Jack Dempsey in a ten gallon?
I am very interested in fish and keep a 55 gallon African cichlid tank, so someone at school volunteered me to take care of a classroom pet over the summer. I have not seen him yet, but he is a Jack Dempsey cichlid being kept in a 10 gallon tank. The thought of keeping cichlids in such a small tank unnerves me, but a little Googling tells me that it is not necessarily a bad situation. I have 2 questions for you:
1. Is this setup healthy for the fish? I don’t have the resources to modify anything myself, but I can certainly suggest to his keeper when the new year starts that she make changes.
2. How do I move him from the school to my house? I was thinking of just siphoning half the water from his tank, and maybe putting the fish in a tupperware for the move.
Thanks!
I saw him today. I am guessing the teacher has done some tank deconstruction already, but what I saw was some blue and white pebbles and a hang-on filter with a fish whose length I am guessing to be about 6 inches, tail included. They have what seems to be a 20 gallon tank there as well (my mom is permanently adopting the neon tetra from it), so I think I will take that home instead of the 10 gallon tank.
We have 3 fish/pet stores in town, so I will definately see about securing fish-bags for transport and donations toward a better system.
I took what I could find from the teacher’s room and my collection of supplies, and now he’s in a working 20 gallon setup. Don’t worry, I have given up on the thought of returning him after seing how gross all of their stuff was. I will either find him a new permanent home with a loving keeper or spend some money and keep him. He’s a beautiful fish, and looking good so far.
Thank you guys for all of your help!
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Considering that this fish gets 10 inches and needs a 55 BARE minimum… No 10 gallon tank is a horrible and very unhealthy set up. Let her know she needs 10 gallon appropriate fish (neon tetra, betta, tiny fish) OR needs a proper 55-75 gallon tank for the one large fish. If he’s small now, he will outgrow it.. OR his growth will be so severly stunted that he will die.
And yes.. Siphon out at least 50% of the water. Leaving the fish in what little what is left is better than removing him to put him in a different container.
The Dempsey should have more room to move around…but if he is the only fish in the 10 gallon, he’s probably just fine.
How long has he been in the tank? If the answer is more than several months, there’s no need to change it unless he outgrows it.
When I move fish, I put them in a bucket with some of the water from their tank. The more water you can save, the less new stuff you’ll have to put in. So…I think you’re idea is just fine.
Just steal him.. Pretend he died and put him in your 55 gallon.
I wouldn’t even put a baby small angelfish in a ten gallon.
A JD in a 10 gallon in the equivalent of a Great Dane puppy in a rat cage. It’s not right, and just being alive and eating shows how resilient to poor situations fish can be! I would work hard to source a larger tank for the school, if they’re willing, make a picture of a full grown JD (I imagine this one isn’t as, if it was, it wouldn’t be able to turn around) to illustrate the size issue here!
You can usually find large tanks second hand pretty cheap if you scout around.
You might even be better off in the mean time upgrading him to a large plastic tub (I’ve seen storage boxes up to around 150 litres (40 gallons)) to get him healthier and growing – hopefully then too large to even consider going back into a 10 gallon! As long as the tub/box has filtration over the side, a heater in it (just not touching the sides) and something covering it – like some netting to stop escapes – it’ll be fine as a temporary solution! Those boxes will cost a mere fraction of a glass tank, ideal temporary housing, as long as it’s clean, unused etc.
As for moving him, your plan sounds fine although bagging him like you would at a fish store will be more comfortable than a box as there won’t be hard sides to hit against!
Ho, been there, done that!
1. A 10-gallon tank is far, far too small for a Jack Dempsey. If the one in question is a juvenile, it can probably live through the summer in the 10-gallon, but the ultimate solution is to put Jack in a biggger tank (at least 40 gallons for one JD). Since he is a school pet, maybe there is a possibility of getting an aquarium company or a pet shop to donate a tank, or having a class fundraising drive to buy a new tank.
As long as Jack is still in the tiny (for a Jack Dempsey) tank, frequent, large water changes are in order to keep him healthy.
2. Drain all the water from the tank before you move it. Moving a tank with water in it can damage the tank, and poses a risk of injury to yourself and whatever fools, er, I mean, kind people, may be willing to help you move it.
I don’t know how large the JD is at present. If he is small (let’s say, three inches long or less), the best way to move him is with a fish-shipping bag. If you don’t have one on hand, beg one from your friendly local aquarium shop. You’ll also need a rubber band.
If the fish is, say, four inches long or more, I prefer to use a bucket. You can get a nice five-gallon bucket with a tight lid at a hardware store, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Meiner’s, and so forth. For this purpose, use a new bucket, not one that has had paint, detergent, floor wax, or some other substance in it. Since I have cats, I have a nice supply of buckets that each contained 38 pounds of cat litter when I bought them. They are very sturdy, and they come with tight-fitting lids, too. Just rinse them very thoroughly before using them for fish.
Now for moving day: Shut down the aquarium. Unplug the filter, light, air pump, any other accessories, and especially the heater (if there is one). A plugged-in heater will break if it runs when it’s not in water. Ask me sometime how I found this out.
Remove the tank cover and light, and take all the stuff out of the tank, except the fish and gravel. Put everything in a plastic tub, heavy-duty plastic bag, or something else that will contain the water dripping off of all the objects. Wrap the heater in a towel or some bubble wrap so it won’t break. Take the filter apart, pour all the water out of it, and put it with the other things from the tank. Also remove any plants, fake plants, rocks, little castles, pirate skeletons, etc.
Now fill your fish-transporting bucket half-full of water (or fill the bag one-third full). Next, drain most of the water out of the tank. The most elegant way to do this is with a Python, but if that isn’t convenient, you can bail the water out with a bucket or a pitcher, then pour it on the grass outside, or maybe out the classroom window. Just leave enough water to barely cover the fish. This will make it much easier to catch the fish than if you tried it in a full tank.
Now net the fish and transfer it to your bucket or bag. As you will know, cichilds are smart and don’t like to be netted, so you can expect the fish to jump over the net, hide in corners, and otherwise resist arrest. However, since you have removed all the obstacles from the tank and lowered the water level, it shouldn’t be too hard to apprehend the wily Mr. Dempsey.
If you’re using the bucket, just put the fish in the half-full bucket, and then tamp the lid down tight. If you’re using a bag, carefully put the fish in the bag, and then twist the top of the bag shut, trapping as much air as possible in the bag (as they do at the fish store when you buy fish). The bag should contain more air than water. You’ll need to put the bag in a bucket, bowl, box, or something, or it will flop all around.
Now all you have to do is remove the rest of the water from the tank, and move the fish tank to your car. Get a cart or a dolly to help move it if you can (there are usually some of these around a school). You don’t need to remove the gravel from the tank, unless it’s making it too heavy for you to move the tank.
Then load all the other fish stuff in your car, and last of all, the fish itself. Put a set belt around the fish bucket so it won’t turn over if you stop suddenly.
Go straight home– don’t stop for lunch or anything (believe it or not, I once made that mistake).
When you get home, set up the tank, doing pretty much all of the above in reverse. Use all new, dechlorinated water to re-set the tank. Since the filter and gravel will still be wet, they will have their colonies of beneficial bacteria, and you won’t have to “cycle” the tank over again.
Then acclimate the fish to the temperature and pH of the new water. I do this as follows: Put a cup of the new tank water in the fish’s bucket about once every five minutes. When there is more new water than old water in the bucket, net the fish out and put it in the new tank. Don’t put any water from the bucket into the tank– the water in the bucket will be dirty by now.