I have a 7" male dempsey who doesn't like to swim, eat, or play much anymore, his color is also fading, and his fins are kept to his sides instead of expanded beautifully. He's about 2 years old I believe, bought him when he was 2-3" and kept him for 1.5 years. He's very very peaceful and never eats meat or feeders. He's residing in a 75G with lots of goldfish and a pleco. He seems to be a lot happier with them than with my Oscar and Texas. Temperature is in the low 70s but I have put it at 80-82F to see if it would help and it didn't. Can anyone tell me what's going on with him?
what's going on with my JD?
- Thread starter Fry
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he's been with these goldfish for a long time, half of them anyway, 5 of them are 5" long and the other 8 are 1-2", they seem to bring him out to the open more since they're always moving, i don't think they're the problem
this is responding to the post below...hmm time difference is making this post appear before the one it's responding to
this is responding to the post below...hmm time difference is making this post appear before the one it's responding to
The fact that he's in a tank with "lots of goldfish" scares me. As far as I'm aware, goldfish ruin the water quality for any non-gfs you have in there.
Hey just for fun do a massive water change and see if his attitude changes. That's what I did with my fronts when they stopped eating. Turns out it was the buffer I was adding. Do you add any chemicals to your tank?
What is your ammonia reading at? And how do you do your water change do you dechlorinate your water or is it just straight from the tap?
use some other fish as dithers besides the goldfish. id raise your temp to around 78'c and get out the GF. your water changes sound fine. shouldnt be too much of an ammonia problem. get a couple of small convicts and put them in the tank with some hiding spots, maybe get a few livebearers such as mollies or platies, no GF. with your temp raised to a higher level your fishes metabolism will speed up making it hungrier and more active.....they are cold blooded, their body temp depends on the surrounding water...the cooler it is the less active they will be, the warmer it is the more active. stop feeding for about 2 to 3 weeks once you raise the temp. then entice him with some fresh ghost shrimp or krill, maybe even try some New Life Spectrum pellets before you try the meaty foods to see if he will take the pellets. if so, supplement his pellets with the krill and some worms and crickets every now and then and that should help his color. a lot of cold blooded animals go into fasting periods. try this and see if it helps out at all!!!!!
pH: 7 to 8.5
Hardness: medium hard to very hard
temperature: 77o to 82o f
Provide good filtration and do frequent water changes, they are very temperature tolerant and can even live in water temperatures in the Sixties. BUT I DON'T ADVISE THIS!! my one is in 80f
Hardness: medium hard to very hard
temperature: 77o to 82o f
Provide good filtration and do frequent water changes, they are very temperature tolerant and can even live in water temperatures in the Sixties. BUT I DON'T ADVISE THIS!! my one is in 80f
i don't have any test equipment at the moment so i can't determine ammonia level, i do water changes from the tap and add salt, also out of water conditioner - i like novaqua but it seems stress coat is the most popular
i have since took the advice that goldfish makes bad water and since i couldn't move all that goldfish, i moved the JD to live with my Oscar, the JD immediately did a lot better and has spread his fins out, he fought with my Oscar (or wanted to mate with it) for a while - jawlocking and poking but not doing any real damage unlike what my Texas did to my Oscar and now they seem to get along just fine, the JD pushes the O around a little though but no damage whatsoever
pics to follow
i have since took the advice that goldfish makes bad water and since i couldn't move all that goldfish, i moved the JD to live with my Oscar, the JD immediately did a lot better and has spread his fins out, he fought with my Oscar (or wanted to mate with it) for a while - jawlocking and poking but not doing any real damage unlike what my Texas did to my Oscar and now they seem to get along just fine, the JD pushes the O around a little though but no damage whatsoever
pics to follow