# Please, my Jack Dempsey is in trouble!



## Naklar (Jul 11, 2011)

(I've read the Bloat forum but still need help)
My Jack Dempsey is dying, here is the backgroung...Please Help!
First time poster, I'll try to follow all the rules but am new to the forums...

Setup:
55 gallon freshwater
1 Jack Dempsey 7" 
1 African Cichlid (There were 2 but I removed one today and donated)
1 African spotted catfish
1 medium sized pleco

Situation: Thought all was well but woke up this morning to my Jack Dempsey laying on the bottom gasping "for air". His stomach is distended and his color looks faded. From the research I've done on this forum I'm suspecting BLOAT? but had never heard of that until today. I've had 4 assorted african cichlids die off on me during the last 10 months? but each was well over a month apart, so I assumed that it was just the agressive nature of the fish fighting, but now am suspecting that bloat may have been affecting my fish for some time. :-?

Course of Action thus far: I took out one particular african cichlid (horizontal white stripe seperating black and yellow solid top/bottom) that has been bullying the tank as I thought maybe the stress had been causing fish to get picked off. I put him in a bucket to take to the pet store who agreed to take him. After reading about the distended abdomen's, gasping, discoloration, and spitting of food...I'm worried about Bloat? Here's the problem I can't get Clout and have tried all surrounding pet stores. After removing the bully, I did about a 25% water change and added 8 tbps of salt. I then had to go to class, when I got home I went to the nearest fish store and donated my cichlid explaining my worries of bloat. She tested my water stating that my nitrates/ammonia were ok (sorry don't know amounts) and that my ph was really low around a 6.0. I asked for Metronidazole since nowhere had Clout and ended up with API General Cure (active ingredient is 250mg Metronidazole) I dosed them, removed the carbon filters, and turned off the light. Temperature 80. I also added API Proper pH 7.0 to address the low pH and Prime to help with any nitrates that might be stressing him out. The pH is on the rise (I bought a test tube pH kit), about a 6.5 now, the water is extremely cloudy...

I just checked with a net and can't tell if my Jack is already dead  if not, he's on the border line. Does the medication knock them out or something? I'm so sad, he looks alot worse than in the picture, but the Blue Cichlid, catfish, and pleco all seem fine, but have swollen abdomens too, the water is still really cloudy.

Diet: I feed them the TetraCichlid cichlid sticks, Hikari cichlid gold pellets, and I drop down Wardley shrimp pellets for the catfish/pleco which the Jack doesn't eat. I only feed once a day, sometimes a little more than they eat right away, but not much. I also will occasionally toss an earthworm or bug in there if I come accross something outside...could this have transferred a parasite to my tank?? I thought a deverse diet was good for them? I'm thinking about just donating the rest of my fish and starting over...or do I need to save the remaining fish from Bloat? Or is my jack just comatose?

I don't understand how to upload a photo 

Sorry & Thanks!
Naklar


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Sounds like it may be too late. However, perform a 30-40% water change tomorrow and vacuum the gravel.
Add epsom salt and tank water in a container, ratio should be 2 tbsp/10g, mix it and add it to the tank slowly over 3-4 hours. At the same time, dose the tank again with API General Cure, I believe it's 1 packet per 10g, round up to 6.


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## Naklar (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks for your reply, but I was too late  I'll continue the treatment for the remaining 3 fish, but will probably start a new tank since my prized Dempsey is gone 

Was I wrong to have fed the cichlids earthworms and bugs?


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Sorry you lost the fish.

Was he eating and swimming normally and then--the next morning-you found him as you described: on the bottom, gasping, with a bloated belly? Or did you notice symptoms such as loss of appetite, stringy feces, etc in the week leading up to finding him on the bottom?

Since I don't know if there were symptoms leading up to his death, which would make bloat likely, I'll just mention a few other things it may have been.

Aggression. Sounds like you have (had) and Auratus. They are very aggressive. Whenever you have a fish go from eating and swimming normally one day to death, or close to it, the next day, aggression is often the cause. 
Sudden death without symptoms can also be from poor water conditions however you'll usually notice that the other fish in the tank showing some signs of stress also. 
Some bacterial infections can also kill a fish quickly. 
Also a fish that overeats can have a blockage in it's intestine and this can lead to a quick death.

The earthworms and bugs--I don't know--it's probably safer to stick with fish food. They actually don't need a varied diet, just one that is appropriate for them.

I'll also caution you on using products to adjust your PH. They don't always keep the ph at a stable level and this is far more stressful for your fish then having a ph that's a little low.

My advice to you: first of all find out what kind of cichlids you have. 'Assorted Cichlids' is NOT a species. It's really important to know what species you have--then you can do a little research on them, (right here on the forum  ), and determine whether or not they are supposed to be compatible. In addition to determining whether the different species are compatible with each other, you've also got to make sure there's compatibility within the species you are keeping. Most mbuna for instance need to be kept 'harem style', with one male to every 3-4 females. I don't know alot about JD's but I think they may be particular about tankmates.

As far as ph is concerned: first thing you want to do is test a sample of your tap water after it's been sitting for 24 hours. It's probably not 6.0--(aquarium ph will drop over time if you don't do regular water changes). Then whatever ph it is, try to pick species that prefer that ph. You don't have to be right on the button with the ph as most fish will adapt to whatever ph they are in, but you do want a ph that will remain stable as fish stress over a ph that changes from day to day. If you can, test your tap water's KH, too. That's tell you how stable your tap ph is.

Again, sorry for the loss of your JD.

Robin


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## Naklar (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks for the advice Robin, the week leading up to him laying on the bottom he seemed to have a normal or even increased appetite, always coming up to the top as I fed him. He was spitting food out, but then he'd go grab more and I figured he was still digesting some of it. I have also seen clear stringy feces in the tank, but didn't notice that until now. I realize now that the stress (from a combination of bad tank mates and poor water quality) probably induced their susceptibility to Bloat. I'm trying to save the remaining fish, but plan to do a much more thorough job of caring for my aquarium in the future.  Again, thanks for your help and advice.


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