Initiating jack Dempsey breeding

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Predatoryfishlover

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 16, 2019
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Hey guys, I need some help with breeding my jack dempseys. I’ve had my male for around 9 months now and he’s at 3-4 inches(and he seems to be the stubborn one with breeding). I got a female about two weeks ago and she’s around 3.5”. They are in a 30 gallon with sand and a clay pot and some pvc pipes(which the male is very fond of, he loves to hang out in the pipes). The female seems to have taken to the clay pot more than the male, I’ve only spotted him in it once or twice, but the female is in it more often, but she seems to have started liking the pipes more recently. Though as I’m writing this I’m watching them and she is out and the male has started chasing her around a bit. So my question is- how do I initiate them to start breeding, I feel as though I’ve done everything i can. Am I just overthinking this and need to give them time or is there anything else I can do? Another thought I had is that since the male seems to like the pipes(which are two small for them to breed in) should I remove the pipes and replace it with a larger one that they could spawn in?

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First I would add some plants to the tank, real or fake shouldn't matter, along with some drift wood to give it a lil more of a natural look along with providing breaks in the line of sight between the 2 fish. Second I would move the pot away from the filter intake, if it's too close to the intake all that's going to happen is when the male goes to fertilize the eggs all the sperm will get sucked up into the filter. Third, this is more optional, I personally would add some dither fish such as Congo tetras or giant danio's so the fish feel a need to protect their eggs when they have them.

Also the pipes should be fine in there, if the female chooses to use them they will take turns laying eggs and fertilizing them. They don't have to fit both fish at the same time. It's mainly going to take time before they will be comfortable enough to start breeding and don't be disappointed if they don't get it right the first handful of times, it's exceedingly rare to have first time parents produce and raise fry the first time they spawn. P.s. they may need to grow another inch before they are mature enough to start breeding.

Lastly are you 100% certain that you have a male and female? Not trying to poke fun at ya or anything but I've noticed allot of ppl have a hard time telling the difference between a male and female Jack Dempsey.
 
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Magnus_Bane said:
First I would add some plants to the tank, real or fake shouldn't matter, along with some drift wood to give it a lil more of a natural look along with providing breaks in the line of sight between the 2 fish. Second I would move the pot away from the filter intake, if it's too close to the intake all that's going to happen is when the male goes to fertilize the eggs all the sperm will get sucked up into the filter. Third, this is more optional, I personally would add some dither fish such as Congo tetras or giant danio's so the fish feel a need to protect their eggs when they have them.

Also the pipes should be fine in there, if the female chooses to use them they will take turns laying eggs and fertilizing them. They don't have to fit both fish at the same time. It's mainly going to take time before they will be comfortable enough to start breeding and don't be disappointed if they don't get it right the first handful of times, it's exceedingly rare to have first time parents produce and raise fry the first time they spawn. P.s. they may need to grow another inch before they are mature enough to start breeding.

Lastly are you 100% certain that you have a male and female? Not trying to poke fun at ya or anything but I've noticed allot of ppl have a hard time telling the difference between a male and female Jack Dempsey.
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Thank you, I will implement almost all of your advice(idk about the dither fish, I may or may not, I’ll have to see next time I’m in the store lol) but most importantly, yes I am positive they are male and female, I’ve done my research, female has the blue chin and not a ton of other coloration, male doesn’t have the blue chin and has the characteristic thin line of blue spots under his eyes
 
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Predatoryfishlover said:
Thank you, I will implement almost all of your advice(idk about the dither fish, I may or may not, I’ll have to see next time I’m in the store lol) but most importantly, yes I am positive they are male and female, I’ve done my research, female has the blue chin and not a ton of other coloration, male doesn’t have the blue chin and has the characteristic thin line of blue spots under his eyes
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Well that's good lol yeah ik when I got my first JD I had no clue what gender it was untill I did research on it.
But yeah adding some plants and wood to the tank should help reduce any aggression between the 2 fish along with proving the fry a safe place to hide from the parents. Also don't be surprised if they never produce anything, sometimes ya just end up with that one picky fish that just refuses to breed. I had a 9in male with 2 5in females and they just flat out refused to even acknowledge that he was even there. Granted 1 of the females was half blind so I think that had a major part to do with it but the other one was perfectly healthy and still refused to do anything.

But yeah I hope ya have better luck then I did with breeding them.
 
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Mine would only lay eggs on flat clean surfaces, I'd add something flat or push aside some of the sand substrate leaving the glass bottom exposed and as suggested surround the possible breeding areas in fake plants, my Female turned very very dark almost completely black after she laid eggs. You'll probably notice the male if no other fish are in there cleaning any picked area for hours before she lays egg's.
 
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