# sick or injured jack dempsey



## jaybaker1968 (Jun 9, 2011)

I have a 12 year old Jack Dempsey that has either been injured or is sick ..He is lying on the bottom of the tank completely bent over ( like an upside down U shape)...his right eye is semi sunken in and doesnt appear to be working, like a stroke..He is still eating fine and seems to snap out of it to get food, however he cannot keep upright and is very unbalanced. He is not bloated at all, but the right side of he belly appears bulge a bit.. As soon and he is done eating he drops to the bottom of the tank and lays there motionless..

He has been the only fish in the tank (30 gallon hexagon) since I purchased him as a fry. I have always fed him Ciclid pellets, flake food and brine shrimp on occassion.. I have never really checked the water quality as often as I should as he has been very hearty his whole life and has required almost no upkeep other than fresh filters and water changes. 

At the advice of a fish store, they recommended feeding him peas...He will eat them but there has been no improvement. In addition I noticed his behavior started right after my new water filter quit working..Could he have been shocked?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I dont want to see him suffer or put him down, but if this is going to be permanant that may be an option


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## Beaches (May 28, 2011)

No experience with JD's, but maybe "Old Age" is a factor...12 years is pretty good age I believe. He may have developed a tumor, swim bladder problems, really hard to say as it could be so many things. Can you post a pic? Does his poop still look normal?

How long has he been like this? What are the water parameters, have you checked them since he became ill?

What type of filter was it and how long did he go without one? I have heard of heaters shocking fish, but not filters.

At this stage I would make sure all the parameters, PH, temp. are where they should be and keep the water quality as high as possible with regular partial water changes. Do you syphon the substrate regularly?


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