Jack Dempsey not eating

[gladmaker]

I have a large Jack Dempsey that is about 8 years old. For the last several weeks, it has eaten very little. I will drop some cichlid pellets over him and he would catch one or two or one bite of frozen carnivore food. For the last week, he hasn't eaten anything. The pellets can drop right on his head and he ignores them. Today, I tried to give him some live earthworms, and held them in front of his mouth, but he would just open his mouth and not try to take it in. Is it just old age and he's about to go? The other fish will grab anything I put in and I have to make sure he gets something close to him.

[cbaranyk]

That's a shame. I'm not sure why he's not eating, but it sounds like you're doing everything right. Even sick fish tend to attack live food.
Hopefully someone in the club will know the answer.
Good luck

[mewickham]

A large water change is the first thing to try when a fish is not eating and all else seems well.

[gladmaker]

It's a 55 gal tank and I did a 10 gal water change a few days ago while vacuuming the bottom. I ran tests and everything shows it's good. He's active, swimming and looking good, but just not eating. I've thought for some time he may be almost blind as he doesn't appear to see the food. There are 2 angels and 2 parrot fish with him and they grab the food as soon as it hits the water. I make sure some is dropped close to him.

[tboy]

Jack Dempseys live 8-10 years so he may just be near the end of his journey.

[gladmaker]

That's what I've decided. He still hasn't eaten anything. I don't see how he can survive this long without eating but he's still swimming around the tank.

[gladmaker]

Jack is still alive and swimming, but I haven't seen him eat anything. I can drop food on top of him and hit his head, but he acts like he doesn't know it's there.

[Jackielee]

Is he alone? Might try some additional fish to provide some competition for food. He may not respond but could be worth a try if he is alone. Good luck

[gladmaker]

He's not alone. There are 2 angels and 2 parrot fish with him which grab the food as soon as it hits the water. I make sure some food is where he can get it if he wants it. I'm just amazed at how long he can live without eating. I have never seen him eating anything from the bottom so I don't know how he survives.

[gladmaker]

Update for Jack Dempsey - he's still alive and active but I have not seen him eat anything. I tried again to get him to eat a live earthworm, but he ignored it. I don't understand how he can survive so long without eating.

[gladmaker]

Update. Jack is still alive and active. Don't know how with him not eating.

[mewickham]

Have you tested pH and ammonia levels? Big fish put out lots of waste. Biofiltration produces acids as a by-product. Over time, these can accumulate and the pH falls. If it falls below around 6.4 or so, the nitrifying bacteria begin to stop functioning. So ammonia builds up. Fortunately, in acid water, ammonia takes the form of ammonium-- which is much less toxic, so the fish tend to survive. (Ammonia toxicity increases with pH.) But low pH and high ammonium are big appetite killers. If you test pH and ammonia levels, you might be unpleasantly surprised at what you see.

You said you did a 10% water change, but this may not be nearly enough. I would suggest trying a much bigger change. If you have not tested pH and ammonia levels, I would do a 100% change, rather than a partial water change. The reason is this. If the pH is low and there is high ammonium, a partial change with alkaline tap water can raise the pH of the remaining old water enough to convert the remaining ammonium back to very toxic ammonia. Then the fish may all die.

Your fish is old and probably at end of life. Still, I would not be surprised if a large water change brought its appetite back.

[gladmaker]

Good information. I tested and ammonia is about .1 with ph at about 8. I need to do a major water change tomorrow.

[mewickham]

That pH is higher than I would have expected, but those readings definitely rule out appetite loss from low ph/high ammonia. Is your water naturally that alkaline, or have you added crushed coral or other to increase the pH?

[gladmaker]

It was higher than I expected also. I'm on Bentonville city water and use a good filter for the aquarium. I tested the filtered water and got about 8 so I tested the unfiltered water and got the same. I used 2 different batches of regent just to be sure. I changed out about 2/3 of the 55 gals of water. I added PH Down and will check again later. I wasn't surprised at the ammonia test since it had been a while since a water change. What I did today should have brought that down and I'll check it later also.

[gladmaker]

I think the main problem is that Jack is old and I think he's blind as he doesn't seem to see anything. If I put my hand in the tank, the other fish will usually get out of the way but Jack doesn't seem to notice until I touch him. I just don't know how he can stay active without eating for so long.
I have no idea if it's a male or female, but because it's a Jack Dempsey, we just call him Jack.

[gladmaker]

Did another test. Ammonia is 0 and PH is 7.8. In a couple of days I'll give it another dose of PH Down.

[mewickham]

The pH down is probably unnecessary. It tends to only give a temporary effect, anyway, as the natural buffers in the water will likely neutralize it. Plus, it also adds phosphates via phosphoric acid, so increases the likelihood of algae problems.

[gladmaker]

The pH down is probably unnecessary. It tends to only give a temporary effect, anyway, as the natural buffers in the water will likely neutralize it. Plus, it also adds phosphates via phosphoric acid, so increases the likelihood of algae problems.

I've come to that conclusion too. Jack is still active although I don't know how.