Best way to introduce another dempsey (to breed)

[Blender345]

Hey guys, been looking through this forum for a few hours n decided to join. I have been thinking of breeding Jack Dempseys since my friend told me he knows someone who did it and it wasn't difficult.

At the moment I have a 90 gallon filtered by a rena xp3 with a single 6" female jack dempsey in it. I originally had 2 at about 2" each but one died kind of early on and I never replaced it. My main question is, if I would like to try to get a breeding pair, would I be better off buying 4 or so more jacks at 2" or try to find a single male around 4+ inches?

Would the female kill the smaller ones before she had a chance to pick a mate or even become interested? just looking for opinions since I'm not trying to spend over 15 bucks to find her a mate, but we'll see. Thanks in advance for your time and opinions.

 

[Gruff Master]

You can either find a male equal or larger in size of the female or growout a group and let them pair naturally. Just keep a watchful eye when attempting to introduce a larger male. Their could be some aggression. A temporary divider may be needed. IME JDs are not overly aggressive when bonding. Good luck to you!

 

[importracer]

My main question is, if I would like to try to get a breeding pair, would I be better off buying 4 or so more jacks at 2" or try to find a single male around 4+ inches?

Would the female kill the smaller ones before she had a chance to pick a mate or even become interested? just looking for opinions since I'm not trying to spend over 15 bucks to find her a mate, but we'll see. Thanks in advance for your time and opinions.

If you find a male that is in your $15, buy it.......Watch the pair for any fighting......If fighting persists, then seperate the pair with peice of plastic egg crate...........Usually the fish will get used to each other, but not all the time..........Best bet is purchasing three closest to the size of the female you have...........If you can, purchase some taget fish, such as Neon Tetra.........A dozen Tetra swimming about will definately take a lot of territorial rage from the existing female............

 

[Blender345]

you think the 12 cent feeder fish will suffice? figure i can buy like 20 of those as opposed to more 2 dollar tetras. would she kill smaller jd's if i bought them 2-3"? am i better off trying to find a larger male? I didnt see any jds at my local petco or petsmart, and when i do theyre usually smaller 2-3''. they sometimes have a larger one but none lately.

 

[Gruff Master]

I wouldn't add any feeder fish to an aquarium. They are usually kept in poor conditions and can introduce diseases to your aquarium. It is possible that your female will harm smaller JDs. I think it would be better to find a larger male through a vendor, MFK member, or Craigslist. They are pretty common fish to find. There is a store near me that has an 8" male that is recuperating from a beating by a Flowerhorn. If getting a large male becomes a problem, get a group of juveniles and let them pair on their own. Just don't house the juveniles with the large female. I'm sure you can find a large male JD from a member here. It may involve some shipping though if you can't find a local member that can help you.

 

[crisper]

I would just get rid of the female and grow out a group of 6-8 and let them pair off. It won't take them long to reach a breeding size.

 

[Blender345]

I'm rather fond of the female or else id start over. I would buy a big male but would rather find one local. Also, if I were to get rid of the big female, I could also rethink a whole new species for the tank. I was looking into what I can keep with a breeding pair of jack dempsies in a 90 but figure theyd kill it anyways. I was looking at the smaller cichlids as well, for a side tank (project) to keep maybe blue rams or some kind of dwarf cichlid that can breed easily or maybe even a kind of smaller type of community tank (20 gallon). Figure 3 blue rams with a few neon tetras, but this is all future talk after I get set with the jack dempsey thing.

What do you suggest I do with the giant female? I would feel bad getting rid of her, I wouldn't mind maybe trading her for a smaller pair of jacks or something? any ideas? She is a pretty girl with nice colors and Ive had her over a year or so. Plus the tank would be totally empty without her. Anything I could maybe add to it along with her? Green terrors or any other type of easily bred fish that she may not kill? just asking and if nothing comes up I'll just wait to find her a nice guy or maybe try to raise one in another tank until its a decent size.

So many options (thinking of giving her up and restarting the tank is overwhelming with all the possibilities, any suggestions for this route or ability to incorporate her into a community type tank with another breeding pair)? Just thoughts, any responses are appreciate as I won't be jumping on anything right now unless I find a nice big male (I posted up on craigslist, hopefully there's a local breeder who can help me out).