Blue gene jack dempsey Breeding

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Dispatch273

Dispatch273

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 22, 2011
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I've had the BGJD's(they are paired up) together for about 1 1/2 months now. They are pretty skittish and love to hide in their clay pots. They are fed NLS as a staple and are supplemented with earthworms/bloodworms 1-2x a week. They have yet to spawn. Could this be because they need a more varied diet? Is it because they are too scared/skittish? Is it because they have only been together for a short time? They display to each other and both of their breeding tubes are visible but not completely out. Is there anything I can do to help them feel more comfortable? The tank they are in is a 55 gallon with a small albino bushy nose pleco and a male convict who does not bother them. It does not have a background although the tank is against a wall on the back and side. All of my fish live in my bedroom so it is not a high traffic area. Thank you for any information you guys can give me.
 
I assume that your BGJD pair is of breeding size. That being said, I am in the same boat as you. I have one pair of EBJD/BGJD and EBJD/Normal JD that are of breeding size in a divided 75g. Both display to each other and display towards the pair on the other side of the divider but no breeding takes place. Like yours, mine are also very skittish. I am changing 50% of the water weekly and have raised the temperature to 80 degrees, which seems to make them even more skittish, but no breeding.

Do you have a lot of pots/caves for them to choose from? Other breeders have suggested this to me.
 
Check your water parameters. This could be a factor.
I know my JD's would always spawn after a large water change. Try leaving the lights off and doing a water change that is a few degrees cooler than the tank water. This will simulate a rain, and could be their trigger. That always worked for me.
I never used pots, but provided rocks for them. If you partially bury a flat rock, and they clean it off and/or dig a pit beside it this could be a good indicator that they are ready to spawn.
Your food choice seems good, and I do not believe this is a factor.
As far as time together, I had a male JD that was 5" long, and later introduced a female that was 3.5" long and they spawned within a week, so I do not believe length of relationship will be a factor either.
The pleco could be a problem with the eggs, so keep an eye on it.
Hope this information helps. Good luck!
 
HokieFish said:
Check your water parameters. This could be a factor.
I know my JD's would always spawn after a large water change. Try leaving the lights off and doing a water change that is a few degrees cooler than the tank water. This will simulate a rain, and could be their trigger. That always worked for me.
I never used pots, but provided rocks for them. If you partially bury a flat rock, and they clean it off and/or dig a pit beside it this could be a good indicator that they are ready to spawn.
Your food choice seems good, and I do not believe this is a factor.
As far as time together, I had a male JD that was 5" long, and later introduced a female that was 3.5" long and they spawned within a week, so I do not believe length of relationship will be a factor either.
The pleco could be a problem with the eggs, so keep an eye on it.
Hope this information helps. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I actually just moved them into a 40 gallon breeder to them selves(4 giant danios for dithers) The set-up in this tank is much more natural, i.e. it has rocks and caves instead of flower pots. Today is my water change day so I'll try using slightly cooler water with the wc. My current parameters are as follows- Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrites 0ppm, Nitrates about 10ppm. The water is at 80* and the PH I'll have to check. Last I checked it though it was 7.6. Could the PH be an issue?
 
What tends to help me to entice my fish to breed is exactly like what Hokiefish wrote. I dont clean the water for 2-3 weeks. Then, I do a 50-60% water change. I add about 10-20 gallons of similar temp water, then pour in cold water to fill up the tank. Cold enough where you would not want to take a shower with. Especially with JD's, I also like to put in 2-3 smaller JD's in as dithers. For example, when I had my EBJD male (5inches) and female BG (4inches), I bought 3 one inch JD's from petsmart as dithers. Lastly...I dont even use lights for my tank. My apt at the time had one patio door and that was it. It gave enough light for me.

Good luck.

p.s. strangly, observe your fish when there is a storm about to come.
 
Ctrl_Alt_Dlt said:
What tends to help me to entice my fish to breed is exactly like what Hokiefish wrote. I dont clean the water for 2-3 weeks. Then, I do a 50-60% water change. I add about 10-20 gallons of similar temp water, then pour in cold water to fill up the tank. Cold enough where you would not want to take a shower with. Especially with JD's, I also like to put in 2-3 smaller JD's in as dithers. For example, when I had my EBJD male (5inches) and female BG (4inches), I bought 3 one inch JD's from petsmart as dithers. Lastly...I dont even use lights for my tank. My apt at the time had one patio door and that was it. It gave enough light for me.

Good luck.


p.s. strangly, observe your fish when there is a storm about to come.
Click to expand...


Thank you! I did the colder water change lastnight so we'll see what happens! I'll be sure to keep you guys updated :)
 
On a side not, when i first started my JD's I tried to do what C.A.D. suggected and added juvi JD's as dithers once with an estabilished pair and the Male decided to upgrade to a newer, younger model and left his mate for one of the dithers that i though was a poorly colored male. I was very careful to make sure there were no females in the dither groups from that point on.
 
yeah its a toss up but all the advice is right on. My pair bred but eggs where not fertilized . :irked: So

time to condition and be patient. but its usually when you dont care it happens and when you do care

the long wait.
 
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