Dempsey breeding question

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A

Andrewtfw

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
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When attempting to breed dempseys, is it better to have one pair in a tank or multiple males and females? I have a small group of males and females, all breeding size together. They seem to be passive towards each other for the most part, but are not showing interest in breeding.
 
Andrewtfw;4314141; said:
When attempting to breed dempseys, is it better to have one pair in a tank or multiple males and females? I have a small group of males and females, all breeding size together. They seem to be passive towards each other for the most part, but are not showing interest in breeding.
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It's best to have a pair, but to get pair you first need to have a few fish, and then out of those fish a pair will form. I don't know what it is with Dempseys but I had a hard time getting a pair as well.
 
They don't seem at all interested in breeding, but otherwise are doing great. I think I will add some caves to the tank in the form of terra cotta pots and see if that does not help.
 
Andrewtfw;4314625; said:
They don't seem at all interested in breeding, but otherwise are doing great. I think I will add some caves to the tank in the form of terra cotta pots and see if that does not help.
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Hmm.. what size are they exactly?
 
Try adding some live foods maybe?

Also, try to find out what season they spawn in. Many cichlids and other fishes will spawn after a large water change with slightly cooler water (rainy season). However, salvinis spawn during the dry season, and mine spawned after I didn't change the water for 2 weeks.

Good luck!
 
They are all between 3"-6", with the largest being an EBJD. All of the others are regular dempseys, though I have two BGJD pairs coming next week from Fishfarm. There is one 4.5" female who is black most of the time. She is the most aggressive of them all and seems interested in the EBJD but he pays her no mind. Maybe I will relocate the two and see if that changes anything. I do a 50% change every week with slightly cooler water. Their colors improve right after the change, but that's about it. I will try to feed them more live food as suggested. At least all are healthy.
 
I had a pair of Dempseys that always bred. Healthy food, water changes and warm temps kept them in the mood. If you have too many fish in a tank sometimes pairs will not form and if they do they will not always breed. My old male Dempsey had a choice of two females. Once the pair formed I removed the other female.
 
Andrewtfw;4314773; said:
There is one 4.5" female who is black most of the time. She is the most aggressive of them all and seems interested in the EBJD but he pays her no mind..
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I have a pair and the female turns black wen they spawn.
 
Give them time to pair off and breed, they are still young.
 
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