Dempsey breeding advice needed

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mahsfish

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 19, 2012
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Calgary, AB
So I have 2 male dempseys that I would like to breed. I've been looking for female jd think I've found one around 4-4.5" they are 5-5.5"

The 2 males don't really get along. One is dominant. How should I go about trying to pair. As I'm not sure if I should put both males together then see who pairs but one fish might get injured. Or intro the female to only one male at a time to see. Or lastly divide the tank with the female in the middle and see who pays most interest.


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What size tank? Personally, I'd sell/return the subordinate JD and keep the nicer male for the female. Unless you have a large enough tank, the dominant male will likely harass and eventually kill the other male once they've paired up.
 
That's what I'm worried. About. It's 55 which is minimum for a jd pair according to what I've heard.

I was worried that the dominant male would be aggressive toward the female and if I got rid of the other male I'd be stuck again with a pair of fish I give to divide.


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mahsfish said:
That's what I'm worried. About. It's 55 which is minimum for a jd pair according to what I've heard.

I was worried that the dominant male would be aggressive toward the female and if I got rid of the other male I'd be stuck again with a pair of fish I give to divide.


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Click to expand...

My male isn't overly aggressive to my females and she's roughly 2/3 his size. JDs in my experience aren't the roughest on mates


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mahsfish said:
Okay. So how should I go about getting a pair with the female?


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They way I got my pair in all honesty I added my female to the tank and she just kinda started following the male around lol. Keep in mind this is in a 125 with other large cichlids to act as a outside threat to help them bond


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mahsfish said:
Okay. So how should I go about getting a pair with the female?
Click to expand...

I have a breeding pair of JD's (the fry from thier spawning are about 1/2 to 3/4" now). I had the female first...and the male was added later.

For them...it was love at first sight!:) The male is VERY dominant...and the female was VERY shy. But she loved him at first sight...and he didn't seem to mind either. It probably took them about 6 weeks of being together for them to spawn (but the female loved him & followed him everywhere within minutes of being put together).:)

Maybe it was good that she was shy...since maybe that minimized any aggressiveness he might have had towards her if she had been more aggressive towards him.

This is/was in a 55 gallon tank. The male is about 9-10"...the female is about 5-6". The male is about 3x-4x or more the females volume.

Here are some suggestions:

- place the male & female into a "new" tank. By new I mean a tank that has been rearranged to look different. So that if one of them was in that tank previously...neither one will be overly territorial at first.
- if you sense aggression when they are first put together...you could install a divider...so they can get used to each other (and the new tank) while separated. Then try having them together again without the divider.

But bottom line is. There are no guarantees that putting 1 male & 1 female together will automatically mean a pairing. So it's good you have two males...since if the first male doesn't get along with the female...you can always try the 2nd male (one male at a time).

p.s. It may even help to have a few "dither fish" in the tank as well. So if there is any agression between the male & female...it will be lessoned with the dither fish.
 
In nature a pair of JDs will set up a territory about 4'square, and chase any other cichlid intruder out of that zone.


Other males constantly attempt to dislodge the pair, and results in mouths full of fungus on many of the adult males from frequent lip locking.

They usually don't bother the live bearers that surround them at least 10-100 to 1, other than trying to eat the live bearers
 
So what male should I keep. Of I end up trading one male for a female. They are both very shy and sometimes skittish going into states of alarm if I do a movement too fast or startle them. The dominant male is the one that chases the other away. He is stockier and better looking. But shy and skittish. The other male is skinnier and not as good looking but still nice. He will come out more than the other but shy and skittish.


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As you can see by my pics from Mexico, JDs always have a very secure crevice or cave to dash into, and are always surrounded by dither fish, these factors keep them from being skittish.
In the confines of a small tank, it may be best to separate the 3 with the female in the center. The female will decide who the best suitor is. You then open the pairs divider, and keep the odd man out in the divided part (but still seen by the winner) of the tank, to give the alpha male something to charge at, and dispense energy against. This helps cement the pair bond, and keeps him from total focus on the female, and her from being killed if he gets too worked up.
 
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