The World Of Jack Dempsey Cichlids

Should I leave Jack Dempsey fry with parents

Q…  Should I leave Jack Dempsey babies with their parents?

A…  Yes, absolutely.  Jack Dempsey parents take excellent care of newborns.  The parents will help them eat by chomping up their own food into tiny bits for the newborns to eat.  They will do this until the fry are able to each larger pieces of food that they can find on the bottom.  If there are other fish in the aquarium, the parents will chase them and even kill them to protect the young.  This would include other Jack Dempsey cichlids and older juveniles as well.  The NEW brood is all important and nothing else matters.

     Leave the baby Jack Dempseys with parents for at least three weeks.  The fry should at some point (3 - 5 weeks) be removed to a grow-out tank where they can be fed high protein foods and fed often.  Keep only as many baby cichlids that you feel you can re-home, give to pet stores or friends or keep yourself.  The rest should be culled out.

… Jack Lamountain