Jack Dempsey won't eat

[ChubbaChunky]

Hi,

I currently have a juvenile(~2 inches) Jack Dempsey in a 40 gallon tank. The tank is relatively new and has been set up for about 35 days. I introduced the Cichlid to the tank after two weeks of letting it cycle with an old filter had on my 55 gallon tank. When I first got the fish he/she seemed to be eating fine, then all of a sudden at day 3 the fish stopped eating properly. It would suck in its food, chew it up, and then spit it out all over the place. Then the fish began shaking his head at the food and having white stringing poop. Subsequently, I went out and got API general cure and treated him with the proper dosage. It is 5 days after I started the treatment and he is still not eating. He will bite the food but then proceeds to spit it out. I have tried giving him sinking NAT geo cichlid pellets as well as Cichlid Gold Hikari floating pellets. However I have one pleco in the tank with him and when I drop in an algae wafer the Jack Dempsey rips it apart, which scatters it all over the tank. Not sure if he doesn't like his food or still has a parasite. If anyone has any advice or insight it would be greatly appreciated.
The PH level is at 7.2
Temp: 78 F
Nitrates: 0
Ammonia: 0

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

well, there is a few mistakes.
*You're let your tank running with established old filter for 2 weeks, that's meant most of your Bacteria are DEAD without food for 2 weeks.
*Nitrate 0 ppm that's meant your tank not complete cycle yet due to above reason (unless you were meant Nitrite.)
*It will take sometime for your fish clear up internal parasite so keep water condition as good as you can and it shall be fine soon.

 

[ChubbaChunky]

Apologies I meant Nitrite. Do you think the filter problem would contribute to why my fish aren't eating, even if all the good bacteria died from the first 2 weeks shouldn't the 20 days after that have built up some good bacteria.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Apologies I meant Nitrite. Do you think the filter problem would contribute to why my fish aren't eating, even if all the good bacteria died from the first 2 weeks shouldn't the 20 days after that have built up some good bacteria.

A complete cycle usually take around 4 to 6 weeks (test your water to see if there any trace of Nitrate, take note what's the base number of Nitrate in your tap water unless you're using RO), a juv. 2 inches fish in 40G should be fine even the tank still in cycling phase, stop feeding for 1 or 2 days then start feeding small amount of food and see if it still act the same, keep monitor your water and keep it in good condition.
Note:
The Pleco is a waste factory so if you don't really need it then remove/rehome it.

 

[Binge]

Dempseys often chew food and spit it out repeatedly is just something they do.
If I might ask what is the Temperature of your tank my dempsey didnt eat much when my heater died and I had to wait a week to replace it cooler water slows thier matabalism and they do not eat a lot when that happens. (this is of course secondary to the possability of a parasite)

 

[ChubbaChunky]

The temperature is at 78 degrees. Unfortunately this morning I woke up and found white stringy poop all over the tank. I just finished a API general cure treatment and I guess it didn't kill the parasite. Should I administer another treatment or buy a different medicine for the fish?

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

The temperature is at 78 degrees. Unfortunately this morning I woke up and found white stringy poop all over the tank. I just finished a API general cure treatment and I guess it didn't kill the parasite. Should I administer another treatment or buy a different medicine for the fish?

Buy a HEX shield pellet food from NLS and feed your JD.

 

[ChubbaChunky]

Is that a better option than ordering prazipro? Thank you for all your help!

 

[pops]

lotsa options, all the good ones the same thing, I am a seachem fan if that is easier to get,
http://www.seachem.com/paraguard.php

do the water changes and water tests, JD can be very shy and flighty. you old bio filter should be fine, more than likes just dormant, once established they are hard to kill but will go dormant with no nutrients and take a few days to come back.

 

[ehh]

ime, come up with a list of possible medications and draw from a hat. I've had luck with paraguard on one fish and it turns out to be useless on another fish. same with prazipro. the important thing is to get him to ingest the medication. thats usually the hard part though.