Sick fish cichlid

[apexfish]

I have a 40 gallon tank with a Jack Dempsey and a Common Pleco. So a few weeks ago in the middle of the night I heard a loud noise that woke me up and at first I thought the tank had broke but after quick realization that my Cichlid was missing I looked behind the tank and he was gasping for air. I quickly got him back in the tank and he was able to swim away fine and continue like normal. Fast forward a couple weeks I started noticing he wasn’t eating as much and the pleco was continuously chasing him around,( they’ve been tank mates for almost three years) now it’s continually fighting. Last night however I kept hearing the cichlid bumping into the walls and trying to jump the tank. Mind you I’ve checked the water levels and heat and all the necessary environmental conditions yet the cichlid still had been acting sporadically ex.. swimming upside down, bumping the walls at full speed. One of his eyes is starting to bulge. My thought is that he had some kind of injury from that tank escape a few weeks ago and it’s starting to affect him cognitively? I’m not sure could really use some feedback or input!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a 40 gallon tank with a Jack Dempsey and a Common Pleco. So a few weeks ago in the middle of the night I heard a loud noise that woke me up and at first I thought the tank had broke but after quick realization that my Cichlid was missing I looked behind the tank and he was gasping for air. I quickly got him back in the tank and he was able to swim away fine and continue like normal. Fast forward a couple weeks I started noticing he wasn’t eating as much and the pleco was continuously chasing him around,( they’ve been tank mates for almost three years) now it’s continually fighting. Last night however I kept hearing the cichlid bumping into the walls and trying to jump the tank. Mind you I’ve checked the water levels and heat and all the necessary environmental conditions yet the cichlid still had been acting sporadically ex.. swimming upside down, bumping the walls at full speed. One of his eyes is starting to bulge. My thought is that he had some kind of injury from that tank escape a few weeks ago and it’s starting to affect him cognitively? I’m not sure could really use some feedback or input!

Civhlids are notorious jumpers and recovery will be based on how long the fish was out of water and how dry it got
The eye often suffers
Add stress coat to the water for slime restoration and one teaspoon of Epsom salt per 10 gallons and add air stone and take it from there

 

[twentyleagues]

The cichlid is jumping because the pleco is attacking him. What are you feeding the pleco? Common plecos are not herbivores they are at best omnivores but as they age they turn more carnivore. They will eat algae if there is nothing else to eat. When I was young I had a common pleco eat the side off of an oscar during the night before I knew the above. They wait until the other fish is at rest and they attack usually at night or when the fish is too sick or tired to fight back. If you are not directly feeding the pleco this happens, they will not just be content with scraps or the algae in the tank. You can try to feed the pleco some thawed tilapia that may curb its interest in the dempsey. I would not count on that though. There are plecos that are herbivores for their entire lives like the bristlenose and a few others.

Edit- Also the tank is too small for either of them. Which is another reason this is happening. I am not trying to be mean just giving you the facts.

 

[MnFish1]

I am not sure there is any way to know - without seeing the actual event. I See 2 possibilities - 1. The pleco is chasing the jack dempsey - which caused the initial jumping and some of the other behavior. 2. The Jack Dempsey injured himself during the initial event - and the initial event was caused by something other than the pleco - like a neurologic issue - or sometimes fish jump for random reasons. There is a high likelihood that the fish at least injured itself some with the jump. If I had to guess, I would guess it's a combination of the two. Can you give some more details - i.e. how big is the jack Dempsey, and the Pleco?

 

[twentyleagues]

I am not sure there is any way to know - without seeing the actual event. I See 2 possibilities - 1. The pleco is chasing the jack dempsey - which caused the initial jumping and some of the other behavior. 2. The Jack Dempsey injured himself during the initial event - and the initial event was caused by something other than the pleco - like a neurologic issue - or sometimes fish jump for random reasons. There is a high likelihood that the fish at least injured itself some with the jump. If I had to guess, I would guess it's a combination of the two. Can you give some more details - i.e. how big is the jack Dempsey, and the Pleco?

I will go out on the ledge and say I am 95% certain that the pleco is harassing the Dempsey. It is probably not getting the correct food which most people who dont know unfortunately find out like this. They are told or expect these plecos to live off fish food scraps and algae in the tank. That is completely false. I saw it all the time working at the lfs and taking in large cichlids to rehab them. The plecos become constant tormentors to other fish at night. That on top of it being a 40g tank isnt helping. I bet both fish are at least 6" that is usually when this starts happening.