Jaguar Cichlid (4M) - doesn't seem to want to eat

Managed to get an ammonia test.
I'll check for stray voltage today just in case.
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I'm grateful for all your help and I'll try my best.

the results are in:
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nitrate: ~20 ppm (which halved as expected)
nitrite: still 0 ppm
gh: still 10
kh: ~14 (water here's basic as hell)
ph: still ~8
no chlorine
ammonia: combined value's more than 0 mg/l, around the 0.5 mg/l mark as I see it.
after conversion that means ~0.03 mg/l NH3, which isn't optimal.
I'll check for stray voltage soon.
images attached

Guys, I found some voltage caused by my plug divider thingy (sorry I don't know the English word for that).
It was ~60 mV max, but after plugging it into another one, it dropped to approximately 0.

He ate some food!!
I seriously can't imagine how I haven't thought of this.
Instead of the usual handfeeding, I left in the floating sticks and he ate some!
I hope he'll get better.
I bought him some frozen mousquite larvae which I fed him when he was small, just in case.

You 'worked' the problem. Way to go!

My hypothesis is that the faulty power strip (I found the word), which brought about the stray voltage could have had a detrimental effect on my nitrifying bacteria, causing problems.

What do you people think?

PumpKineTick said:

the results are in:
-
nitrate: ~20 ppm (which halved as expected)
nitrite: still 0 ppm
gh: still 10
kh: ~14 (water here's basic as hell)
ph: still ~8
no chlorine
ammonia: combined value's more than 0 mg/l, around the 0.5 mg/l mark as I see it.
after conversion that means ~0.03 mg/l NH3, which is still harmful in the long term.
I'll check for stray voltage soon.
images attached

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PumpKineTick said:

What do you people see my ammonia as?
I think it's a safe bet for me to do another water change tomorrow...

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I see more yellow in there then the green I think. If you look at it sideways against the white background does it show the color better?

Ram419 said:

I see more yellow in there then the green I think. If you look at it sideways against the white background does it show the color better?

Click to expand...

The manual says to compare it from above. I'll check it tomorrow though.

There might be a small amount. I've done ammonia tests right after cleaning and see small amounts of ammonia due to stirring up something sometimes. It should cycle to nitrites, or get eaten by plants, then nitrates. Water changes will also reduce it.

Today's ammonia test.
I did everything according to the manual and it looks good to me.
It's feeding time soon, we'll see if he'll eat.

PumpKineTick said:

I use Tetra 6 in 1 test strips, and it doesn't measure ammonia. I should probably get one that does I guess.

It's normal, no stringiness/whiteness.

I have an unused shower where I thoroughly wash the media. I haven't had problems with it, although that doesn't mean I'm doing it right.
As for specifics, I rinse, then squeeze, then rinse, then squeeze and so on. I make sure to squeeze it dry afterwards. Then I simply put it back.
I turn off the return pump in the mean time.
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Thank you very much.

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Be careful not to overdo filter cleaning. The bacteria in the filter is what remove ammonia and nitrite from the water, so you just need to shake excess sludge out of your media in a bucket of tank water.

As for your jaguar eating, have you tried giving him mealworms, earthworms, or some other live food?

speakerman3 said:

As for your jaguar eating, have you tried giving him mealworms, earthworms, or some other live food?

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He seems overly shy at the moment when it comes to hand-feeding. On the other hand, if the food were to sink to the bottom, it'd be quite a hassle to have to remove it. That's why I'm trying all my floating options.
I've proposed to him a mealworm but no reaction.
He did somewhat eat the cube of larvae I fed him today, so that's promising.
- I left the room on purpose to encourage him to eat, and -sometimes peeking- I saw him pick up some. I wasn't sure whether he actually swallowed it, but judging by the amount that's left in the tank, I'd say he probably ate most of it.

He's still as active and ferocious as ever, only a little shy:

He really is trying to eat the pellets and sticks, but has a hard time swallowing them, often spitting them out. Still won't accept food from my hand.
I'm getting a bit desperate. I just can't figure out what's wrong...

try raw/cooked prawn.

it probably has an infection in the throat. Salt or a broad spectrum liquid medication that treats bacteria, fungus and external protozoa might help but throat problems are an issue in fish.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for 1-2 weeks. If there's no improvement after a week with salt, stop using it and try something like Waterlife Myxazin or Protozin.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.