Please help with Jack Dempsey's

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Nemesis

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 7, 2009
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I have 2 Jack Dempseys both 2', in a 55 gallon tank, one is an Electric Blue. They both have refused to eat for the past 5 days, and the EBJD is breathing very hard. The last thing they ate was half a cube of hikari frozen blood worms. My water parameters are Ph 6.4, Ammonia 1ppm, Nitrites 0, and Nitrates 10ppm. Ive just raised the ph from 5.6 to 6.4 over the past 4 days(0.2 per day) using crushed coral. The ammonia just rose yesterday from .25 to 1ppm, and didnt change when I did a 10% water chang last night. Ive been doing 10-15% every other day for the past 2 weeks, as the tank is still cycling(not sure if its done yet). Ive been using stress zyme and stress coat during water changes. Is ammonia deadly at these ph levels(Ive heard that ph below 7 causes ammonium not ammonia). The ammonia doesnt show up on my live nh3, but does on the api test kit.

Last week I noticed that the EBJD had 3 small white spots(ich Im sure), so I raised the temp to 84 and added salt. It now only has 1 spot on its right fin that seems to be fading. Is it the ich thats causing them not to eat, if so what else can I do? I have a bottle of aquari-sol, but Im scared to use it because the tank might still be cycling. How long can they live withou eating? Any info or suggestions would be appreciated, thank you.
 
Should I keep on doing the frequent water changes?
 
The EBJD is a very fragile fish. I would do more water changes ASAP on the order of 30 per cent daily until you get the ammonia in check. Not the best for the cycle but unless you can move the electric blue your gonna have to do somethin about it.
 
HOW is your Water below 7pH? Is it like that out of your tap? Are you using RO?
 
Tongue33;3023100; said:
HOW is your Water below 7pH? Is it like that out of your tap? Are you using RO?

My tap water is 6.5, but for some reason in the tank it is 5.4. Also what is RO?
 
Reverse Osmosis :)

6.5!! In NY!!! WOA!! You might wanna think about keeping SA's!! :D Or even Clown Loaches!!! :D


JD's are pretty Flexible.. But still that is On the brink of extreme. When speaking of EBJD's for sure ;) Like stated above they are Fragile at small sizes.. Amonia is never fun.. I would get some Prime by seachem and follow the instructions.. As well as some Stability by seachem.

Just my opinion.
 
lol m in new york and my ph is 7
 
BigDaddyMagnum;3023228; said:
lol m in new york and my ph is 7

Yeah, that's what the DEP say's it's supposed to be around, but when I check with the kit it's 6.5, and even lower in my tank.
 
Could the low ph be the reason for them not eating?
 
I think the EBJD might have a dislocated jaw, because only the left side gill is opening wide, and it cannot close it's mouth. If it is dislocated how can this be fixed?
 
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