Can anyone help? my JD is about 1.3 inches in length and he rushes to the food but spits it out after a couple of seconds...would smaller pellets solve this strange problem?
Dempsey Spitting out food...
- Thread starter PhillyIn06
- Start date
i had the same thing happen with my blue jack dempsey.
First of all.... What size food/pellets are you using? How long have you had the Jack? Did he eat before? All this can play into a fish being a picky eater...
I was using medium sized ones and I switched to Prime Baby Cichlid pellets and it worked. They are very small/good quality and I presume easier to eat for smaller cichlids.
Keep a sharp eye out for your fish. Sometimes failure to eat can be the first sign of disease. I don't want to worry you. Just be aware of all options.
First of all.... What size food/pellets are you using? How long have you had the Jack? Did he eat before? All this can play into a fish being a picky eater...
I was using medium sized ones and I switched to Prime Baby Cichlid pellets and it worked. They are very small/good quality and I presume easier to eat for smaller cichlids.
Keep a sharp eye out for your fish. Sometimes failure to eat can be the first sign of disease. I don't want to worry you. Just be aware of all options.
Thanks, hes very interested in food he just spits it right out. He'll occasionally go to the top for food but not usually unless Im away from the tank and he sees the other fish going to the top. Hes about 1.3" and I've had him for 5 days. Hes being fed "HBH African Cichlid ATTACK! Sinking Pellet Food." Maybe its because its African Cichlid food. I'll see if I can find any sinking baby cichlid Hakiri pellets. Thanks for all the help.
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
my experience with cichlids spitting out food.
internal parasites.
watch for the fecal matter. if the poo is white and stringy start thinking possible parasite infection(this does not preclude bacterial infection)
one problem seen with cichlids lately
has been infection of capillaria and camillanus.
camillanus may protrude from the anus as small threadlike protrusions.
capillaria usually infects the gut of the fish(big problem lately i angels but can infect other fish as well)
on the positive note. almost all internal parasites can be controlled using common meds(parasite clear) or other available meds.
I had an infestation so bad it killed one angel. and only responded with a treatment of levamisole.(luckily jungle has a parasite med that has metro, prazi and levamisole)
the fish doesn't neccessarily need to consume the med it can be absorbed consumption is the best delievery method. I took brine shrim and blood worms mixed them with the parasite med(allowed the med to soak in) and treat new fish with this.
if the fish spits the food out..it still took some of the meds in.
btw, it is believed that the parasites irritate the stomach and other linings of the digestive tract which cause the fish ti spit the food out.
start looking for signs, like white stringy poo, anything protruding from the anus and swelling of the stomach.
internal parasites.
watch for the fecal matter. if the poo is white and stringy start thinking possible parasite infection(this does not preclude bacterial infection)
one problem seen with cichlids lately
has been infection of capillaria and camillanus.
camillanus may protrude from the anus as small threadlike protrusions.
capillaria usually infects the gut of the fish(big problem lately i angels but can infect other fish as well)
on the positive note. almost all internal parasites can be controlled using common meds(parasite clear) or other available meds.
I had an infestation so bad it killed one angel. and only responded with a treatment of levamisole.(luckily jungle has a parasite med that has metro, prazi and levamisole)
the fish doesn't neccessarily need to consume the med it can be absorbed consumption is the best delievery method. I took brine shrim and blood worms mixed them with the parasite med(allowed the med to soak in) and treat new fish with this.
if the fish spits the food out..it still took some of the meds in.
btw, it is believed that the parasites irritate the stomach and other linings of the digestive tract which cause the fish ti spit the food out.
start looking for signs, like white stringy poo, anything protruding from the anus and swelling of the stomach.
I would suggest trying another type of food, too. If not different pellets, some other type (like the frozen suggested). My experience with fish acting interested and then spitting is that they don't like the food. Sometimes fish are just picky, although I don't know about JD's in particular.
Of course, star_rider's observation about internal parasites is one that you should look into, also. But I'd say, try some other foods first and if it still happens definitely look into the possibility of parasites.
Of course, star_rider's observation about internal parasites is one that you should look into, also. But I'd say, try some other foods first and if it still happens definitely look into the possibility of parasites.
i have never heard of a jack dempsey being a picky eater. all the JDs i have ever had ate everything i put in with them.
I have those same sinking pellets your dempsey is spitting out--IMO they're just too big for him to eat right now. If he's accepting flakes, that's great, but to change up his diet there are other pellets which are smaller. I have a Hikari Cichlid Gold floating pellet I drop in so the fish will see them--using them with my fry who are a bit over 1 inch now, and too small for the powdered fry food. Also used some for peacocks when they were smaller.