Jack Dempsey

[mackay55]

hi I got my electric blue jack Dempsey on Saturday he/she is eating good but it keeps going up and down the tank and I think its breathing a little fast. I have a juwel rio 300 fluval 305 (cyclyed) and I just throw in a air pump to get more oxygen in the tank and it don't look very blue as-well here are some videos.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3h5CuPOoJU

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLuEtD9o0l8

I have ordered more rocks and a back ground so tank looks a bit rubbish now.

tank stats are

ammonia 0

nitrite 0

nitrate 40

 

[dbanner]

Aww that's an awesome little guy (or girl lol) you got there. If you only got it on Saturday then the chances are its not settled in yet so the potential colour won't be coming through quite yet.

I'm not sure if anyone has told you but EBJD's are notoriously hard to look after and often die of unknown causes. I'm not sure why but maybe someone hear can tell you. This is the reason iv been pushed away from them in the past

I wish you luck with yours and hopefully he will grow to his full potential and be a stunning fish

As for going up and down the tank I would just keep an eye on him over the next couple of weeks and keep monitoring your water stats and doing weekly water changes as you normally would and add dechlorinater after each WC. Also check your tank is set at correct temp for an EBJD. 78F (26C) is good for them.

Another thing to do is check your tanks PH. A PH of 6.5-7 is ideal

 

[Dazzler666]

My two new JD's swim up and down occasionally as av other fish i have owned.
One thing is i think you really need some plants, fake are better to provide him cover and make him feel more secure. How would you feel been put in a strange green house in the nude with strange people looking at you?! Lol.
With decoration, a few caves, etc i think he should be fine. EBJD's are notoriously weak gened and seem to die for no reason upto around the 3 to 4" mark where as normal JD's are a lot hardier. Also read that using UV can help with JD's a lot. They can be prone to bacterial infections too so try av something to combat this in your fishy medicine cabinet IMO.
He is a stunner mind so fingers crossed for you mate.

 

[mackay55]

would a UV sterilizer kill beneficial bacteria?

 

[dbanner]

Tbh I wouldn't bother with UV. I once had an APS filter with built in UV and it all it did was waste electricity and then broke lol just keep up with weekly water changes and sand/gravel vacs is the best thing you could do

To answer your question though, no, they won't kill off any beneficial bacteria