Electric Blue Jack Dempsey Breeding - Pairing Adults (male aggression)

[CTC]

Hi, This is my first post. If I post in the wrong thread or something please let me know!

I have a male electric blue jack dempsey that is about 6 inches long and a female blue gene jack dempsey that is about 4 inches long. I would like to breed these fish and recently introduced them as adults (Im aware that starting with around 6 young fish and letting them pair off is the best way to do it, but I am taking another route).

This female has been introduced to a more docile larger electric blue male (7 inches) in the past and has turned the black breeding coat, but shortly after the large male passed away so there was no spawn.

The 6 inch male has spawned within the last 2 months with a different female (same size) but upon moving homes recently she did not make the journey :'(

I would like these fish to pair (I understand this is somewhat out of my control) and would like to do whatever I can to reduce the males aggression. I separated the fish with an egg crate divider in a 65 gallon. I can tell the male is still hitting up against the divider and trying to get to her (aggressively). She is always cleaning her side and has turned a darker color almost as if she would like to breed.

Should I wait a few days and try again? I tried rearranging the tank and seeing if that would cause some sort of shift in behavior and it did not. There are flower pots and flat rocks available to them. Should I cut a small enough hole in the divider to let the female decide if she wants to venture to his side? (though this scares me that the male will try to go through and get stuck) add dithers? a mirror for the male to fight? I dont know! any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance! I would love if I could reduce the males aggression safely with any of the methods that have worked for you guys.

I have tested my tank parameters and all are normal. I do water changes twice per week. The tank is 80 degrees at the moment.

 

[Red Cichlids]

This is just a brainstorm: try turning the temp down to 74-75 degrees for a week or two to let them get used to each other at while at a slower metabolic rate. Lower temp means less aggression and breeding behavior which might be good for the introduction. I often use target/dither fish when trying to get pairs to form and get along. Maybe giant danios or tinfoil barbs?

 

[CTC]

Thanks for the advice. Sorry I am just seeing this for the first time. Since this post I have added 5 other 3 inch females to the tank. Though they are young they have spread out a lot of the males aggression. He still is pretty territorial but only nips at the females (not nearly as aggressive as when the two were together alone). Sometimes he isn’t aggressive at all. I turned the temp down from 81° to 78° today and will slowly work it lower to reduce aggression in hopes that he will pair with the larger mature female. He seemed somewhat interested in her today but she was preoccupied. She got sick shortly after the original post (probably from the stress the male was causing) and has just started to look better and eat again. Maybe once she’s healthy she will be more interest?

 

[YankeeJack]

Once she is healed up, remove the divider. Watch them closely, b/c those other dithers are gonna get chased by both and will most likely end up in a corner.

Agree with lowering the temp, no need for it to be 81, mid 70's is fine.

Make sure there are plenty of hiding places, where the fish can get out of direct line of sight.

If you see them pair up and the female get black, the dithers are going to be at high risk for death.

 

[CTC]

Once she is healed up, remove the divider. Watch them closely, b/c those other dithers are gonna get chased by both and will most likely end up in a corner.

Agree with lowering the temp, no need for it to be 81, mid 70's is fine.

Make sure there are plenty of hiding places, where the fish can get out of direct line of sight.

If you see them pair up and the female get black, the dithers are going to be at high risk for death.

Hi sorry for the confusion, the divider has already been removed. The female started healing once the dithers were added. The male will chase and nip all of the fish but only briefly, so she has been under considerably less stress. Thank you for the advice though.

right now the tank is fairly peaceful. The female has not been aggressive to the dithers at all. She even enjoys swimming with all of them. The male patrols the tank and will sometimes ignore all of the females, and sometimes (usually around feeding) chase or nip at them for a short period of time. I’m hoping once the female is back to 100% the pair will bond. The other females are too young.