Jack Dempsey gasping/swimming erratically

[Jack D]

Hey all,

Not too sure if this is normal or if something is wrong with my JD but he's swimming around erratically every once in a while (couple times a day for about 5 minutes) and he looks like he's gasping or taking quick deep breaths. He seems to yawn a lot too. He's not gasping or yawning at the top of the tank either.

He's in a 30g tank. He's about 5 inches long. A bigger tank is coming soon.

My water is fine too. Nitrites and nitrates are at 0. Ammonia is at 0. Ph is at about 7-7.5 and I have hard water. Temp is around 76-78. Filter is an Aquaclear 70 and I use a sponge filter as well as the Biomx filters.

He has no tank mates cause he beats them all up so I dont think he should be stressed about anything.

Any ideas as to what he's doing or whats wrong with him if anything?

 

[mmorton219]

i would try a few weeks of melafix treatment and add a small dose of aquarium salt. ive found that usually lines mine out if i cant pinpoint whats wrong

 

[nano cichlids]

Do some water changes 20% every other day, raise the temp to around 80°F my jack dempseys all thrive at temps between 80-83.

 

[Pittbull]

Nitrates should be reading something but not 0 are you using a dip or liquid test kit.

 

[Jack D]

Thanks for the tips. I'll raise the temps a little. Would lower temps cause this behavior though?

Im using API 5 in 1 test strips and sorry, the nitrates are at about 20-40ppm. Nitrites are 0.

 

[Rbishop]

Would recommend a good liquid test kit for more reliable readings.

 

[Jack D]

Yeah I guess I should pickup a more accurate tester.

I think my JD is doing okay. Maybe he just does this to get rid of some energy?

The reason why I say this is because he doesnt look like he's sick.

He has no signs of ich and he eats like a pig still.

The only thing I have done differently was that I fed him a couple Hikari Silversides.

Maybe he was just purging his gills to get rid of some particles stuck in his gills? Its the only thing I can think of anyway as he seems fine now.

Thanks for the help all. I'll stick with water changes every second day and get a more accurate tester. Any suggestions as to what tester to get? Can I get a nitrate/nitrite tester?

 

[jetajockey]

get the api freshwater master test kit, its available online for around 25 dollars.

 

[Coler]

Get yourself the test kit.

Is the tank cycled ?

If the tank is not cycled I'm going to say its quite probable you're having some spikes of ammonia and nitrite in there.

If the tank is cycled, taking it that he's eating ok, and everything you say refers to his mouth as opposed to pumping through his gills, and he looks ok as well, I'd say he's just being a cichlid (i.e. a mildly screwy fish).

 

[Jack D]

I have a seperate ammonia tester from Hagen and its reading 0 ammonia

Once I get a better nitrite/nitrate tester I'll know more but the number from the test strips look good. I've been testing the water almost everyday.

The tank is fully cycled for sure. The tank has been running for a month now with regular water changes. I havent cleaned the sponge filter yet but thats because I've been doing multiple water changes and I hear when you do this to not clean the filters for at least a week after a water change.

I think he's just burning off some steam and being a weirdo as he doesnt act like this all the time. I havent seen him act weird last night or today.

Here's a pic of him yawning:

Hyde yawning by can97sh, on Flickr