I presently have a 3 iches female Jack Dempsey and would like to pair her. Is is possible to find a male she will accept ? How should I do ?
Pairing Jack dempseys
- Thread starter tableau
- Start date
Get a male that is close to her size (not much bigger or he could kill her, not too small or she could kill him) and drop him in her tank. Re-arranging the tank might help with aggression if she's used to being alone. Make sure you have hiding spots for either of them to retreat when needed since mating rituals can be aggressive.
Temp should be 78F +, recommended tank size for a breeding pair of Jack Dempseys is 55 gal, but a smaller tank will work for a young pair
Condition them by feeding a high quality diet rich in protein... minced fresh fish or shrimp meat, beef heart, bloodworms and maybe a couple of healthy feeders, two to three times a day as much as they can consume in ~3 minutes.
Increasing the temp of your tank and doing small water changes every day can also entice them to breed by simulating the increase in temperature that occurs in Spring followed by rains (colder water).
And finally... leave em alone. Great water quality and diet usually do the job pretty fast, but a stressed or malnourished fish won't breed. Also, there's no guarantee that they will pair up, sometimes you need a few females/males for them to choose from, but JDs are relatively easy to breed so I think you'll be fine.
Temp should be 78F +, recommended tank size for a breeding pair of Jack Dempseys is 55 gal, but a smaller tank will work for a young pair
Condition them by feeding a high quality diet rich in protein... minced fresh fish or shrimp meat, beef heart, bloodworms and maybe a couple of healthy feeders, two to three times a day as much as they can consume in ~3 minutes.
Increasing the temp of your tank and doing small water changes every day can also entice them to breed by simulating the increase in temperature that occurs in Spring followed by rains (colder water).
And finally... leave em alone. Great water quality and diet usually do the job pretty fast, but a stressed or malnourished fish won't breed. Also, there's no guarantee that they will pair up, sometimes you need a few females/males for them to choose from, but JDs are relatively easy to breed so I think you'll be fine.
Theres always a chance that it will or wont. They will stay next to each other and wont destroy each other. I picked up about 16 JDs and gave about 9 away so far but kept the big male. The first female i through in there paired up with him really quick. So you never know.
This is the male. I got all these fish for free. Score!! lol and the tanks they were in.
This is the male. I got all these fish for free. Score!! lol and the tanks they were in.
tableau;5115349; said:
You will know it worked when your female puts on her breeding dress
She will become almost black with lighter stripes. Usually the female gets her breeding dress way before she lays eggs, for as long as the mating ritual lasts. Swimming together, attacking tankmates, Lip-locking each other, flapping their tails, vibrating their bodies and digging holes in the sand are all signs that they're preparing to breed, it can look like they're trying to kill each other so don't worry. Their breeding tubes will also start showing when they're closer to laying eggs.
Thanks. Your male is awesome.
Once paired, the two dempseys can be kept togheter for the rest of their lives with no major aggression issues ?
Once paired, the two dempseys can be kept togheter for the rest of their lives with no major aggression issues ?
Well first off since this is your first time attempting to pair and breed I highly recommend using a divider made from egg crate. Follow the instructions givin from previous posters but include the divider. They're easy to make and they're cheap too. By using this it will allow a controlled meeting, if behavior looks good between them thru divider then go ahead and pull it and see how they do.
Freshwaterpredators;5115394; said:
Yeah +2 forgot to mention that. Start with the divider to see how they do. Then after you get the eggs you can split them up with a divider that has a fine mess screen on it to seperate them just in case the male decides to eat the fry.
tableau;5115392; said:
Pretty much, but there's always a chance that the male (which grows faster, larger) will kill the female, because they go through the same ritual each time they breed. But this is unlikely as long as you have hiding spots.