A lot of people say that Jack Dempseys are skittish fish. I once had a Dempsey that was very active, rarely hid, and always came up for food. For those that have JD's or had them in the past, what were your experiences with them? Were they timid & skittish or were they personable & active?
Jack Dempsey
- Thread starter hle_81
- Start date
AMG;1221629; said:
I have had Jack Dempseys on 2 different occasions ... the first was just a single Jack that was very active and begged like a dog for food, swam all over the place and bossed the other fish in the tank ... the other was a breeding pair that were very shy and would only come out for food.
When I had my JD's the female hide all the time only coming out for food and until the female laid eggs the male hide quite a bit too, but would prowl the tank as soon as their eggs were laid and attack just about anything that walked by the tank.
I've had a few JD's over the years. My first one was a male that was the king of my tank and didn't back down from anyone. He use to kick the crap out of a similar sized flowerhorn. He was a great looking fish too and when he died, he was over a foot long. At the moment I have another male JD and he's kind of skittish. He's always there when it's feeding time but he has a habit of staying hidden from my Loisellei who likes to chase him. But he has perked up ever since I introduced a male convict cichlid to the tank.
My 2 experiences with Jack Dempseys has made me anti-JD.
Both times all they did was hide 24/7 and made a really boring fish.
Both times all they did was hide 24/7 and made a really boring fish.
I used to have a JD that i believe had a split personality. One day it would be up at the front of its tank beggin for food, then the next day it would be all skittish and just hide in the back of its tank. didnt make any sense at all.
Mines a MONSTER...very active and people-friendly and the alpha fish of his tank. HOWEVER I have read that JDs are extremely variable in personality so that would explain the different experiences.
