Electric Blue Jack Dempsey Breeding

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I think we support the same theory - excessive inbreeding is bad… and acknowledge the same reality – Blue Dempseys have been excessively inbred… so I’m by no means arguing…

I’ve bred a lot of Dempseys and a lot of Blue Gene Dempseys… I cannot tell them apart…

I’ve also heard a few people who claim they can tell them apart try to explain the differences to me. Every time I’ve found examples in my own tanks that conflict with their reasoning. I am not going to be bold enough to say others cannot tell the difference, but thus far no others have been able to explain to me how to tell the difference without me promptly finding conflicting examples. But I hope I’m wrong and I/we eventually have a bullet proof way to distinguish them.

I do agree that the offspring of BGxBG pairs seem stronger than the offspring of BluexBG pairs…

I do agree that since Blue Dempseys have previously been excessively inbred, those of us breeding them today should avoid inbreeding and should create Blue Genes using the strongest Blues and the strongest Standards we can find, using Wild Caught fish if/when possible.

I do suggest when we make Blue Genes we should be very selective as to which ones to use as breeders. Not every Dempsey born is meant to survive to adulthood, much less become ‘breeding stock’. Most are meant to be food for their big brothers/sisters…

I do suggest that everyone planning to breed Blue Dempseys make their own Blue Genes using the strongest Blue and the strongest Standard they can find. By more and more of us creating Blue Genes we are widening the potential gene pool for future Blue Dempseys. Since selling you my Blue Genes would prevent you from making your own new strain, I’d be a damn hypocrite to do so… ;)

Best of Luck to all…
 
Since Mekong’ s original questions seem to have been answered and the thread has slowed down… I thought I’d ask a question under the same topic…

Are any MFK members making progress toward breeding Blue Dempseys?

I have been working towards this goal for about 2.5 years and in the last few months have began producing Blues from parents I expect to produce high quality offspring. I’ve met many failures amongst my successes and this has been a longer harder process than I anticipated, but I’ve enjoyed the experience none the less.

I’ll add a more thorough review of where I’m at with pictures soon.
 
I've been at it about a year now with no luck. I can't seem to raise any juvenile EBJDs to breeding age. They all die off due to various ailments. Most just stop eating and die. I know how to breed them and what to do if they do breed (see high and mighty posts above); growing them out to breeding age seems to be the problem.

I recently acquired two more juveniles and I'm attempting to grow them out. I ordered a UV sterilizer and a pump to combat some green water problems in an unrelated tank I have. I think I'll attach the sterilizer to the grow out tank instead and see if that helps with their survival.

I think the problem I'm having with keeping them alive is that the ones I have access to all come from one breeder. His stock is inbred crap; it must be. Either that or I'm not as skilled in fish husbandry as I thought I was, but that can't be it!

Just yesterday luck stuck me. In the classifieds I found someone giving away a 4.5" adult. I immediately scooped it up and brought it home. It was in a tank with a bunch of full grown african cichlids and they were beating the hell out of it. His fins are all raggedy, he looks pretty beat up, and he's scared of his own shadow. I'm keeping him in a quarantine tank for now because I thought I saw worms floating in the bag I had him in. I'll medicate him and hopefully with some pampering he will be ready to start pimping off soon.

Said adult. I said he but for all I can tell at the moment it might be she. It started eating just a while ago so I'm optimistic.

 
I came across a guy who's selling 2" EBJD for 25 bucks ea..

But the problem with his stock is that.. they do not seem very blue...
I dont know if his are newly breed.. but he said that he's got 10 of them left..
I dont know much about his breed of fish...

Can anyone tell me if they will change color gradually??
and if these breeds are worth it?

12c1351g1ZZZZZZZZZ8a364955cbb53ea1440.jpg
 
I have four 3-5" EBJDs. Do you guys think they are past the stage where they will die of unknown causes? I'm fairly new to fishkeeping, so my skills probably aren't the best.
 
How blue are your 3-5"? I'm curious, cuz the ones i like to get are sorta semi blue/yellow/green..
 
They all vary. One is significantly more blue than any other ones. One looks almost like a normal jack dempsey. The other two I just bought yesterday, so their coloration may not have come in, but already show more coloration than the one that does not have a lot. I only have a cell phone camera, and the pictures are mediocre at best. If I can get some good pics I will post them in here.

Also, maybe because mine is older, but mine does not look anything like the picture you posted. The blue is much darker.
 
Thanks for the reply trashcan...

Too bad your at the other side of the country.. otherwise i would ask where u get ur EBJDs.. Also, thanks for the confirmation on your fishes color.. I was a bit hesitate on getting them because they were not as blue...
btw: how much did u pay for them?
 
They were $50 a a pair :). Only one store out of 5-6 local stores has them, and I guess that's not a bad price. Another store offered to order some smaller ones for $60 each.
 
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