HOW TO BREED JACK DEMPSEY CICHLID FISH
Mated pairs are not all that easy to come by.
Why the Name?
Jack Dempsey was a world-renown heavy-weight boxer (or pugilist) in his day. His name lives on today in the form of one of the more pugilistic fishes, the Jack Dempsey, Cichlosoma octofasciatum, or whatever descriptive Latin tag the experts put on him these days.
You could make the point that all cichlids are rambunctious specimens that enjoy beating up on their tank mates and re-arranging their tank decor. We could mention a few exceptions but on the average you’d be right. Most cichlids do not belong in your average community tank.
The Beginning
Small Dempseys start life smaller than a baby guppy. Their parents fiercely protect them from other fishes. Dempsey parents will bite you if you put your hand in with their fry.Tiny fry sport the typical black line that helps their parents keep them in line. As they mature, they develop an extremely attractive black and white pattern. Dempseys are one of the few egg layers that will eat dry food from birth. Newly-hatched brine shrimp or microworms work better, of course, but many will accept finely powdered dry foods.
Parallel Worlds
Think of Jack Dempseys as warm water sunfishes (Centrarchids). If you’ve ever fished for bluegills in a clear water lake in the spring, you’ve seen typical Jack Dempsey spawning behavior. Pairs dig theoretically defendable shallow pits in which they lay their eggs. If you drag a plug or any crank bait thru that protected area, you will harvest that sunfish — the male over 90% of the time.
Adults
Full-grown Dempseys can grow to 12 or more inches. We saw an ancient one in Peoria that was a misshapen 14 inches but most top out at eight in the home aquarium. They are a very dark blue liberally sprinkled with iridescent blue spangles. Males usually sport twice as many spangles as the females. Their top and bottom fins are often trimmed in red, orange, or yellow. Cichlids and centrarchids both intensify their colors at breeding time — especially the males.
Substrate
Over dark gravels, Dempseys develop darker colors. Over lighter gravels they bleach out. Cichlids are nearly all strongly affected by the color foods and those with spirulina. Color foods work to bring out their breeding colors. But the most effective color enhancer is live foods. Garden bugs such as moths, flies, earthworms and most any other soft skinned insect are more the welcomed by Jack Dempsey cichlids.
Dempsey Fry
Most small fry are neutral or camouflage colors. Predators always eat the pretty fish first. Half-inch-long Dempsey babies stand out from other cichlid fry because they are an eye-catching mottled black and white. (Baby oscars look like this also.) These eye-catching juvenile colors make them sellable at an early age. 
The Young
At young ages (under two inches) Dempseys get along fine with other more average fishes (swords, mollies, tetras and so forth). But Dempseys keep growing. At three inches long they are not so much bullies (like red devils) as they are needful of more room. And they take it.
Give Them Room
In a 10-gallon tank your Dempsey will take his 90% of the space and keep the other fish intimidated into whatever nooks and crannies they can find. In a 20H, he only needs half the tank space. In a 30, he’ll only take a third. Problems with Dempseys arise when you try to keep them in small quarters. Half-grown (4-6 inch) Dempseys want a cubic foot of space. Unless kept with other equally stout and argumentative fishes, they will take it — often to the detriment of less combative tank mates. For best results keep them mostly with other rowdy cichlids.
Good mixers with young Dempseys include:
1. Convicts, regular
2. Convicts, pink
3. Curviceps
4. Firemouths
5. Keyhole Cichlids
6. Acaras (various)
7. ?lue Acaras
8. Festivums
9. Kribensis*
Good mixers with half-grown Dempseys include:
1. Jewels*, various color types
2 . Latifrons
3. Porties
4. Rainbows
5. Black Belts (B)
6. Chocolates (B)
7. Friedrichstahlis (B)
8. Geophagus, various
9. Green Terrors
10. Other Jack Dempseys
11. Managuenses (B)
12. Ocellaris (B)
13. Oscars (B)
14. Red Terrors
15. Salvinii
16. Severums, Green
17. Severums, Gold
18. Texas Cichlids
*not American but always sold as American.
Species marked with a (B) grow large and belligerent enough to pose a threat to the life of Jack Dempseys. Also note that we did not list Red Devils. Unless considerably smaller, they are not good mixers with anything.
African Cichlids
Oddly enough, you can mix Dempseys with African cichlids – for a while. African cichlids ignore them until the Africans get about half grown. We would not recommend this mix for most Cichlasoma (whatever) species. Maybe convicts.
Provide Room
As usual, the larger your tank, the fewer fights for territory you will see. Losers of these squabbles in big tanks also have room to retreat, recover, and fight another day. If you have limited space, put a divider (or dividers) high on your shopping list.
The Pairs
Adult Dempseys select their own mates. You see typical sidling up to one another and undulating together, chasing one another around the tank, and lip-locking. Lip-locking panics new fish keepers (check out “Lip-Lock video) that have never seen it happen before. The male and female lock lips and try to overpower one another. I agree with the theory that the male cichlid is testing his potential female mate for strength and endurance. A strong female will have healthier eggs and able to defend the nest vigorously along side her male.
Match Sizes
Here’s where you prefer two future parents of about the same size. Males tend to be larger and rougher. Too large a male often winds up killing his prospective mate. Try to keep them about the same size (within an inch or two). Although some males will breed with females half their size.
They Decide
No matter how carefully you pick your breeders, they will decide who breeds with whom. Since mated pairs are not often on the market, most would-be Dempsey breeders select six or so fry and rear them together. The process takes about a year. (And never pick out all the biggest ones or you’ll get all males.) If you’re in a hurry (this is America, isn’t it?), toss four six-inch specimens in a 30-gallon tank and be prepared to remove the non-breeders. They will be the ones with the torn fins and missing scale often lying on their side at the surface.
Your Breeding Tank
Give them a 20H or way larger tank. If the male gets too rough, the female needs room to get away. Provide at least one cave (the more bridal suites, the merrier). Lots and lots of plastic plants really help provide cover. Don’t decorate with expensivelive plants. Dempseys will redecorate to their own preferences. Anacharis and hornwort bunches help absorb many waste products and keep their water healthier. Provide other cover and a flat rock for the egg-laying site.
Plants?
In general, forget live plants. (make your own plants) Your Dempseys will uproot them and/or shred them. Use plastic plants instead. Weight them with lead strips or smear tank sealer on their bases and roll them in dry gravel the same color as your tank gravel. After they dry, toss them in and let the Dempseys re-arrange their furniture however they prefer. (And they will re-arrange it. Dempseys like to pile all their gravel at the front of their tank.)
Dither Fish
Many breeders recommend adding a “dither fish” to encourage the parents to bond together against a common enemy. A slightly smaller convict cichlid makes a good dither fish. You want one they can’t kill too quickly. Smaller fast fish such as Zebras might also work. Even if you lose them, they are quite inexpensive to replace.
Condition Them
You can successfully condition Jack Dempseys with a variety of cichlid food types. You increase your conditioning results when you add higher octane foods to their menu. But first, get off the one feeding per day habit. Feed them small amounts often. After you feed them flakes or pellets, give them small amounts of live or frozen foods to really plump them up and color them up. I have found that earthworms are a great conditioner for the Jack Dempsey. It brings those sluggish males around quickly to the mating fever. Throw some flies and other soft insects on the suface and watch them vanish with a splash. Even ants are accepted if they are very hungry. I’ve tried all of these and more with no ill effects whatsoever. Don’t forget about Spirulina algae, it’s great for their immune system. Oh, just a word of caution. Don’t throw ground beef in the aquarium. Even the most lean beef is too fatty. You may, however, chop up turkey or chicken and feed very small amounts of that but do not feed it on a regular basis and never too much. Beef heart is a wonderful conditioning food for most cichlids.. try it.
No Plecos Allowed
We get calls all the time about fish eggs “disappearing.” They don’t see the parents eating the eggs. They’re just gone the next morning thanks to their local algae-eating (and egg-eating plecostomus). You won’t see him eat the eggs. The parents are fierce protectors during the day. He, however, works the night shift. The parents never even know what happened.
Artificial Rearing
You can remove the eggs and use a slow airstone as a surrogate mother. The eggs need a slow flow of water near them for the best hatching rate. Most people consider it much more enjoyable (though less predictable) to watch the parents tend the eggs and herd the fry around.
Fry Food
Most baby Dempseys will eat finely crushed flake foods but you will get a better survival rate and faster growth with microworms and/or newly hatched brine shrimp. Keep in mind that your nursery tank is not a natural environment with all it’s tiny micro food sources for young to pick at constantly. If you wish to get your fry to grow anywhere near the fast rate they do in their natural surrounding, you must feed often and the right kind of food. It’s always fun to watch their bellies turn orange after a heavy feeding of brine shrimp. Most micro food sources are good for your fry providing it is small enough to be eaten. Don’t rely only on flake foods and powdered fry foods. Although many fry will survive on that, your mortality rate will be quite a bit higher. It’s critical for the first month to feed them as often and as high a protein diet as practical for you. You will truly appreciate the results. Now go have fun watching your “World of Jack Dempsey Cichlids”. — Jack |
Derrick
June 12, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Moved this week and started to breakdown the tank. Noticed eggs on rock, so I put the rock in a large bowl with air stone. Had to put the parents in my friends tank till I got theirs set back up. This is my Jacks first brood.Looks like there is anywhere from 700-1000 eggs. I thought they only laid 300-500 but anyway. The eggs are hatching just fine, seems like some are dying after hatching. Trying to remove fuzzy dead eggs, but some still remain. I would like to give them the best chance to live as I possibly can, so any advice? I also have some brine cysts, but should I start to hatch them now? I haven’t ever had much success with keeping brine alive more than 2-3 days after hatching. I didn’t have the option of leaving the eggs with the parents, so anything I can do to help the little buggers?
Thanks,
Derrick
Angel
August 18, 2010 at 5:06 am
Hi i was thinking about trying out a theory of mine and would like you input. Are female jack as territorial and aggressive as there male counterpart? because I heard that Electric blue jack dempsey’s are not as aggressive as regular jacks and they dont get as big as the regular jacks. Is any of this true? cause im thinking if i get an electric blue male and female then i could try to breed in a 55 gal. since the regular jacks require 75 gal or bigger. has anyone tried this yet that you know of??
MELVIN
December 26, 2010 at 12:00 am
FROM WHAT I HEAR FROM ALOT OF MY FRIENDS AT ALL THE LFS AROUND THE PITTSBURGH AREA THERE ARE NO FEMALE EBJD’S ONLY MALES. SO IF YOU WANT EBJD’S YOU WILL HAVE TO BREED A MALE EBJD WITH A REGULAR FEMALE JD AND THEN 1 OF THERE BABIES BREED BACK TO ANOTHER EBJD TO GET A BUNCH OF EBJD FRY.
Jarred
August 10, 2011 at 8:42 am
I have an ebjd female and male they are paired up, but I don’t think they will have healthy babies but you can email me and I’ll send some picks of the pair
Barbie
January 20, 2012 at 5:17 pm
I appreciate you taking to time to cnoitrbute That’s very helpful.
jay
August 10, 2011 at 1:37 am
ill tell u something it is easier to breed 1 ebjd male with a regular female but yes there are female ebjds just as pretty as the males and from experience and 4 dead regular male dempsies the male ebjd is just as aggressive and mean as the regular jacks
katherine
October 2, 2010 at 9:08 am
Well, I looked in my tank today, 25 gal., and saw one of my three dempseys had been brutalized. i removed it, and took a closer look, and realized that there was a bunch of ” twitching dirt ” in the corner of the tank. Lo and behold, I now have a huge clutch of dempsey babies. So, I removed the 7 in. green severum, and the 8 in. pleco. The protective parents seem to be quite happy, and relaxed, now that I figured out what was going on…lol. I showed my 4 yr old, and he thought it was the cat’s ass. He is excited to see them grow. I was so surprised, because I also have convicts in another tank, whom have not bred, I thought they were supposed to be the easiest to breed. This was a complete surprise, and we are stoked…time to sit back and enjoy.
Bryan
October 14, 2010 at 2:12 am
hey, you stole LA’s page without even citing or giving him credit. also, you may have 2 males for convicts katherine. Keep ALL kids away from pets unless they are 5 or older.
Larry Arnold
October 15, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Hey, Dudes,
Someone plagiarized my dampsy breeding article.
Take Jack’s name off and credit and my website. LA
PS At least they have good taste.
Hunter
October 21, 2010 at 2:43 am
hi jack,
i have two jack dempseys(one male one female), three assorted african cichlids(one male is very terrotorial) and a three and a half inch pleco. i want my jack dempseys to breed but I never see any breeding signs at all. i dont want to remove the pleco other wise my mom would think its a waste of money. they are all in a 20H tank with about four or so caves.
can you tell me:
when are breeding seasons?
and what could i do to get the best chances of having my Demseys
breed?
please reply
thanks again, Hunter
jackarthur46
October 21, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Hello Hunter.
If they did mate and have eggs, the Pleco is sure to eat them. Try putting the Jacks in a 10 or 15 gallon tank by themselves. Privacy may be all they need to get it on together. My first pair of Jacks laid eggs in a 10 gallon tank but they were the only fish in it. Good luck Hunter.
To begin with, a 20 high is too small for all these fish you have. They are all aggressive types and need more territory than you are giving them. The Jacks may not ever breed in that situation. Also, just because you have a male and female Jack Dempsey doesn’t guarantee that they will mate. Breeding season is all year long.
Jack Lamountain / The World Of Jack Dempsey Cichlids
July
October 26, 2010 at 7:59 am
How long does it take ick to kill a small EBJD he had it for like three days now?
Tracy
May 7, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Ich is a very serious problem. My angel was covered in it so bad his fins were shredded. Buy freshwater salt,(1 rounded tbsp for every 5 gallons) and ich treatment. I used mardel brand coppersafe. You put 1 teaspoom for every 4 gallons once a month. (Mine cleared up in less than a month) turn up the heater to about 80. Also after a week add a stress coat. My angelfish before he died grew his fins out beautifully. Awesome success, he was my pride! Lol
Sal
November 1, 2010 at 2:27 am
Hi
I was under the impression that a 30 gallon long tank (36 inches) was to small for a M/F Dempsey?
What temps do they breed at and is substrate needed ?
I ask as easier to keep a tank clean with water changes ,driftwood ,pot caves and no substrate .
Thank you
KMK
November 4, 2010 at 1:59 am
LOL–I bought a 75 gal tank and was ready to upgrade my 2 firemouths and my 2 dempseys and a clam to the bigger tank. So I removed all of the plants and pots that they live in. . . But, let’s go back about a week, just about died–my dempseys were lip locked and couldn’t get them to release, of course I thought they were going to kill one another. But with hesitation they let go and have been very beautiful these past days. When I went to put everything back was the suprise. . . I am SO EXCITED–on the “rock” there were a bizillion little round eggs. I called the pet shop, but after reading this– I can see exactly why they are acting so strange. I returned everything except the firemouths which I moved to a separate tank, and now the male is happily swishing around his rock. THIS IS SOOOOO COOOL ! ! !
rod
November 10, 2010 at 5:39 am
hi, how different are the blue dempseys from the jacks and are they just as easy to breed ?
MELVIN
December 26, 2010 at 12:06 am
EBJK’S ARE EASY TO BREED. FIRST OFF THEY’RE IMMUNE SYSTEM IS VERY LOW SO YOU HAVE TO KEEP THERE TANK VERY CLEAN. BREEDING THEM IS THE HARD PART BECAUSE THERE ARE NO FEMALE EBJD THE BREEDERS ALWAYS TAKE ALL THE FEMALE EBJK FRY AND KEEP THEM. SO IN ORDER FOR YOU TO GET THEM YOU MUST BREED WITH A REGULAR JD AND TO GET THE EBJK GENE AND THEN BREED THERE FRY WITH A EBJD AND HOPE YOU GET A LOT OR A FEW EBJD’S OUT OF IT
larry
December 4, 2010 at 5:45 am
Hi rod, i will answer your question by saying that there is barley any difference between EBJD, and reg Jacks, (besides the obvious color difference) . Just that EBJD can be slightly smaller and less aggressive. And they are not any harder to breed than reg Jacks but in order to get blue gene in the jacks You would have to breed a reg Jack and a EBJD. Hope I could help!
MELVIN
December 26, 2010 at 12:10 am
I HAVE A FEW EBJD’S MYSELF. THEY ARE VERY VUNERABLE TO PARASITE BEING THAT THEY ARE RUNTS. THE BREEDER ALWAYS KEEPS THE FEMALE EBJD’S SO IN ORDER FOR YOU TO OBTAIN ONE YOU WILL HAVE TO BREED YOUR MALE EBJD TO A REGULAR FEMALE JD. THEN AFTER THEY HAVE FRY THE FRY WILL HAVE THE EBJK GENE AND BREED SOMEONE OUT OF THERE FRY TO ANOTHER EBJD AND YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO PRODUCE A LITTER OF EBJD’S. I HAVE HAD SUCCESS 1 TIME AND HAD ATLEAST 50 EBJD’S FRY OUT OF 300. THAT HAPPENED 6 TIMES SO FAR.
Eric
January 11, 2011 at 12:56 am
Hey i just wanted to know i have a 125 gallon tank and 4 Dempsies, a pleco and a green terror. the 2 dempsies that are the biggest in my tank they go up to each other. i know one is a male and female, my male has the so called blue gene in it and the female is normale with barely any spangles on it except for its jaw area. but anyways i they lip locked for about 2 hours when i first got the female, and a few days passed. now they do sometimes swim together, but the male always ends up chasing her and pushing her side. and when they swim together the female twitches alot and grabs rockes and etc…
( i would just like to know if they are gonna breed )
Thanks
jackarthur46
January 11, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Eric, your JDs will probably mate but only if they feel that they can defend their nesting site from others in the aquarium. Be sure you are feeding them high protein foods and give them a variety. Good luck.
Eric
January 14, 2011 at 2:28 pm
I wish i could show you a picture. they are the two biggest fish in the the tank and i feed them 3 times a day, with growth formula in the morning and when i get home from school i feed them a flake food that is also healthy, then at night i give them blood worms.
I also asked my nearest aquarium store, and they said that they will probably mate but the female is not ready yet.
( Thanks for the advice )
Colton
January 31, 2011 at 7:36 am
Hi I have two dempseys in a 20 gallon high tank who have paired and I have seen them mate over the last couple of days, should I upgrade the tank to a bigger one or will they be okay here? They’re both about 5in
jackarthur46
January 31, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Hi Colton…
A 20 gallon high is a bit on the small side for two 5 inch JDs. You didn’t mention if you have other fish in there as well and if so.. you are way too small for the JDs. The Jack Dempsys will do fine in your aquarium providing you do the proper water changes and keep the filters clean but as they grow, you will surely want a larger tank. If you can, upgrade your aquarium to a 30 long or 29 high. They will do much better for you. Good luck Colton and thanks for checking in on my website.
Jack Lamountain / The World Of Jack Dempsey Cichlids
Colton
January 31, 2011 at 7:31 pm
Thanks I can upgrade to a 29 high today. I’m looking to breed them. There are no other fish in the tank besides them. Should I add another dempsey to the tank? I have one the same size in another tank. Would it work as a dither? Or should I add a different kind of cichlid thanks again
jackarthur46
January 31, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Hello again.
Well, you’re moving right along, that’s great. If your intention is to breed the JDs then I wouldn’t add another fish to the tank. Once they spawn, the eggs/fry will become food for any other fish in the tank, regardless of how aggressive the parents are in trying to keep them safe. They will probably gang up and kill that other cichlid you have.
Now.. think about this. Once you breed them and they will have between 250 and 400 that will survive the first 4 weeks… WHAT are you going to do with all these cichlids and WHERE will you put them so that they can grow properly? The first 4 to 6 weeks they can stay in the 29 with the parents but it will soon become overcrowded as they grow. The parents will soon want to breed again and they will begin to eat their young as they start another nest site. Just asking the questions you should think about for down the road Colton. I’ve been there, done that, I even have the T-shirt. haha.
Colton
January 31, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Haha. Thanks Im planning to give them to the local pet store we have talked before. I have a 80 gallon tank that’s completely enough that I’m planning on putting the cichlds in before I can get rid of them . I have 5 tanks in my house I’m looking to breed just once and seperate them. The babies would also be distributed into some of the tanks around my house.
Eric
February 5, 2011 at 2:24 am
hey its me eric again my pair of jds still havent breeded. they are the biggest fish in the tank. the other fish in the tank are 1 green terror(male)1 pleco and 1 other female jack dempsey. ive had them paired up for about a month now. all they do is swim together share the same cave etc.. and i feed them very healthy foods.
Have any advice
jackarthur46
February 5, 2011 at 3:54 am
Hi Eric
I would suggest you make a major water change (30 to 40%) That has induced my JDs to breed when they simply wouldn’t for no apparent reason. If you go higher than 40% then do it over a 2 day period. Good luck.
Jack Lamountain / The World Of Jack Dempsey Cichlids
Colton
February 7, 2011 at 6:21 am
can anyone till me witch one is a male and female pleaseeeee
Colton
February 7, 2011 at 6:22 am
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k562/coltonaragon/fish.jpg
Colton
February 7, 2011 at 6:22 am
http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k562/coltonaragon/fish2.jpg
jackarthur46
February 7, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Hi Colten.
The MALE JD is picture “fish2″ He, as most males has a lot of blue throughout his body. Female is “fish”, the smaller, darker of the two. Good looking pair Colten, they should give plenty of eggs. Be sure to have a large piece of FLAT slate or very flat rock for them to attach eggs to. Good luck Colten.
Jack Lamountain / THE WORLD OF JACK DEMPSEY CICHLIDS
Colton
February 7, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Thank you! Im not sure but this morning there were a couple of fuzzy looking round things around the tank do eggs look fuzzy!?
Tammatha
April 5, 2011 at 9:15 pm
I reset my 55gal tank @ our move in February 2011. Already having 2 red fin barbs I added 2 Jack dempsey’s…A month later i couldn’t figure out why the new gravel had fuzz on it…..Well let’s just say we know have about a zillion small JD’s swimming around in the tank. Not to mention one of the barbs have lost a few scales from getting too close to the fry/babies, so i’ll be selling them back 2 the pet store not my cup of tea.
edog610
July 12, 2011 at 3:11 am
Have 2 blue genes breeding…
all of the fry look like ebjd…
just read the posts about EBJD xx BGJD…
What exactly, from JACKARTHUR46, are the requirements for EBJD breeding? I know that it is a recessive trait. My pair are siblings.
Can’t get a good pic, otherwise I would post it.
Here are the other siblings…
http://s989.photobucket.com/albums/af16/elliottbower/EBJD%20in%20show%20tank%207%204%202011/
-edog610
miles james
September 26, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Will my 220litre fish tank be big enough for 1 or 2 jack dempseys really want sme they are amazing lol
Biuro Podróży Gdynia
September 28, 2011 at 10:30 am
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JGreg
October 4, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Great advice, I have a pair in a 55 gal with 7 tiger barbs as dithers. I feed them random inverts from around my house all the time. One of my favorites to feed them are flies and spiders, they have even eaten a brown recluse on one occasion and showed no ill effects. The pair stays next to eachother in their cave but still have yet to see any eggs or fry. Any advice on getting them to get breed. They have a mixed diet of algae wafers, shrimp pellets, omega one cichlid pellets and of course the occasional invertebrate.
Thanks,
Joel
jackarthur46
October 4, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Hi Joe,
It sounds like their diet is very good. What I’m concerned with are the 7 tiger barbs. They will, during the night, attack the egg nest and consume them. If any fry do hatch, they will excite the barbs and with 7 of them, they are sure to get their stomachs full of fry. Remove 5 barbs and that might be better but you’ll never be able to raise fry in a tank with such aggressive feeders as barbs. Good luck.
Jack Lamountain / The World Of Jack Dempsey Cichlids
Katie Dose
December 2, 2011 at 12:39 am
Hello,
I had a Jack Dempsey electric blue, not even a year old. About one inch in a five gallon tank. He had ich, and I was in the middle of treatment, and one day he just disappeared. I took apart my entire tank, filter, rocks, and everything to look for him. Any ideas?
Alyssa
December 27, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Okay, I have 2 Jack Dempseys. 1 female and 1 male. so, first the female turned black all the sudden and started moving around the tank frantically. the male was as calm as could be, but was a lighter color. After a couple of minutes the male turned black.
any idea why this is happening?
Alyssa
Alyssa
December 27, 2011 at 6:46 pm
the one above was at 12:36 am.
anthony
January 14, 2012 at 5:01 am
i have a male and female ebjd they are constantly at each others side lip locking how long does it take for her to lay eggs i started with 4 and the pair killed off the others
anthony
January 14, 2012 at 5:06 am
i got them when they were an inch long they have great color i have them in a 180 gallon tank by themselves there about 6in now i just dont know how long the breeding process takes when can i expect eggs they have been at it about a week now they keep dancin and lockin lips like crazy
Wyatt
January 18, 2012 at 1:16 pm
Hello,
I have a mating pair of JD’s that have hatche fry twice since they paired up. both times they have had around 300-600 fry but after arounf 3 weeks the fry begin to disapear.
I have asumed the parents eventualy eat their young so my female has just laid eggs for the 3rd time in 12 months. Should I take the fry out once they are hatched.
Any help would be great.
Thanks
jackarthur46
January 18, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Hello Wyatt…
If your fry are born in an aquarium with fish other than the parents, all are sure to be eaten eventually. If there are no other fish in the aquarium then I would suspect that your filter may be sucking them up as they become free swimmers about the tank. If that’s not the case then maybe you’re not feeding the parents enough food to share with their offspring. I large percentage of die off is normal but if all factors are good, 50% to 60% should survive.
Wyatt
January 19, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Thanks for your reply “jackarthur46″.
I only have the mating pair of JD’s in a 4ft tank. I also made sure when they had their 1st batch of fry that I put a very fine stainer over the inlet pipe for my canister filter that the fry cant get through. The water conditions seem to be spot on but maybe Im not feeding the parents enough food to provide for their young. I will see how this next batch goes with extra feeding. Can you give me any advice if I seperate the fry from the parents a few weeks after hatching.
Thanks again for your advice, I have found it hard to get good advice localy.
Cheers, Wyatt
Oscar
January 18, 2012 at 10:45 pm
About 2 months ago my jacks spawned. My question is how long can i leave the fry in the same tank with the parents before the parents start to eat them. The parents are the only 2 fish(besides the fry) in a 55 tank gal and so far they’ve been great parents.
But after 2 months I’m becoming concerned that soon they’ll cease being offspring and start being lunch. In order to try to stall the next spawning i turned the water temp down to the mid 70′s but I’m doubting that will be enough.
Duga
January 28, 2012 at 8:33 pm
My dempseys were about ready to spawn then they stopped and now the male wants nothing to do with the female and chases her all around the tank. I put a flower pot in so they had somewhere to lay the eggs and that’s when they they stopped and the male turned on the female. It’s a 55 gallon and they’re about 4 and a half inches long each. They started the spawning routine when I moved a convict to another tank since he was bullying them. So what happened? You think they will try spawning again some day?
Maggie
April 11, 2012 at 10:00 pm
I just have a few questions, right now, I have a 40 gallon tank, in it I’ve got two dempseys who’ve just laid eggs. I’ve also got some convicts and a pleco. I’ve set up a devider to keep the other fish away for the time being, and am debating between getting a new aquarium for the convicts or bringing them back to the store. I’m not very experienced with ciclids, as I haven’t had them long, but I really do need to clean the tank and was going to do it this weekend, will my doing so interupt the process or harm the eggs? and is there anything else I should do to prepare the tank for the fry? thank you in advance for any help you can offer. also about how long does it take them to hatch?
Josh
April 17, 2012 at 8:03 pm
I just bought a male and female breeding pair of regular JDs they are by far the biggest fish in my tank(48)gal. 2 gouramis and 2 other lame fish my wife bought lol, they constantly swim together and never leave each others sides, both are pretty beat up looking some pretty nasty war wounds. But I can’t get them to eat what do I do?
Tracy
May 7, 2012 at 2:19 pm
I have one dempsey in a 20 gallon. I know they need more space I am all about animal care. The issue is that my boyfriend originally got him in a 10 gallon and he was constantly fighting his gourami, so since I already had a 20 gallon with few fish. My 5″ Angel passed away
, so it’s just him and a few cory cats. I had 2 juvenile angels which the dempsey demolished. He does not mind the cory cats, I actually have grown fond of my dempsey (I named him Xavier different than “Jack”) he see’s me move in the morning and comes right up to the tank and I feed him! He has already grown about an inch in 2 weeks. He was 2.5 inches when my boyfriend got him now he’s 3.5 almost 4″. HE loves the tahitian moon sand at the bottom. When he is hungry and see’s me, he usually does this funny looking swim dance. Goes all the way up to the top and circles upside down into the sand until I feed him. It’s actually quite funny, but my problem is I don’t want a bigger tank in my room. My aunt already complained that the electric bill is going to be high bc I got the 20 gallon :/ meanwhile I love my aquarium and take pride in it lol. So will my jack survive in the 20 gallon, by himself with the cory cats?