Depressed Jack Dempsey

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G

GarGuy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 6, 2007
16
0
0
Ky
I have a Jack Dempsey that's about 5 in. long, I've had him for several years now, For most of his life, he's lived with a Firemouth Cichlid. A couple weeks ago, I woke up to find the Firemouth dead with parts of his body eaten out, I assume by the Syndodontis catfish in the tank. Ever since then, the Jack Dempsey has been acting "depressed". He always stays in one corner of the tank except for at night when he sleeps in the cave the catfish uses, and he outright refuses to eat anything.

Any idea what's going on?
 
Yeah, he's bored or scared. Might give him a mirror or a new buddy if he's pretty peaceful.
 
My JD sets around a few days now and then and i give him a big water change and toss in a few feeder fish for him to chase and he starts acting normal again
 
He might be going through some trauma from the death of the firemouth. I think he needs to go to a therapist or get on Prozac.


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If you use city water he's already on Prozac. And so are you.
 
Have you checked your water parameters? That may have something to do with the Firemouths death and the JD's change in behavior. How often are you performing water changes? What is the size of the aquarium? The more information you give, the more useful advice you will receive.
 
The aquarium is a 29 gallon, I did a large water change today. I haven't check the parameters in a while. I suppose I have been infrequent with water changes lately, but the three fish were never particularly messy.
 
GarGuy said:
The aquarium is a 29 gallon, I did a large water change today. I haven't check the parameters in a while.
Click to expand...

Did the water change help the JD's behavior? High nitrates can kill or cause fish to act lethargically. If you haven't been doing regular water changes that can be one of the problems. I'm guessing that the JD is a female since you've had it for several years and it's only 5". I would say it's not enough room for a JD, especially a male with tankmates. Another thing to consider is that some times fish will stay in hiding if no other fish are present. It makes them uncomfortable or wary. You could try adding a school of barbs or tetras to coax the JD out of hiding.
 
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