I have 2 JD in a 40 gallon tank. Around December I will move them to a 55 gallon tank I already have setup. I'm trying to give them a proper diet, so I'm trying to give them spinach. The bigger of the two is 3 in, and shows slight interest in the spinach (but doesn't eat it), while the smaller of the two (2 1/4 in) completely ignores it. I'm on the verge of giving them the herbivore flakes I give my Africans. Any advice?
How to get Jack Dempseys on spinach?
- Thread starter Aweshade9
- Start date
Mine likes peas. Not sure spinach is necessary. In addition to a good pellet, this is a great source of veggies: http://www.omegasea.net/veggie_rounds.html. I used to break them up when my fish was small. Now he gobbles them whole.
My CAs scarf down peas shell and all, although I typically squish the peas before dropping them in the tank. Seedubs1 also makes a good point - pelleted foods like NLS contain vegetable matter along with other essential nutrients.
I squeeze the thawed peas out of the shell because the shell basically passes thru large cichlid digestive tracts intact, and ends up on the substrate.
Is there a type of aquatic spinach in the wild where JD's come from?...I used to give my oscars peas....skin on.
If Dempsies were`nt a farm fish or suffered from bloat at the drop of a hat, all you haters (you know who you are) would be breaking your necks to get them.
I'm not hating on them. I've had JD's before, and I think they are a nice fish to have. I'm not a big fan of the mutant EBJD strain, but I do enjoy a nice standard JD specimen. Especially one with good genetics and no deformities, which is becoming increasingly difficult to find due to poor breeding practices.
My comment about "it just being a JD and to just feed it pellets" was short, but carried a lot of meaning. JD's don't require a specialized diet. They don't need anything that's not contained in a high quality pellet such as NLS (or some of the other awesome foods available). Substituting other foods is an aquarist's attempt to compensate for a lack of some essential nutrient/vitamin/whatever in the pellet. Make no mistake about it.....feeding a JD foods other than a high quality pellet isn't going to improve the health of your fish. It's solely for you to feel good about yourself for believing you're "going above and beyond."
For example, GT's, Hait's, Beani, etc... have MUCH more gastrointestinal issues and need a VERY good diet to survive. EVEN THESE have been successfully raised to adulthood on modern day high quality pellets with a VERY high percentage of success. So when I say "They're just JD's man. Throw some NLS in the tank and call it a day." I mean that in all seriousness, and trying to feed them spinach is just a waste of your time.