"Jack" - The JD Growth Progress Thread

[JessAlba452]

Hey everyone! I am both a new fish keeper and new to the MFK forums. I hope to learn a lot here.

This thread is to keep track of my Jack Dempsey's growth rate. To formally introduce him to everyone his name is Jack! LoL a very original name right? Not sure if he is really a Jack or a Jill. Maybe you guys can decide this for me?

I wanted to name him Jack Daniels lol, but it would be too much.

When I brought him home from the LFS, I wasn't sure if he was going to survive. Because he changed from near white to dark grey and swam on his side the entire ride home from the store. He stayed that way for a few hours in his new tank.

I've noticed that he does that (swims on side) every once in a while when cleaning out his tank, but swims around like nothing happened (changes back to original color) a few minutes after everything is done. Is this normal?? It's as if he plays possum...

As of now he is by himself in a 29 Gallon bow front tank. I purchased him at a LFS a few months ago for $3 at the size of 2.5". He is now about 5" from head to tail. For some reason I just can't wait until he gets really big!

I wonder why at around 5" is he still very pale? When do JD's start to get darker naturally not under stress?

Jack is such a big bully. I have a 5" Sailfin Pleco that when I brought home from the store over night his fins were torn to shreds. Which is why he is now in the 28 Gal Hex tank that I call the bottom feeder tank with a catfish and smaller pleco.

I also made the mistake of putting my finger in the tank, and found out the hard way that Jack thinks that I'm yummy food lol. He even has tiny red teeth which I didn't even know cichlids could have!

A 55Gal may be in Jack's future and am excited about that. I have been looking on Craigslist. Petco had a $1/gal sale but all the large tanks were gone off the shelves when I arrived.


First month at home...
No luck with the medium pellets he just spit them out in front of the filter.

After buying decorations...
Now looks more like home.

Today - August 28th 2010
Stressed after a tank cleaning and water change poor guy!

 

[Amphilophus88]

Hi, welcome to MFK.

You have a nice Jack Dempsey, it's a male. Female have a lot more blue on their gill plates.2,5inch to 5 inch in a couple months is very good growth rate.

He is possibly pale from your light substrate. I had light gravel and I changed it to black and my Jack Dempsey was a lot darker with the black gravel.

Yes 55 gallon will be a lot better because he will outgrow your 29.

 

[Gruff Master]

Welcome to MFK! You will have fun here and learn quite a bit. I agree with mark, you have a male JD. Sorry you found out the hard way that he has teeth but many other cichlids have sharper teeth than JDs. When you get the larger tank (you will need it) try using darker substrate to bring out his colors. A lot of cichlids' colors washout over bright or light substrate. He looks very good. You have been doing a great job so far.

 

[Sab_Fan]

Not sure if he is really a Jack or a Jill.

As of now he is by himself in a 29 Gallon bow front tank. I purchased him at a LFS a few months ago for $3 at the size of 2.5". He is now about 5" from head to tail.

I wonder why at around 5" is he still very pale? When do JD's start to get darker naturally not under stress?

Jack is such a big bully. I have a 5" Sailfin Pleco that when I brought home from the store over night his fins were torn to shreds.

A 55Gal may be in Jack's future and am excited about that.

hi, and welcome to the site. as you've already learned, your "Jack" is most likely a "Jack", not a "Jill"

at 5", he really has pretty much maxed out your 29G, so a 55G would be a very good idea, and soon. he will have a much better chance of reaching his ideal size if he has more room to grow

the small tank is also part of why Jack is a bully. there is not enough room in that tank for another fish, so if you put another fish in there, he's going to object to that but once you have a 55G, you should be able to add a catfish, and maybe a smaller cichlid (convict, firemouth) that he can co-exist with

one reason he might still be pale is that your gravel is mostly white; a darker gravel would help bring out his colors better. also make sure he has some places where he can hide, like caves or flowerpots. the more secure he feels, the more his true colors will come out

a 55G tank, with good filtration and water changes, plus a darker substrate . . . those are my recommendations; good luck!!

 

[FishingOut]

Yeah that guy wont be too happy in a 29gal tank. I would suggest at the minimium a 55gal for a JD and a pleco.

They will usually start getting girth and darken up around 6-7in usually. Yours is pretty nice looking. Changing that gravel up might make his colors a little stronger.

If you fish is swimming sideways after water changes, you might want to do a little more research on water changes because that doesnt sound very healthy for him. My jack always puts on his stress bars after water changes, but he really enjoys them. They make him swim around energetic and happy, not sideways.
Good luck with him and Welcome

 

[JessAlba452]

Thank you very much for the great and informative replies! I'll look up more information on how to do a correct water change. I'll need to buy more black/blue gravel for him and place a pot into the tank.

In the last water change I moved the Fu dog staue closer to the corner so that he could have a corner to hide/rest in

 

[alexpie001]

when are you planning on getting the 55 ?

 

[JessAlba452]

Oh and as far as filtration I think it is a Marineland 30-40gal filter. I do water changes about every 2 weeks with 20-30% water.

For feeding I've just been feeding him flakes and cichlid pellets. I've been afraid to do feeder fish since I've heard some stories where the fish is sick and causes the JD to be sick. What other types of food are good for JD's?

 

[Amphilophus88]

Oh and as far as filtration I think it is a Marineland 30-40gal filter. I do water changes about every 2 weeks with 20-30% water.

For feeding I've just been feeding him flakes and cichlid pellets. I've been afraid to do feeder fish since I've heard some stories where the fish is sick and causes the JD to be sick. What other types of food are good for JD's?

Yea most people stay away from feeders. You could always breed them yourself, but it's not needed.

I feed mine Hikari Cichlid gold and Hikari Cichlid Excel, and sometimes some frozen food like Krill or Bloodworms.

Personally I would do bigger and more frequent water changes, at least 30% a week, even more when he grows bigger. If I had a Dempsey in a 29 I'd probably change 50% a week.

 

[Sab_Fan]

Hikari pellets are a good choice . . . could also look into Omega One and New Life Spectrum (NLS) pellets, as these are also very good . . . I don't feed flake foods to any of my adult fish, as I think they are mostly wasted

you could also check your LFS for things like Mysis shrip, brine shrimp and other "treats" that add variety to the diet

oh, and I agree with the advice to increase you w/c frequency to every week . . .