Jack Dempsey breeding behavior?

[duanes]

2-4 days is normal, then they become wrigglers where they feed off there yolk sack.
Like the photo below

They do not need to be fed during this stage, they basically sit in one place, and wriggle (the parents will often hide them in a pit they dig).
When they become free swimmers, venturing out as a school, they will need to be fed, as many small meals throughout the day as you can manage.

 

[Jexnell]

Must reiterate that all fish are individual so responses will vary. Normally the pair does it together. But in your situation I think the female will guard from everything including the male going off of what she has already done.
My fish in the pics above had to be separated shortly after fry got to swimmer stage. Pops at that point would go after anything in the tank even mom to protect the fry.

 

[tlindsey]

Will they stay with the male and female or will the femal still protect them from the male even when they hatch?

The female will protect them herself. I don't think the male will be involved. I personally had a female Kribensis raise fry on her own.

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

Right now she doesn't attack just chases him away if he gets to close they are only 2.5-3 inchs in a 75 so the male has plenty of room but is their any way to get them to raise them together or is it individual personality and will the male be a threat to the fry once they hatch?

 

[Jexnell]

I would count this batch as just hers.

After you remove the fry from this batch, try adding in dithers and or target fish such as a couple male convicts. Either or both actions should cause the bond between the pair to strengthen thus reverting to a more normal spawning.

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

Should I remove them when they hit the wiggler stage?

 

[duanes]

You can remove them, but they must be put in a place where the action of the parents fanning them is maintained.
If my cichlids spawn in a community where the fry can be eaten by other tank mates, I put them in a breeder box, or other tank with an airstone near by, to keep debris from settling on them, and causing die off.
In the pic below I was lucky to have the parents spawn in a PVC cap, so it was easy to just pick it up and move it to a separate tank, that was inline with my sump, so all the water was the same.


the wriggler stage can be 2-4 days depending on species, and tank temp.
The pic below is where I removed the rock with eggs to a breeder box, that hung in the parents aquarium.

below free swimmers in a breeder box

 

[Niki_up]

Ok smart and it doesn't mess up flow rates?

I found the panty hose mess up flow and clog quicker than the sponges. Either way you go you will want to check on the filter daily or so, depending how much crap you have floating around in your tank that gets sucked into the filter.

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

duanes If I wait till they are free swimming could they be moved to another tank?

 

[duanes]

If "not" in a community tank, I usually let fry stay with the parents.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. They sometimes learn better parenting skills with time, and it takes often more than 1 or 2 spawns to get it right.
In nature they may guard the fry for a couple months
But if a threat is evident in the tank when free swimming, will siphon the fry off to another tank.