Seen this behavior before?

thrak76

AC Members
May 31, 2009
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Hi

I've got an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey juvenile and he's demonstrating some strange behavior. He will roll to his side and then spasm upwards. He'll get parallel to the substrate, or whatever he's near, and then give a quick spasm of his whole body.
Any ideas? He just started acting this way today, and i did a water change yesterday.

Thank you!
 
Tank size and water parameters should be posted so we could better assist you. In the past ive had fish do this my knowledge was limited and they all seamed to pass away I know one died cuz the temp change was drastic I didnt check the temp till it was to late. But it could be due to poor water quality or possibly internal infection or parasite I personally wouldnt know which. Do post the tank temp as well Just encase.
 
Well, as of this morning...

It's a 29g tank...

Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0 ppm
Ammonia - 0 ppm
pH - 7.8-ish
78 degrees

When i first got the EBJD he appeared to have a parasite, as his poop was white and stringy. It's not like that anymore after i dosed the tank. I'm 2 days outside of the dose window now.
 
You have no Nitrates present? I know there shouldnt be no Nitrites or Ammonia present but Nitrates should be present unless its a heavly planted tank. How long ago was this tank cycled and how was it cycled?

Also plan on getting a bigger tank if the EBJD survives they need a bigger aquarium then a 29gal just so you know ok =)
 
Well i guess it could be near the 5.0 ppm on the nitrates... but it's sometimes hard to decipher the colors on those color cards vs the tube.
Tanks about 6 months old... cycled long ago...
 
Sounds like your fish is "flashing". It usually is a sign of an Ectoparasite infestation.
 
If indeed you EBJD is flashing I wouldn't really worry about it all that much unless it is constantly doing it. My yellow labs and rusties will flash every so often, it's no big deal.

I've also done a little reading up on EBJD's in the last couple of days and it seems they are quite hard to keep for some reason or another. Every article/post I found people had different reasons as to why thiers eventually died.

I hope yours is alright!
 
If indeed you EBJD is flashing I wouldn't really worry about it all that much unless it is constantly doing it. My yellow labs and rusties will flash every so often, it's no big deal.

I've also done a little reading up on EBJD's in the last couple of days and it seems they are quite hard to keep for some reason or another. Every article/post I found people had different reasons as to why thiers eventually died.

I hope yours is alright!

No, he's not alright. :(
I thought he was a goner yesterday... was not swimming, more like floating. So i removed him and put him in a hospital tank. Still alive, but not looking good. I'm basically on deathwatch, i think.
Yes, i read all the threads and articles about them being hard to keep also before getting it. They're so beautiful though! I couldn't resist trying to care for one.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that, :( I wonder what the problem is? There's gotta be a way to keep these fish in captivity!!!
 
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