picked up 2 1" EBJDs, questions

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Are EBJD more agressive than the normal ones? Would it be ok with 2 firemouths and a gold severum?
 
They were still swimming around together this morning :D

Is this normal behavior for small EBJDs? I have to think its way too early for them to be forming pairs...

Do 2 males, or 2 females, typically get along with each other?
 
Prior to sexual maturity similar fish (usually of the same brood) will seek "safety in numbers"... upon sexual maturity they stop appreciating each other's company, except a mate of course...

At 1" you definitely are not seeing pairing behavior...
 
Ok, didn't think so :D

Thanks.

At about what size will sexual maturity kick in for EBJDs? Thought I saw in another thread someone say 3"-4", but even that seems a bit small to me.

Once they reach that size, will 2 males, or 2 females, typically get along with each other? Or will there be aggression between 2 of the same gender?

Also, how long do you think it'll take 'em to get from 1" to 3"? Its a 6ft 125g with high flow rate (1200gph koralia) and I keep water temp at 82, and plan to feed them 2-3 times a day, with weekly and sometimes twice weekly water changes (20%-30% changes usually, sometimes 40% wc , depending on if I think the tank needs extra cleaning/etc). The reason for the smaller (20%) water changes is because I'm able to keep the power filters running.
 
Sexual maturity usually comes for males around 4"... a little smaller for females... some bloom earlier, some later... but it won't be much earlier than that... could be a good bit later...

in a 6' foot tank there is a good chance that two males growing up together will tolerate each other quite well, especially since there is no female present to compete over. Add a girl (third Dempsey) to the mix and it's likely to be the complete opposite.

I would expect two females to be fine in the 125 without a male present. But the success of either of these situations (naturally) depends on the individual fish's natural aggression as well as their individual compatability.

It's really hard to guess at growth rates for Blue Dempseys. I had some grow as fast as fast growing standard Dempseys (a little over 1/2' per month) and I've had some stay 1" for 6 months + without any noticable growth... and I've had them all over the chart in between. If they are genetically strong, healthy fish, I would expect 1/4~1/2" per month... They usually slowly hit 2", the speed up until about 4", then slow down again...
 
dirtyblacksocks;3133534; said:
Dempsey's die from inbreeding, not due to stress. There are only a handful of wild caught specimins in existence and as a result the fish have been interbred to the point of being genetically weak. /
The above could be a little misleading, so by way of clarification: There are still a lot of wild-caught JDs coming into the hobby (there are NO wild-caught ebjds, in case anyone is confused). It isn't JDs that are (especially) inbred, only EBJDs, as the first breeding had to be father with daughter, and things just got worse from there.
 
They seem to be doing well. :D

At some point I want to add a single Green Terror to the tank. Should I wait till these EBJDs get to a hardier 3"-4" before trying to add a 2" GT? Or would it be better if they were all raised in the tank at the same time? My concern would be a larger green terror bullying the EBJDs, which of course is unacceptable. I'd remove the GT if it became a bully/risk...
 
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