Blue Jack

[El Gato.]

So I go to one of my favorite fish stores and stumble upon a Blue Jack Dempsey... Id never seen one before and it caught my eye! Its about 6" at the moment and just a stunning fish... So I couldnt resist and just had to take it home... I was excited and started looking up info on care and habits and what not only to discover they have a reputation for dying young??? Great!!! Mine is already 6" and probably not gonna be around for long... Has anyone raised one to adult hood? Anyvadvice??

 

[Niki_up]

So I go to one of my favorite fish stores and stumble upon a Blue Jack Dempsey... Id never seen one before and it caught my eye! Its about 6" at the moment and just a stunning fish... So I couldnt resist and just had to take it home... I was excited and started looking up info on care and habits and what not only to discover they have a reputation for dying young??? Great!!! Mine is already 6" and probably not gonna be around for long... Has anyone raised one to adult hood? Anyvadvice??

View attachment 1447139

Congrats beautiful fish!
I raised one to be two years old and 9 inches long. He died my mistakes. I still regret his death. It’s not an impossible feat, I find they do much better as a single fish until about the 6 inch mark then I added smaller fish and mollies to the tank.

my best advise is if it stops eating don’t hesitate to treat it with metroplex for the longer it goes without food the more doomed it will be.

don’t mix it with aggressive fish and you should be fine with this Jack as the centrepiece fish.

 

[Jacob92677]

I was shocked to find 1in ebjd at petco today for $3.99 and there were actually super nice
Loooong time ago I raised one up from 1 to 5 inch then sold it off I personally never had a problem with them

 

[El Gato.]

Congrats beautiful fish!
I raised one to be two years old and 9 inches long. He died my mistakes. I still regret his death. It’s not an impossible feat, I find they do much better as a single fish until about the 6 inch mark then I added smaller fish and mollies to the tank.

my best advise is if it stops eating don’t hesitate to treat it with metroplex for the longer it goes without food the more doomed it will be.

don’t mix it with aggressive fish and you should be fine with this Jack as the centrepiece fish.

Congrats beautiful fish!
I raised one to be two years old and 9 inches long. He died my mistakes. I still regret his death. It’s not an impossible feat, I find they do much better as a single fish until about the 6 inch mark then I added smaller fish and mollies to the tank.

my best advise is if it stops eating don’t hesitate to treat it with metroplex for the longer it goes without food the more doomed it will be.

don’t mix it with aggressive fish and you should be fine with this Jack as the centrepiece fish.

Thanks for the feed back... So its true then they don't live very long. Hopefully I can enjoy this beautiful EBJD for a little while. Most likely my first and last one ..

 

[Niki_up]

Thanks for the feed back... So its true then they don't live very long. Hopefully I can enjoy this beautiful EBJD for a little while. Most likely my first and last one ..

They can actually live as long as any other Jack as long as proper care is take and you keep you nitrates low.

mine was a freak accident where my dog ran at my cat and my cat jumped on my tank knocking an open little of prazipro into the tank..the commotion scared the Jack who swam through the concentrated prazipro and he didn’t make it. I assume it burned his gills and he succumbed to his gill damage. I have no doubt I would still have him to this day.

 

[El Gato.]

I was shocked to find 1in ebjd at petco today for $3.99 and there were actually super nice
Loooong time ago I raised one up from 1 to 5 inch then sold it off I personally never had a problem with them

Hey thanks for the input! So you've had success with them... That's good to here... I paid 100 bucks for it .. Its prob between 6"-7" but hasn't been too hungry since I brought it home... Hopefully just a little stress...

 

[El Gato.]

They can actually live as long as any other Jack as long as proper care is take and you keep you nitrates low.

mine was a freak accident where my dog ran at my cat and my cat jumped on my tank knocking an open little of prazipro into the tank..the commotion scared the Jack who swam through the concentrated prazipro and he didn’t make it. I assume it burned his gills and he succumbed to his gill damage. I have no doubt I would still have him to this day.

Ok this is encouraging! Im gonna just pay extra attention to his tank levels... He has his own tank. . i put him in my community tank at first but He looked super stressed so I moved it to another setup... Thanks!

 

[Niki_up]

Ok this is encouraging! Im gonna just pay extra attention to his tank levels... He has his own tank. . i put him in my community tank at first but He looked super stressed so I moved it to another setup... Thanks!

Welcome and good luck! Keep us posted

 

[Chris2485]

I've owned them a couple times and they can live just as long as normal dempsey's they are just not nearly as hardy. I think the issue that you are seeing with them dieing young is actually just trying to raise them to get to 3"+. After that with good water and mostly non aggressive tank mates, you should be good. Good Luck and add some pic's as it settles in.

 

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

Beautiful Jack Dempsey! From what i'm seeing you're a bit luckier since you got him once he got past the 3+ inch mark and they're usually a bit hardier since he's older. Please keep us posted on if he continues to grow, and his lifespan!