i dont really know what im doing but i love my little monster

[my little monster]

hi. i have one jack dempsey in a 25 gallon tank. he is almost 3 years old and his name is my little monster. i rescued him when he was a baby from certain death aka my ex (who didnt realize your supposed to take care of fish so he just cept replacing them when they died). i put him in a little 10 gallon tank next to my bed and tried to set it up the best i could not knowing anything about fish.. i fed him pellets untill he was big enough to eat guppies and when we were broke i went spider hunting (his favorite). then for the past year i went to jail and sumhow my mom managed to keep him alive (no idea how though since she fed him once every 3 days and i found him hiding amongst overgrown algea looking very small for a monster). i just got him back to my house and set him up in a new tank, i fed him sum guppies and i think everything will be ok. hes eating well, looks happy to see me and stopped hiding alltogether.

[Wolfsblood]

Did you cycle the new tank you put him in? Would you like some suggestions on how to care for him?

[my little monster]

yes please, i definitely need the help! im not sure if i cycled it, how do u do it?

[my little monster]

the fist couple days the water was cloudy.... but then it cleared up and i gave him a bunch of guppies, it took him a week to eat them all (24). now the water is super cloudy, ive been changing like 10% of the water every few days and i tried to clean out the tank (hes really messy) but i think the filter isnt really working- i ran out of the refill things that fit in it, i had some old ones you put together yourself that were too big so i tried to makeshift them together but maybe i messed it up.... like i said i have no idea what im doing but im very attached to my monster and want him to be happy so any help you can give would be great- thanks

[Wolfsblood]

Here are a couple great links to get you started.
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...de-176446.html

And here is a link to a basic overview of the Jack Dempsey species. Jack Dempsey Cichlids

The cloudy water is likely caused by high ammonia or nitrite levels. These are both toxic to fish so You are going to want to do about a 50% water change asap.

[Convict2161]

Welcome and you've gotten some good info here.

[Andrew McFadden]

Welcome to AA! We hope ya enjoy

[my little monster]

ok so i did a 50% water change a few days ago but it doesnt seem like it helped much, i think maybe i should get a better filter? he looked happier at first but hes back to moping and looks a little pale, hes also rubbing up against stuff in the tank alot like hes itchy or something- i have some ick medicine, should i use that? or maybe im just not putting in the chemicals the right way....

[my little monster]

oh and he also wont eat the dry food ive been giving him, i looked in the backyard for some earthworms or spiders but didnt find any, i also tried some frozen shrimp but he wouldnt eat that either. i put 24 feeder fish in there a few weeks ago, is there anything else i can give him untill i go back to the petstore?

[Wolfsblood]

Just frequent water changes are going to be the best thing for him. I would do another 25% today or tomorrow. Then I would get a liquid master test kit. These kits test everything you really need to know about your water conditions and can really help you stop any problems from popping up. You can get them on amazon for around $20. At petstores they are usually closer to $30 but it will be one of the best investments you can make.

Has he been eating the feeders? You could also try to find some crickets

[my little monster]

he ate 24 rose guppy feeder fish (i think thats what theyre called) in a week but that was like 3 weeks ago. online it said they eat lettuce but he didnt touch it, is there a way to get him to try it? maybe he didnt know it was food ...

[Wolfsblood]

Yeah you can just keep trying. If you can get him to eat pellet food that is really the best for him. Many people don't like using feeder fish because they are kept in poor conditions which promote disease which could then be transferred to your fish. Does he have a round belly or is it kind of sucked up looking?

[my little monster]

I got evicted from my house and the cops only gave me 7 minutes to get everything, with nowhere to go my only choice was to leave my little monster in the hands of the old man who lived in my building... It was devastating and I miss my baby more than anything, after everything we went through the past 3 years I failed him... I hope he is ok with the old man and that he is always happy. Sorry monster. Goodbye, thanks for your help. :'(

[Convict2161]

Originally Posted by my little monster

I got evicted from my house and the cops only gave me 7 minutes to get everything, with nowhere to go my only choice was to leave my little monster in the hands of the old man who lived in my building... It was devastating and I miss my baby more than anything, after everything we went through the past 3 years I failed him... I hope he is ok with the old man and that he is always happy. Sorry monster. Goodbye, thanks for your help. :'(

Wow! Sorry about that, I really am. Do you knob that they can't evict in 7 minutes? Your allowed to gather all your belongings or the landlord has to supply adequate storage for your stuff, that's law. Also the eviction proceeds takes a few trips to court,I'm sorry for the bad luck but you had to see this coming. Usually the judge will send out the eviction notice and you get 30 days to comply with his order/decision/ruling then if you fail to comply the eviction order will be handed down.

You have rights and they sound like they've been horrible violated!

A quick google of the San Francisco eviction process will lead you to many many good sites with great info. I have family there and one of them is a lawyer. Small world... But in any event. Just out of curiosity I'm gonna ask my cousin.

[my little monster]

Yea the landlord was a total scum lord, they just had a lawsuit for wrongfully evicting the unit next to us... There was black mold in the building too so we stopped paying rent and were trying to leave but there was nowhere to go, and I didn't want to keep moving monster around with me- so I figured it would be better to leave him there so he could stay in his tank instead of taking him to the pet store.... The guy said he'd had cichlids before, hopefully he knows what he's doing, said I could come back for him whenever- I know those fish get attached to one person in the house, whenever I came home hed leave his hiding place to hang out with me but when my mom had him for a couple months he hid the whole time- do you think he will forget about me and get attached to his new owner? Or do you think it's worth it to go back for him when I find a place that is stable...?