Comments on: INFORMATION ABOUT THE CARE OF JACK DEMPSEY CICHLID FISH http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/ Jack Dempsey cichlid Nandopsis Octofasciatum / Cichlasoma Octofasciatum Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:09:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Barbarann http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-49 Barbarann Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:54:51 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-49 This has happened a few times with our fish as well. I have 2 mature JD's and they have been a pair for as long as I have had them - i took them in when it's previous owners had to move out of state. This was about 3.5 years ago. I knew very little about thier breeding habits and was very surprised to see tiny little semi translucent eggs deposited on the rocks. A few days later, I had my wigglers and was thrilled. My kids were thrilled as well and had thier faces pressed up to the glass half the day to see the fry. What we didnt seem to pay attention to though, was the adult female charging towards our faces and puffing up her gills ! within a few short day all the fry were gone and we didnt kmnow why. It was a good year or so before they had more fry. this time I started to frantically search all over the internet as soon as the eggs were deposited ... looking for ways to ensure these fry would survive. Never did I suspect that the parents had eaten thier babies- I assumed they just died and mysteriously dissapeared somewhere. These fry lasted a wee bit longer- we went on vacation 2 days after they were hatched- unfortunately the pet sitter ( for my cats and fish) wasnt paying a whole lot of attention to my fish care instructions, she WAY overfed them - I mean WAY overfed them- their entire 10 oz.container of pellets was dumped into that tank in a week- when we got home we were horrified to see the tank so filthy and the water so brown and cloudy that we could barely see our 2 mature fish, so I am pretty certain that the water quality is what did it that time.... next time was about 6 months ago. We had a pretty successful run, and after about 4 weeks we had 5 fry left- robust and healthy. we were looking into getting them their own tank, but we were too slow and by week 5 just one remained. this is around the time that momand dad fish had more fry. mom and dad became super agressive towards my singular young fry that was left. I mean, really really aggressive. to make matters worse, my kids had themselves parked a few inches in front of the glass, again to watch the new fry . within 24 hours of the new fry hatching they were all gone- EATEN by mom and dad! I was horrified! as it turns out, 2 factors were involved. the first one, the kids were aggitating them- and making them feel extra territorial and extra protective - thats why the momma fish was charging at my kids faces.. and puffing up her gills-she looked at them as a threat to her new fry.. and having the older fry in there was a threat too which is why the parents were being so aggressive (if not homicidal !) towards the one remaining older fry. As it turns out, feeling very threatened can cause so much hostility and agression that the parents will actually eat thier own fry. I am thinking that the first fry that they ever had ened up being eaten as well because of all the extra attention that was being givin via my kids having thier faces pressed against the glass constantly! This has happened a few times with our fish as well. I have 2 mature JD’s and they have been a pair for as long as I have had them – i took them in when it’s previous owners had to move out of state. This was about 3.5 years ago. I knew very little about thier breeding habits and was very surprised to see tiny little semi translucent eggs deposited on the rocks. A few days later, I had my wigglers and was thrilled. My kids were thrilled as well and had thier faces pressed up to the glass half the day to see the fry.
What we didnt seem to pay attention to though, was the adult female charging towards our faces and puffing up her gills !
within a few short day all the fry were gone and we didnt kmnow why. It was a good year or so before they had more fry. this time I started to frantically search all over the internet as soon as the eggs were deposited … looking for ways to ensure these fry would survive. Never did I suspect that the parents had eaten thier babies- I assumed they just died and mysteriously dissapeared somewhere. These fry lasted a wee bit longer- we went on vacation 2 days after they were hatched- unfortunately the pet sitter ( for my cats and fish) wasnt paying a whole lot of attention to my fish care instructions, she WAY overfed them – I mean WAY overfed them- their entire 10 oz.container of pellets was dumped into that tank in a week- when we got home we were horrified to see the tank so filthy and the water so brown and cloudy that we could barely see our 2 mature fish, so I am pretty certain that the water quality is what did it that time…. next time was about 6 months ago. We had a pretty successful run, and after about 4 weeks we had 5 fry left- robust and healthy. we were looking into getting them their own tank, but we were too slow and by week 5 just one remained. this is around the time that momand dad fish had more fry. mom and dad became super agressive towards my singular young fry that was left. I mean, really really aggressive. to make matters worse, my kids had themselves parked a few inches in front of the glass, again to watch the new fry . within 24 hours of the new fry hatching they were all gone- EATEN by mom and dad!
I was horrified! as it turns out, 2 factors were involved. the first one, the kids were aggitating them- and making them feel extra territorial and extra protective – thats why the momma fish was charging at my kids faces.. and puffing up her gills-she looked at them as a threat to her new fry.. and having the older fry in there was a threat too which is why the parents were being so aggressive (if not homicidal !) towards the one remaining older fry. As it turns out, feeling very threatened can cause so much hostility and agression that the parents will actually eat thier own fry. I am thinking that the first fry that they ever had ened up being eaten as well because of all the extra attention that was being givin via my kids having thier faces pressed against the glass constantly!

]]> By: paul miller http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-43 paul miller Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:50:22 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-43 i myself am torn between three fish as my favorite, the depsey ,red devil and last but certainly not least the red tail catfish. i will say dempseys and red devils do make a hell of a pair as long as u get them young and around the same size the red devil is a tad more agresive but dont evr put them in with the cat they eat everything my red tail ate two full grown oscars before i got him out of my tank leaving me with only my dempsy red devil and red belly paranah in a 250 gallon tank but for a dempsey u want to get big fish and very agresive fish and hope for the best they like their space but red devils are a good way to go it makes for a very active tank i will tell u that lol i myself am torn between three fish as my favorite, the depsey ,red devil and last but certainly not least the red tail catfish. i will say dempseys and red devils do make a hell of a pair as long as u get them young and around the same size the red devil is a tad more agresive but dont evr put them in with the cat they eat everything my red tail ate two full grown oscars before i got him out of my tank leaving me with only my dempsy red devil and red belly paranah in a 250 gallon tank but for a dempsey u want to get big fish and very agresive fish and hope for the best they like their space but red devils are a good way to go it makes for a very active tank i will tell u that lol

]]> By: Amber http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-41 Amber Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:37:31 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-41 This article makes the raising of a Jack Dempsey sound very difficult. Had I read it before purchasing mine, I might have selected a different species and missed out on a great fish. I don't intend that as criticism. Readers should be aware that many of the statements are generalizations; don't be afraid to take on a JD. I am a complete novice when it comes to Cichlids; my partner is nearly so. About ten months ago, we bought a couple of Firemouth Cichlid--about 2.5 inches long--and put them in a 29-gallon tank with rocks, wood, and a heater. They did very poorly for the first several weeks, spending most of their time cowering in the bottom of the tank and barely eating. We installed a pump on the undergravel filter and an aerator, and we added a few other non-Cichlid fish. One of the Firemouths died, and we replaced it with a JD. The JD was very aggressive from the moment we put it in the tank, and it dominated the other Cichlid. We had read that Cichlids would establish territories, and we thought that perhaps our Firemouth was a defective fish, so we then added a Green Terror. The GT turned out to be "defective" too. Long story short, over the months we have cycled through many fish, but that JD has persisted and is now 7+ inches long. Nearly all of the other fish we've added have disappeared (probably down the JD's gullet), but the JD is still going strong. I acknowledge that our tank is on the small size and will eventually need to be upgraded, but for the time being it seems to be sufficient. The JD shares it with a 4-inch Plecostomus, and they don't get in each other's way. The tank has several plants in it, and the JD has not molested them. In addition to the undergravel filter, heater, and aerator, the tank is equipped with a waterfall filter. I change about 5 gallons of water once a week. The JD is very active and appears healthy. His diet consists of brine shrimp, earth worms, and the occasional scrap of chicken, beef, or mussel; he consumes everything with gusto and does not require any time to acclimate to new food items. He bites fingers and test-strips and anything else that is introduced suddenly to the surface of his tank. This is my first and only JD; perhaps he is abnormally robust and intrepid. I think that the bottom line is that JD's are not hard to raise as long as you give them plenty of space to themselves; don't expect to have a diverse community tank, and don't expect a JD to behave itself in mixed company. They don't necessarily require a mondo tank, and you shouldn't be afraid to add plants. Just keep the JD's tank clean and warm, and don't get attached to any other living things that you add to it. This article makes the raising of a Jack Dempsey sound very difficult. Had I read it before purchasing mine, I might have selected a different species and missed out on a great fish. I don’t intend that as criticism. Readers should be aware that many of the statements are generalizations; don’t be afraid to take on a JD.

I am a complete novice when it comes to Cichlids; my partner is nearly so. About ten months ago, we bought a couple of Firemouth Cichlid–about 2.5 inches long–and put them in a 29-gallon tank with rocks, wood, and a heater. They did very poorly for the first several weeks, spending most of their time cowering in the bottom of the tank and barely eating. We installed a pump on the undergravel filter and an aerator, and we added a few other non-Cichlid fish. One of the Firemouths died, and we replaced it with a JD.

The JD was very aggressive from the moment we put it in the tank, and it dominated the other Cichlid. We had read that Cichlids would establish territories, and we thought that perhaps our Firemouth was a defective fish, so we then added a Green Terror. The GT turned out to be “defective” too. Long story short, over the months we have cycled through many fish, but that JD has persisted and is now 7+ inches long. Nearly all of the other fish we’ve added have disappeared (probably down the JD’s gullet), but the JD is still going strong.

I acknowledge that our tank is on the small size and will eventually need to be upgraded, but for the time being it seems to be sufficient. The JD shares it with a 4-inch Plecostomus, and they don’t get in each other’s way. The tank has several plants in it, and the JD has not molested them. In addition to the undergravel filter, heater, and aerator, the tank is equipped with a waterfall filter. I change about 5 gallons of water once a week.

The JD is very active and appears healthy. His diet consists of brine shrimp, earth worms, and the occasional scrap of chicken, beef, or mussel; he consumes everything with gusto and does not require any time to acclimate to new food items. He bites fingers and test-strips and anything else that is introduced suddenly to the surface of his tank.

This is my first and only JD; perhaps he is abnormally robust and intrepid. I think that the bottom line is that JD’s are not hard to raise as long as you give them plenty of space to themselves; don’t expect to have a diverse community tank, and don’t expect a JD to behave itself in mixed company. They don’t necessarily require a mondo tank, and you shouldn’t be afraid to add plants. Just keep the JD’s tank clean and warm, and don’t get attached to any other living things that you add to it.

]]> By: Gene Saunders http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-33 Gene Saunders Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:34:18 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-33 My favorite fish. I have loved these since the 1960's. I used to have a male Dempsey that I kept in his own tank. He would "dance" around excitedly whenever I came into the room and jump 1/2 inch out of the water to take food out of my fingers! Very beautiful, very smart, and very hardy fish, but not recommended to be kept except with other large Cichlids. My favorite fish. I have loved these since the 1960’s. I used to have a male Dempsey that I kept in his own tank. He would “dance” around excitedly whenever I came into the room and jump 1/2 inch out of the water to take food out of my fingers! Very beautiful, very smart, and very hardy fish, but not recommended to be kept except with other large Cichlids.

]]> By: Sharyn http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-32 Sharyn Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:01:04 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-32 Why do they bite each other? I have 4 jack Dempseys and one of them always chases and locks lips with another one. Poor fishy looks stressed! Why do they pick on that one? Please help! Why do they bite each other? I have 4 jack Dempseys and one of them always chases and locks lips with another one. Poor fishy looks stressed! Why do they pick on that one? Please help!

]]> By: Dave http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Dave Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:27:52 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-31 Brilliant write up Jack, I have been researching Jack Dempsey's for some time now, This is the best I have seen so far. Very informative and easy to understand for the reader. Thank you. Brilliant write up Jack, I have been researching Jack Dempsey’s for some time now, This is the best I have seen so far.
Very informative and easy to understand for the reader.
Thank you.

]]> By: Mathew http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Mathew Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:24:56 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-29 I have a pair of Jack Dempsey's and it spawned 3 times in the last 7 months. Last week Dempsey's ate all of their babies. Do you know why? I have a pair of Jack Dempsey’s and it spawned 3 times in the last 7 months. Last week Dempsey’s ate all of their babies. Do you know why?

]]> By: derek kearns http://jackdempseycichlid.com/general/information-about-care-for-jack-dempsey-cichlid-fish/comment-page-1/#comment-28 derek kearns Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:33:13 +0000 http://jackdempseycichlid.com/?p=3#comment-28 looking to keep jd with green terror u reckon they be fine two males 240 litre tank or maybe a texas ciclid with the jd what u think? looking to keep jd with green terror u reckon they be fine two males 240 litre tank or maybe a texas ciclid with the jd what u think?

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