Fish are hiding all of sudden... Help !!

[jdempsey1980]

I have had a pair of Dempseys & 2 female Convicts in a 75gallon with no issues at all. Everyone gets along pretty well. The female convicts get into a quarrel here & there but, the episodes are few & far between. Now, out of nowhere my jacks are hiding all time. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[jahonnimyfav101]

Lighting do you blare music? You might need more rocks or different fish food have a nice day also make sure in the morning you use a flashlight too shine on the tank shine it at the fish and then turn on the light since fish don't have eyelids

 

[jdempsey1980]

No loud music. Occasionally the dogs bark. They are fed a diet with lots of variety, NLS-Thera A+ sinking pellets, Hikari cichlid gold floating pellets, frozen-thawed krill, pre-soaked Reptomin, Earthworm, fresh clams, ghost shrimp, occasional rosy-reds. Lighting is 8 hours in the winter months, 12 hours in the summer. Plenty if hiding available. I did have an eastern spiny softshell turtle in with them for a little over 6 months but he made to much of a mess, so I moved him out. Turtle never bothered anybody, contrary to what is believed. Two months later the JD's are rarely out. Even at feeding time they're reluctant to show themselves.

 

[jdempsey1980]

It's a mystery.

 

[squirrilah fish]

How's their appetite?

When my fish abnormally start hiding I start thinking illness.

Hiding + loss of appetitive = malawi bloat (sometimes)

 

[Brookster123]

Convicts are prolific breeders, could they possible have spawned and gone into crazy kill mode to protect fry??
Edit- Or dempseys are guarding eggs?? Missed the 2 fem con's, they can still drop eggs though, which could cause aggression for a little while, once they realize no dude will ever fertilize they'll abandon them..

 

[jdempsey1980]

Ok thanks for the suggestions

 

[jdempsey1980]

Ok thanks

 

[Brookster123]

Squirillah Fish, I've been on a few threads where I've seen your posts. Please don't take this out of context but, it seems that you don't know the difference between African Cichlids & New World Cichlids. I take my fishes lives very serious. I think it's time that you do some research. Again, this is not meant in an offensive way, just callin it like I see it.

lighten up bro, I don't know anything about cichlids.. I wouldn't keep any more than 2 dempseys in a 75, and I sure wouldn't throw convicts in with them.. Were all just trying to lend a hand here.. If anything he was keeping your thread bumped and that's helping right there

 

[jdempsey1980]

Look bro... I re-read my post and removed it because I knew it was out of line.

 

[Brookster123]

Look bro... I re-read my post and removed it because I knew it was out of line.

fair enough...

 

[jdempsey1980]

Also, just for the record... Your user name was no where in the DELETED POST. I never said you didn't know anything. I never stated he didn't know anything.

 

[Gillie]

I saw nothing wrong with squirrilah's input, sure they used the term malawi bloat but bloat is pretty much bloat, just malawi is caused by too much meat in a predominantly vegetarian diet. Besides that his questions and thought were pretty sound, and don't forget that you are the one asking for help. That being said, as brookster suggested check around for a nest the cons may have dropped eggs somewhere, are they being aggressive toward the other fish? I would think that if the jacks laid then the male would be keeping the cons in line instead of hiding, but watching for the usual signs of illness are priority 1

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[squirrilah fish]

I'll remember you don't appreciate my input. Although asking about their appetite is a pretty valid question when fish start hiding.

I jumped to the worse case scenario. I don't know everything, and don't pretend too.

But I know the early symptoms of bloat
(Any fish can get bloat) and if you don't catch it early, the damage is irreversible.

I kept my Jack Dempsey alive for 13 years. She's still alive in fact. I just rehomed her to a happier environment as she was getting quite grumpy.
I care about my fish too.

I help based on what I know. If you think your JD developing bloat out of the blue is so invalid, maybe you should do some research.

I'll tell you this though. If they did have bloat or some other illness you'd be happy someone like me made you look for it, before those fish wind up dead.

 

[squirrilah fish]

And I do know the difference between new world and African cichlids. New world cichlds are totally capable of getting malawi bloat.

They don't have to be from malawi. Goldfish get malawi bloat.

 

[Brookster123]

And I do know the difference between new world and African cichlids. New world cichlds are totally capable of getting malawi bloat. They don't have to be from malawi. Goldfish get malawi bloat.

I just got back from vacation and I'm starting to think I have Malawi bloat :0