Dempsey's wont grow

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masterhacker1989

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 6, 2011
5
0
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Wisconsin
So this may sound stupid but I have 2 dempsey's that i bought about 8 months ago, they are about 2.5" and i put in a 90gal tank, and they wont grow, they arent my first fish Ive had, I raised 2 Oscars from about 1" to 12" and 14" i still have one, the other died after like 13 years, and a Firemouth from a baby to about 6", anyways they eat, ph is right, nitrates and such are low, temp is fine, plenty of aeration/filtration, about 3 months ago i was given a pacu (about 2" when I got it) and another oscar (about 3") the pacu is currently about 11" and the Oscar is about 6"" and growing with no problem, but my Dempsey's still havent grown, is that normal for them to be so small? i was told they grow from like 6-10" so whats up with that, is there a dwarf variety of them or something?

anyways sorry if you think its a stupid question, but I was curious
THANKS!
 
There is a short body variety. As far as growth goes, I am surprised they haven't grown more and have no explanation for it. I had one JD myself which did not grow quick, but over 9 months it did grow about 3-4". Do you have any pics? Are you 100% sure they are JD's?
 
as i tell many people my fish get along fine, i have a red tailed shark, and that is the meanest fish I have, they never nip at each other (except the red tailed shark, its a ass) but its a bottom feeder and cant really bite, anyways my dempseys hang around my oscars and are always together, the firemouth kinds keeps to it self, and my pacu hangs out with my gouramis (no Ive never lost a fish due to it getting eaten) if you want to see a stressed out tank check out my buddy's he has a texas cichlid, dempseys, and a convict, and they are always fighting

I mean if i can keep gouramis in there and they havent had their "feelers" nipped off, there I'd say its a pretty gentle comunity, also if they are stressed then why do they hang out in groups, my buddy's fish all hide, as far away from each other as they can

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll269/masterhacker1989/Fishes2003.jpg

anyways that's the best picture i could get of one of them
 
like I said Ive never had trouble getting any fish to grow, Ive raised a bunch of different kinds, so these fish not growing is new to me, all other fish Ive had have grown like weeds
 
If they all are in the same tank that is your problem. Ive personally had a jd for about 8 months, alone in a 60 gallon and he was maybe 2" when i got him and now he is only about 5" or 6" so they grow relativley slow. Just feed a high quality pellet and some bloodworm snacks and beef heart if they will eat it
 
if ur doing everything the same as it seems you are then it must have something to do with their genetics
 
Weird, but, they are healthy and active and social, all the other fish are normal...Prolly just some weird JDs.
 
whats your water change schedule? and JDs arnt the best eaters expecially compaired to the oscar and pacu. i doubt they are getting enough food. maybe
 
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