Finally, JDs have laid Eggs again!

[Dragonis95]

...the biggest one is taking a break in front of the plant...
He looks like the smaller version of one of the males I sold last year...
Especially the triangular point pattern on his head... do you see it?
And even the tail starts to fill with speckles... really fast developing, almost creepy...
Only 3cm (1 inch) long and they propably will be better coloured than the ones you get in stores with 5cm (2 inches) and longer... took me more than a month to colour up my female I bought in a store...
And if I don´t find a really good looking male out there in the stores I will stay with my little ones here, because they look fantastic and I want more fantastic fish.

 

[AKBlueJacks]

I wouldn’t say that the females are always smaller. I have a new pair right now that I thought were both males when they we a little smaller because they were both growing so much faster than the rest of the ones they were with. They were both about the same size for quite a while. Now I think the female might even be a bit bigger than the male. I know they are a male and a female, because they produced a fertile spawn already.

 

[AKBlueJacks]

Here is a link to a video of them. They are the dark ones dancing in front of the glass the most.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rqwzxp87ozeeo5z/Video Jul 19, 11 01 44 PM.mov?dl=0

 

[Dragonis95]

Quick update,

Filter had a "Leck" and I just bought new tubes that don't lose water and a new beautiful male. Almost as big as my female. She will like him.
Pictures come when he is settled in in a few days

 

[Dragonis95]

alright, the first hour went well.
She comes close to him, but does not attack him. Might need some days to accept him but there is no real aggression.
Both are coloured light tan right now, with big black spots on the body.
No signs of dominance, no territiorial behaviour, they just don´t know how to get closer.
He seems to me to be wildcaught, is very thin and swims up and down the glass like crazy. His colour is very reddish, I never saw that in bred specimens... also he had a price of 8 € instead of 3 € of the last batch they had in store...
His head has a slight hump and his scales are coloured very well for his size. I´d guess he is 4 inch long. And he has teeth that are going to be much bigger than the ones of my old male.
I hope he settles in well and she accepts him after a while.
He does not chase any of the younger fish.
here he is...

 

[Deadliestviper7]

alright, the first hour went well.
She comes close to him, but does not attack him. Might need some days to accept him but there is no real aggression.
Both are coloured light tan right now, with big black spots on the body.
No signs of dominance, no territiorial behaviour, they just don´t know how to get closer.
He seems to me to be wildcaught, is very thin and swims up and down the glass like crazy. His colour is very reddish, I never saw that in bred specimens... also he had a price of 8 € instead of 3 € of the last batch they had in store...
His head has a slight hump and his scales are coloured very well for his size. I´d guess he is 4 inch long. And he has teeth that are going to be much bigger than the ones of my old male.
I hope he settles in well and she accepts him after a while.
He does not chase any of the younger fish.
here he is...
View attachment 1328452 View attachment 1328453

Awesome looking, will be a good addition to the gene pool once he thickens up

 

[Dragonis95]

Is it just me or is there a huge difference in the appearance between JDs that are bred in captivity like my old male and this one probably wildcaught or F1 with his remarkable red coloration?
You see the brown young fish in the background right?
They won't be this nice red colour right?
Not even grey in their base coloration... very sad...

Do you also think it is a wildcaught fish?
He is still very nervous and swims around like crazy. And he is way too thin for a bred specimen in my opinion.

I hope he settles in well and gets some meat on him so the female takes him as a new partner.
I separated the two just to be sure they don't fight over night.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Is it just me or is there a huge difference in the appearance between JDs that are bred in captivity like my old male and this one probably wildcaught or F1 with his remarkable red coloration?
You see the brown young fish in the background right?
They won't be this nice red colour right?
Not even grey in their base coloration... very sad...

Do you also think it is a wildcaught fish?
He is still very nervous and swims around like crazy. And he is way too thin for a bred specimen in my opinion.

I hope he settles in well and gets some meat on him so the female takes him as a new partner.
I separated the two just to be sure they don't fight over night.

Definitely looks wild caught, and yeah you ca. Often tell a wild from a wc fish.

Adding some dithers such as swordtails can help keep him calm

 

[Dragonis95]

Wow,
Thats cool. I never had wildcaught fish before.
How can I get him used to the food I feed? He tried the mealworms first, then he looked at the pellets. That was a clear sign he is used to live food and many proteins.
Swordtails you say? They get bigger than platys right? Because the platys I had were all eaten by the old male...
I will try that.
Thank you for these tips. I hope that helps the beauty to adjust to his new situation.

 

[Dragonis95]

little update,

I put them together for a few minutes and got some interesting shots of the wild behaviout of a Jack Dempsey.
He flirted very heavy, flaring and showing all his colours and shaking...
She watched it, nipped him in the sides and showed her fins to make clear she´s the bigger one.
Unfortunately she is not yet in love with him and chases him away when he doesn´t bite her first, so I separated them again and will try it a few more times today. If it does not work I will buy another female for him so the old female is no longer of interest for him.
Some shots of the scene.