as far as my grow out tank is concerned. I starte with some black pinks green and blue gravel as My dauters required it. I also took some Marble and made a faily secure structure for hiding. no plants yet I also started some feeder fish to get the tank cycling. filter is nothing special but I think will be suficient.
Electric Blue Jack Dempsey Project
- Thread starter oops
- Start date
love The Jack Dempseys;5123738; said:the lighter the substrate/gravel the lighter the color and vice versa. I find that keeping the temp around 84-86 keeps them swimming a lot and disease free, maybe even darker at times. and if they hide a lot when small dont worry they WILL grow out of it eventually. mines about 3 and a half inches and has a great personality. However they are very slow growers, i suggest ALOof frozen bloodworms and beef heart, A high amount of protein will keep them growing faster and help with coloration!
I put some pics of mine so you can see how they look at 84 degrees and with natural gravel. Good luck with your project
Im excited tro see the pics soon
This is not a good idea. IME with them, EBJD are much more sensitive and weaker than the regular JD. Beef heart is a bad idea to feed any fish, but it's twice as bad if you're dealing with an EBJD. It will help with growth but these fish are going to grow slow regardless, so you need to know that going in and accept it or go another route. And as far as high protein helping with coloration, I've never heard that before. Stick to a good pellet with plenty of vegetable matter (I used NLS with mine and it worked great) and for treats go with spirulina brine shrimp and MAYBE the occasional blood worms. Vegetables themselves aren't a bad idea either.
If you have patience with this fish they can turn into real stunners, just takes some time. Good luck.
The tap water is a problem with both a high pH and ammonia level. I would say that you'd have to do something with RO even if it were only to mix the two. And you'd need to treat for the ammonia as well. Makes for a lot of extra aggravation.
rmcder;5147176; said:
I am Half way through my Nitrogen cycle at the moment and I have decided to Mix RO and Tap At about 50/50. this Brings My PH down to 7.2-7.4 and the ammonia is diluted as well but still a little High.
How do you Treat for ammonia?
Is ammonia really that much of a concern because the natural cycle reached 2-5PPM?
I have also heard that Water changes are not a good Idea with the EBJD. This will cause Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate to be at High Levels? I new I should have paid attention in chemistry class.
Any thoughts on Fish Selection???
Several points to cover... Firstly, ammonia should be ZERO; it's a very dangerous poison. Nitrate can be tolerated to a point. The processing of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate is key to keeping healthy fish. You need some process that results in (mostly) zero ammonia and nitrite readings.oops;5161964; said:
There ARE additives that will reduce ammonia levels, and if you cannot get a natural cycle going that will quickly bring the levels to zero, then you will have to look at those additives for the water changes. Maybe you can avoid that.
EBJDs, especially young/small ones, need very clean conditions. They are prone to parasites, so the 'floor' of the tank needs to be kept very clean. While you don't want to do anything to upset the nitrogen cycle in the tank, good clean water (meaning low ammonia/nitrites/nitrates) is always a positive thing.
So... You're operating at a bit of a disadvantage on your water changes. Maybe your bacteria will be able to process impurities quickly enough. That is the optimal situation. Alternatively, a setup with plants that will 'fix' the nitrates and get them out of the water naturally will reduce your need to change water, and that would sidestep the tapwater issues. You kind of have to see how things go.
Fish selection... Mild-mannered fish are safest; your fish may be the exception for ebjds, but most seem to be very docile. Avoid pairs. If possible, avoid stuff bigger than the ebjd. I have a Honduran red point with mine and no problems. Multispinosa (rainbow cichlid) would be fine. Firemouth could be trouble; they tend to be bullies.
First of all, you must keep in mind that much of the advice you have and will receive (including mine) is opinion. Much of what has been offered to you so far has come from people reading other opinions and taking them as fact. An almost equal amount come from people's individual experiences. All I can offer are my own experiences.
I have not found that size makes any difference when purchasing an EBJD. I have heard these tales of EBJDs being weak and not making it past the 4" mark. I have only encountered this with one batch of EBJD... the only ones I bought without seeing first. They came from a reputable breeder/seller but it was apparant right away something
was wrong as all had elongated faces with the "beak" look to them. All died at about the 3" mark within days of each other.
Outside of this, I currently own four EBJDs 5"-7". Only one was purchased "large". The others were grown out. In addition, I currently have 9 EBJDs that are 1"-1.5" in a planted community tank. My adult EBJDs are housed with regular JDs for hopes of breeding. My sub adults are in a community tank with large barbs, severums, a true parrot, an oscar, etc.
All of my tanks get 50% water changes weekly except for the 125, which gets bi-weekly changes. I feed mostly Spectrum, but I also use flakes from Ken's Fish for the growouts a few times per week. I use bloodworms as a treat and never feed beefheart, simply because it is messy.
I have no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate issues in any of my tanks thanks to large filters and frequent water changes. I feed once daily and tend to skip a day or two each week. I don't worry about the Ph anymore. I make sure the Kh is at least 2 to keep the Ph stable for the week before the next change. I do not have a UV sterilizer on any tank, though I do own one just in case. My recipes for success are as follows:
125g: misc cichlids, large barbs, 2X 5" EBJDs. 2X FX5 filters, 50% wc bi-weekly
75g: 2X 6-7" EBJDs, 4 silver dollars, 4 jewels, one catfish. 1X FX5 filter, weekly 50% change
75g: 2X 3-4" EBJD, misc cichlids. 1X FX5 filter, weekly 50% wc
40B: Planted, 4 large angels, 2X 2" Keyholes, 1X 3" Curviceps, misc. tetras and corys, 9X 1-1.5" EBJD. Fluval 405 filter, weekly 50% wc.
I wish you much success in your plan and hope that you keep people posted so that we may learn from you as much as you will learn from us.
I have not found that size makes any difference when purchasing an EBJD. I have heard these tales of EBJDs being weak and not making it past the 4" mark. I have only encountered this with one batch of EBJD... the only ones I bought without seeing first. They came from a reputable breeder/seller but it was apparant right away something
was wrong as all had elongated faces with the "beak" look to them. All died at about the 3" mark within days of each other.
Outside of this, I currently own four EBJDs 5"-7". Only one was purchased "large". The others were grown out. In addition, I currently have 9 EBJDs that are 1"-1.5" in a planted community tank. My adult EBJDs are housed with regular JDs for hopes of breeding. My sub adults are in a community tank with large barbs, severums, a true parrot, an oscar, etc.
All of my tanks get 50% water changes weekly except for the 125, which gets bi-weekly changes. I feed mostly Spectrum, but I also use flakes from Ken's Fish for the growouts a few times per week. I use bloodworms as a treat and never feed beefheart, simply because it is messy.
I have no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate issues in any of my tanks thanks to large filters and frequent water changes. I feed once daily and tend to skip a day or two each week. I don't worry about the Ph anymore. I make sure the Kh is at least 2 to keep the Ph stable for the week before the next change. I do not have a UV sterilizer on any tank, though I do own one just in case. My recipes for success are as follows:
125g: misc cichlids, large barbs, 2X 5" EBJDs. 2X FX5 filters, 50% wc bi-weekly
75g: 2X 6-7" EBJDs, 4 silver dollars, 4 jewels, one catfish. 1X FX5 filter, weekly 50% change
75g: 2X 3-4" EBJD, misc cichlids. 1X FX5 filter, weekly 50% wc
40B: Planted, 4 large angels, 2X 2" Keyholes, 1X 3" Curviceps, misc. tetras and corys, 9X 1-1.5" EBJD. Fluval 405 filter, weekly 50% wc.
I wish you much success in your plan and hope that you keep people posted so that we may learn from you as much as you will learn from us.
Any advice on the above Question "Regarding EBJD selection"? I am getting close to picking my little homies and would like some advice on how to determine the Health, Quality and Sex of the EBJD.
I hope to have some Pics of my little grow out tank soon. I have to make some decor adjustments and I should be almost ready? any advice on EBJD selection would be apprieciated.
Thank you all for your Advice.
