. Your corner filter is far from even remotely adequate. I would increase it to a HOB filter that's rated for 200 lph if you plan on keeping him in this tank much longer. (He will not survive long in that tank- sadly)

Can I ask why you are using RO water? Is your water extremely hard that you need to soften it?

If you HAVE to soften your water, I still would not use pure RO water, as this is missing salts and nutrients that are essential to the make up of the water. If you HAVE to use RO water, then mix if 50% RO to 50% dechlorinated tap water.I still don't think it's necessary for you to even use the RO water!

I've noticed that Cichlids change color according to how they are interacting with their environment. The fact that your JD is loosing colour is suggesting to me that he is very unhappy. (Cichlids colour up when displaying for mating.)

My immediate suspicion is that your taps pH is literally on the verge of a crash. (Pure RO water will crash literally in a few minutes when it reaches unstable levels... meaning it will go from 7 to 4 in a very short period of time, and this will kill your fish in that time too!)
My other suspicion is that you have very high levels of Nitrites in your tank due to poor filtration. (High fish load vs low filtration).

I would increase water changes to 15% every second day (if I know why you are using RO water i can tell you if it's needed or not... personally I think you wasting time with RO). Get a better filter. And get something like Microbelift Special Blend or Seachem Stability to add to the water. Whilst you are out buying all that stuff, get yourself a 4f tank and get that cycled. at 4inchs that JD has outgrown it's current tank already.

Can I ask azurekoi to confirm my suggestions?

[Ko7Ad]

Thanx for the help so far guys! Learning alot...

The main reason i used RO water is cause our water is supplied from a river thats always dirty, hence alot of chems are added. You can smell the chlorine and if you put it in a glass its a milky colour for about 5min before it settles.

I tried a 50/50 mix last week but my JD seemed very stressed after that so i went back to just RO the week. Im going to lfs today... Need to sort this out! :(

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[azurekoi]

Hmmnnn.... Loots of what Zoom said is spot on...

O.K - so yout local manucancesapality overtreats yout tap water... Storage drums mate! Add your dechlor,a little air pump and let it run for for 2 to 3 days... This will give the time for the water to "gas off" all the chlorine and temporary buffering agents they add,leaving you with more stable water parameters.

Your current situation is probably near crash as Zoom said - but dont go rushing and adding a huge tap water waterchange right now - rather change 10% per day for tthe next week - give the little guy time to aclimatize...

As for tank space - yes,it's not ideal,but you are still within a safe stocking level for your size tank...(1 inch per Gallon) - but do make a plan for a bigger tank soon!

[Zoom]

Another alternate is to use RO water, but replace the essential elements back with correct salts. (Available from LPS)

[Ko7Ad]

Okay some feedback, go ta PH test kit today and PH is sitting at 7.4 or higher (thats the max it can measure). I see my JD needs a PH of 7-8 so im guessing im safe there. Also added a 200lph internal filter and will start adding de-chlorinated tap water from tomorrow.. will see how it goes.

[Gareth]

you are defiantly on the right track now. if your water is the problem you shouls see some improvement soon.
this is just a thought, I had JD's a while back as well and they were doing great it the one decided to commit suicide and leaped out the tank. anyway the other JD also started to loose its colour and so on, but once I replaced its partner it came right. it could just be coincidences.

[Ko7Ad]

thanks for all the help!

My JD looks much better, colours are coming back slowly and there is a definite improvement.

On another note. I taught her to take food from my hand on Friday and tonight she even jumps out to get it :) awesome fish!