Lori,
The strip tests are known to be inaccurate and give false readings, basically they are a waste of money. You will need to work with liquid test kits for a more accurate result or take a water sample to a lfs who tests water using liquid test kits. (API makes a master kit for freshwater that includes all of the standard tests needed, and the price is reasonable. API is one of the most accurate of the liquid test kits) There are many dangers in working with inaccurate results, and as you can now see on your strip test, one of the most important readings is not there... ammonia. Without the full range of test results the info about your water chemistry is limited and doesn't tell us where the origin of the problem may or may not be coming from.
In regards to the medication, you need to know that most meds can have a bad reaction in polluted/dirty water. A nitrite reading of 1.0 is not something you want to add medication to. Your best treatment is to work with the salt and raised temp that Ray suggested, and be prepared to see the fish look worse before it looks better. It is important not to panic at times like this. Dumping meds into this situation would be a grave mistake.
Can I ask how big the fish is? I also would suggest some frequent small water changes, 10% - 15% each day until you can obtain accurate results.
I am confused about one other thing.... from your description of maintenance you originally said you do a water change monthly, but now you state that you do gravel vacs twice/month? Can you please tell us your water change procedures and how much water is changed out in the monthly change vs the twice/month gravel vacs? (if there is a 3rd change apart from the gravel vacs you mention)
What filter(s) are you running on this tank? What media do you have in there? (carbon, floss/fiber, standard cartridge, etc) I can list a couple of filter medias that are safe to put into your filter to help clean up the water quickly in a safe way... but I first need to know more about your set up and maintenance routine.
It is possible that you just aren't doing enough maintenance to keep up with the amount of waste in the tank, as was already suggested. It is also possible that your fish has finally outgrown a 55 gallon tank. An adult jack dempsey averages 8 - 12 inches in length, which is far too large for a 55 gallon tank, especially if there is another fish adding waste at the same time.
Crickets can cause high organic waste levels in any aquarium, especially if fed on a regular basis. What other foods have you tried to offer this fish? Worms such as night crawlers (broken in 1/2) or red worms such as are found at a bait shop usually will tempt a dempsey to eat. There are a lot of food options for the dempsey, and even when the fish appears fussy, they can usually be taught to accept better/more appropriate foods. By nature the dempsey is not an insectivore, they are primarily carnivore. The nutritional value of crickets is not going to be enough to maintain the nutritional needs for a jack dempsey. A fish that is lacking in its diet tends to have a weaker immune system and then becomes very vulnerable to a wide range of illnesses/disease/parasites. Withholding food until the fish is ready to accept a new food is not cruel and can usually work if the food is a natural part of their diet... but they can also be taught to
accept pellet foods with a bit of time and diligence.
Continue raising your temp by 1 - 2 degrees each day until you reach 86 and get the salt in there as Ray instructed (1 tsp for every 5 gallons.. in your case, 11 tsps for a 55 gallon tank) and work on those test results, as those will be your best indicator of what is happening in the tank.
Best of luck to you!
Dawn
Dawn Moneyhan
Aquatics Specialist/Nutritionist
To learn more about me go to
http://www.helium.com/users/449334
--- On Thu, 3/3/11, Lori <parknut@telus.net> wrote:
From: Lori <parknut@telus.net>
Subject: Re: [tropical fish club] White spots
To: tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, March 3, 2011, 2:19 PM
These are my readings today ray...
nitrate-30
nitrite-1.0
hardness 300
chlorine 0
total alkalinity higher than 180 ...lower than 300
ph 8.0
the test kit is use is one strip quick dip
so it is hard to tell on the alkalinity as it was close to 300 i would say
very close to bue but still dark green
the water temp is 76 o
sorry for any confusion
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray" <sevenspringss@wmconnect.com>
To: <tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 2:56 Parknut
Subject: Re: [tropical fish club] White spots
> Hi Lori,
>
> Wow, that's some difference between the first temperature you posted of 76
> o, and now this temperature at 60 o. The first question that comes to my
> mind is, do you know that this temperature is far to low for a Jack
> Dempsey and are you keeping the temperature at 60 o purposefully? Or, is
> your heater malfunctioning, to the point that it's not keeping the
> temperature to where you (and your fish) would prefer it? It's more than
> a bit cold for the fish at 60 o; if you thought it was at 76 o previously,
> going by what it was at several days or a week ago, you need to always
> check the temperature at least daily to make sure it isn't deviating from
> where it needs to be. If the thermostate were to be stuck on, it could
> have cooked your fish before you realized it, if you don't take care
> enough to regularly check your thermometer.
>
> Not knowing it was at 60 o, I recommended bringing the temperature up
> slowly -- to 86 o. Now, as Dawn points out, this is doublely important to
> ensure the temperature doesn't come up too fast.
>
> When you're asked for your water parameters, it's MOST helpful if we know
> the actual numbers, to be able to help you when having the maximum
> possible information you can provide. This will only help us to help you
> better. That youir ammonia is "safe" tells us nothing as we don't know
> ewhat YOU consider as "safe," since you have your nitrite at 0.5 - 1.0 --
> and for all we know, you may think this is safe. We can help you much
> better if you give us your ammonia reading in numbers. For ammonia to be
> "safe," it should only be a ZERO, as anything above that is not considered
> safe -- since other parameters (like the pH and temperature) can render
> even the slightest elevation in ammonia as unsafe. If your ammonia is
> Zero, please indicate that; if not, please give us the number.
>
> I can understand why Dawn questions where you've been keeping up with deep
> cleaning your gravel. Those tiny white worm-like things on your glass are
> undoubtedly Planaria. While they're harmless to the fish they are
> unsightly -- AND come from dirt and uneaten food build up in your gravel.
> Please fill both of us in on this part of your maintenance procedure.
>
> One last thing for now, after you get the temperature to 86 o (AND monitor
> it regularly so that it doesn't go much higher) and add the salt I
> mentioned, with each PWC during this treatment period, you will need to
> replace any lost salt that you remove with the PWC's. To keep things easy
> to keep track of, do your larger water changes now, before you add the
> salt and before the temperature reaches 86 o (at this time while you are
> raising the temperature, but before the treatment begins), to reduce your
> Nitrite. THEN, after you reach 86 0 and add the 1 Tablespoon of salt per
> 5 gallons, just do 25% PWC's during the treatment period. At this time,
> you will then obviously be removing 25% of the salt you had added when you
> remove this 25% of water -- so you'll need to replace 25% of the salt you
> had added at the start to keep the salt level up to where it should be. I
> don't recall your mentioning what size tank you have, unless I missed it,
> but I could tell you more specifically how much salt to start with and how
> much to add during PWC's, more specifically if I knew the tank size.
>
> Ray
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com, "Lori" <parknut@...> wrote:
>>
>> sorry ray the temp is 60 the amonia is safe so i have done a water
>> change
>> and cleaned up a bit to see if it will help i turned up the heat a bit
>> too
>> as it seems a bit cold
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Ray" <sevenspringss@...>
>> To: <tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 4:41 Parknut
>> Subject: Re: [tropical fish club] White spots
>>
>>
>> > Lori,
>> >
>> > I notice your saying that your Nitrate is 20, and that you specifically
>> > indicate that it's safe -- which it is, even though this organic waste
>> > product is relatively harmless until it reaches much higher
>> > proportions.
>> > A Nitrate level twice your amount would still be safe, but it's good to
>> > see yours is at 20.
>> >
>> > You do indicate, however, that your Nitrite is between 0.5 and 1.0
>> > (which
>> > we know is not at all safe). What makes you think that your Nitrite
>> > level
>> > at the reading you gave us is perfectly adequate enough to only do
>> > monthly
>> > PWC's (partial water changes)? As a part of general maintenance,
>> > partial
>> > water changes should be done WEEKLY -- ESPECIALLY when your Nitrite is
>> > this high. Nitrite is the most toxic organic waste product of them
>> > all --
>> > which, BTW, you have not given us your Ammonia reading.
>> >
>> > High Nitrite will not cause Ick, but will stress the fish, perhaps
>> > enough
>> > to lower its immune system to make the fish more susceptible to such
>> > diseases.
>> >
>> > From your agreement with Dawn's decription of Ick as appearing similar
>> > to
>> > salt spinkled on the fish's fins, it does seem as though your fish has
>> > somehow contracted this disease. Are you sure your thermometer is not
>> > faulty when you gave us a reading of 76 o ?
>> >
>> > For starters, you need to do some larger water changes to get your
>> > Nitrite
>> > level down. Secondly, you need to figure out why you Nitrite is so
>> > high
>> > in the first place so that the possibility of it going back up will be
>> > eliminated, It sounds like your tank is either in a mini-cycle, or has
>> > not yet finished its cycle if it's a newly set up tank -- in which
>> > case,
>> > you should yet have fish in it until the cycle is completed.
>> >
>> > For now, do some partial water changes to get your Nitrite level down.
>> > Then, slowly raise the temperature to 86 o F, and add 1 Tablespoon of
>> > salt
>> > for every 5 gallons. Keep the temperature there until a minimum of two
>> > days after you see no more signs of Ick, then slowly bring the
>> > temperature
>> > down. Increase the aeration during this period, if at all possible.
>> > You
>> > may need to make PWC's during this period, which can take up to about
>> > 10
>> > days. You'll need to heat this new water to 86 o also, before adding
>> > it
>> > to the tank. Give us an Ammonia reading as soon as you can.
>> >
>> > Ray
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --- In tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com, "Lori" <parknut@> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Sorry Dawn..I will get the hang of this..lol
>> >> Tank- 55 gallon
>> >> Set up- over a year
>> >> water changes- every month 25-30%
>> >> Filter aquaclear 70
>> >>
>> >> Nitrate 20-safe
>> >> nitritebtween .5-1.0
>> >> hardness 300
>> >> clorine 0
>> >> alkalinity 300 high
>> >> ph 7.8
>> >> I feed her 3 crickets in the morning, maybe 4 in the afternoon and 4-5
>> >> in
>> >> the evening
>> >> i sometimes feed her a smaill amount of crisps as well (10)
>> >> there is a pleco in the tank with her that is maybe 3 inchs if that
>> >> i feed it one waffer broken in half once a day if that.
>> >> water temp 76
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "Dawn Moneyhan" <dawnshungryeyes4u2c@>
>> >> To: <tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com>
>> >> Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 11:03 Parknut
>> >> Subject: Re: [tropical fish club] White spots
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Lori,
>> >> Can you tell us more about the tank she lives in? What size? How long
>> >> its
>> >> been set up? How often you're doing water changes? How much each time?
>> >> What
>> >> kind of filter(s) are you running (make/model)? Water parameters for
>> >> ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH? How often do you feed her? How much at
>> >> a
>> >> time? Water temp?
>> >>
>> >> The more you can tell us about her (how big is she? tank mates? if so,
>> >> what
>> >> and how many of each?) and her tank the faster we can help you.
>> >>
>> >> Dawn
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Dawn Moneyhan
>> >> Aquatics Specialist/Nutritionist
>> >> To learn more about me go to
>> >> http://www.helium.com/users/449334
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --- On Mon, 2/28/11, Lori <parknut@> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> From: Lori <parknut@>
>> >> Subject: [tropical fish club] White spots
>> >> To: Undisclosed-Recipient@
>> >> Date: Monday, February 28, 2011, 8:21 PM
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Hello to the group
>> >>
>> >> I have noticed tiny white spots on the pectoral fin of my jack dempsey
>> >>
>> >> she seems to look healthy
>> >>
>> >> i also notice in the morning , when i turn her light on
>> >>
>> >> their are tiny white worms on the glass they do move you can slightly
>> >>
>> >> see them with the naked eye,about a hr later their gone.
>> >>
>> >> I only feed her crickets mostly and cichlid crisps
>> >>
>> >> she will not eat anything else other than that her diet consists of
>> >> crickets
>> >> mostly
>> >>
>> >> Thank you for listening
>> >>
>> >> Lori
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> ------------------------------------
>> >>
>> >> Yahoo! Groups Links
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------
>> >
>> > Yahoo! Groups Links
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
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