So I bought a pair of JD a week ago tomorrow. They never eat when Im in the room and are VERY skiddish and hide when I go into the room. Today I noticed the small female sitting n a hollowed our bottom of the tank with a ton of eggs under her and around her. How the heck do I take care of them ? Should I feed someing special? Do the parents eat the fry when they hatch? How the heck to I do this!!??
JD's Having babys?
- Thread starter Pip Logan
- Start date
The answers to your questions depend on the parents' behavior. Let them do their thing but don't spook them by barging in. Move slow and keep your distance. Watch what they do and then report back. Once they are on the spawning cycle the tend to do it every other week.
The parents should take care of them, Your going to need some dither fish so the male doesn't try and kill the female. If its their first breed, they might eat the frie due to fear. But It should all work out, now that you have a pair, they should breed about once every month. =)
There is no single answer to what you "should" do... it all depends on what you want to happen...
Do you want to have a fish tank with a pair of fish... or do you want to have a breeding project?
If you simply want a pair of fish, then do not do anything special. Just watch and enjoy... If a few of them happen to get as big as the ones your LFS sells, take them in and trade them for food...
If you want to start a breeding project... educate yourself on how to do that... It's not super complicated but you will need at least one other tank, probably a couple others. You will also need something to do with the fry. Dempseys can have a lot of babies, so before you invest to much find out how many you really think you can find homes for on a regular basis...
Don't feel guilty if you just let the parents eat them or let them otherwise die. In the wild many thousands of fry are born for every one that survives to adult size...
Do you want to have a fish tank with a pair of fish... or do you want to have a breeding project?
If you simply want a pair of fish, then do not do anything special. Just watch and enjoy... If a few of them happen to get as big as the ones your LFS sells, take them in and trade them for food...
If you want to start a breeding project... educate yourself on how to do that... It's not super complicated but you will need at least one other tank, probably a couple others. You will also need something to do with the fry. Dempseys can have a lot of babies, so before you invest to much find out how many you really think you can find homes for on a regular basis...
Don't feel guilty if you just let the parents eat them or let them otherwise die. In the wild many thousands of fry are born for every one that survives to adult size...