Jack Dempsey Cichlid

[warlord]

going to keep my smaller tank for the community and getting a 72 gallon from a friend this weekend as soon as he empties it and relocates the fish he no longer want. anyway im gonna get a dempsey for it i already payed for it and its just hangin out at the LFS hes about 8 inches...whats best to feed them since i have seen so many different things on care sheets idk which is actually best

 

[ZoddyZod]

I can see Verminator reading this so I'm hoping he will give some of his own personal experience

if not, I could move this to the New World cichlid section where it is likely to get a better audience?

 

[Verminator89]

Standard flake and pellets are always good as a staple diet. I've found mine to love most things i've ever offered them, given a little time for them to actually work out its edible. Bloodworm, muscles, cockles, peas, earthworms, ants, to name just a few things i've fed mine in the past. If you start collecting things from outside be carefull with pesticides ect. You don't want to bring in nasty things from outside into your tank!

What do you plan on keeping this Jack with? If he's already 8" he might not take kindly at all to sharing his new home with other fish. It all depends on this fish's temperament. My latest male (r.i.p) was an absolute pleasure to keep as i could keep him with anything and he wasn't bothered. I even had him with Japonica shrimp for a time, untill a new female i introduced to him decided they were better as lunch, and thus he copied. They are a magnificent cichlid to keep, and a species tank is very rewarding IMHO.

I can see Verminator reading this so I'm hoping he will give some of his own personal experience

if not, I could move this to the New World cichlid section where it is likely to get a better audience?

 

[warlord]

im gonna be keeping him alone or with a catfish of some type...should i put more than 1 dempsey in there?


how do i move the article

 

[warlord]

also...i have super worms for my gecko do you think he would eat some of those sometimes?

 

[Verminator89]

I have no idea what worms thoseare for a gecko haha, but i suppose it wouldnt hurt to try one maybe.

With him being already 8" it might be hard to add other large fish in with him, especially other Jacks due to his size already. If you could get a pair to form, it would be good in a tank that size. However, due to his size it might be hard. The best way i found, because i had the same problem with my Jack when i wanted to get a pair, mine was already about 5" at the time. I bought threeyoung females and placed them in the tank with him, but created a divider that the young females could swim freely through, but the male was to big to get through. It seemed to work, albeit i have said previously that my Jack was rather timid, which certainly helped. Once my male 'chose' a female i removed and sold the other two. It was obvious which one he picked because it was the only one left looking perfect, and the only one allowed near him.

Alternatively you could add other fish if you wanted, using a similar technique. Just be carefull. Stocking your tank is entirely how you see appropriate, but a breeding pair of anyfish always trumps a group of others IMO.


As for moving the article, a mod will do this if they come into the thread and see this.

James

 

[KRamgren89]

I have no idea what worms thoseare for a gecko haha, but i suppose it wouldnt hurt to try one maybe.

With him being already 8" it might be hard to add other large fish in with him, especially other Jacks due to his size already. If you could get a pair to form, it would be good in a tank that size. However, due to his size it might be hard. The best way i found, because i had the same problem with my Jack when i wanted to get a pair, mine was already about 5" at the time. I bought threeyoung females and placed them in the tank with him, but created a divider that the young females could swim freely through, but the male was to big to get through. It seemed to work, albeit i have said previously that my Jack was rather timid, which certainly helped. Once my male 'chose' a female i removed and sold the other two. It was obvious which one he picked because it was the only one left looking perfect, and the only one allowed near him.

Alternatively you could add other fish if you wanted, using a similar technique. Just be carefull. Stocking your tank is entirely how you see appropriate, but a breeding pair of anyfish always trumps a group of others IMO.


As for moving the article, a mod will do this if they come into the thread and see this.

James

i dunno how to copy only a snippet yet so sorry for copying the whole thing! lol. A ''superworm'' is a larger form of a meal worm which is the larve of the darkling beetle. i figured since i actually knew the answer for something i'd post

 

[warlord]

thank you for the definition