Worried About My Jack Dempsey Feeding Problems

[Tauempire]

Hi all i have a large JD female i recently purchased i never seen her eat before i tried cichlid pellets tropical flakes bloodworm prawns and nothing then at a last ditched attempt i tried ox heart and she went wild for it but i know i cant feed her that all the time as mamolian meat aint great for there digestion any ideas would be great............

 

[KittyKat]

Have you tried feeding her stuffed (with healthier things) beef heart and gradually weaning her off of it? Really do make sure you don't leave any far on the heart!

 

[Tauempire]

have you tried feeding her stuffed (with healthier things) beef heart and gradually weaning her off of it? Really do make sure you don't leave any far on the heart!

yeah i cut and cured the ox heart myself so i know there is no fat at all and hmmm i like the idea but i grate the ox heart to the size of small bloodworm but i thought about mixing it with tropical flakes and hoping she takes to them but all i can do is hope i think

 

[KittyKat]

have you tried feeding her stuffed (with healthier things) beef heart and gradually weaning her off of it? Really do make sure you don't leave any far on the heart!

yeah i cut and cured the ox heart myself so i know there is no fat at all and hmmm i like the idea but i grate the ox heart to the size of small bloodworm but i thought about mixing it with tropical flakes and hoping she takes to them but all i can do is hope i think

You could use gelatin to make larger cubes of beef heart and other stuff for her to take bites out of and gradually decrease the amount of beef heart in there.

Curious, how do you cure it and why?

 

[Tauempire]

have you tried feeding her stuffed (with healthier things) beef heart and gradually weaning her off of it? Really do make sure you don't leave any far on the heart!

yeah i cut and cured the ox heart myself so i know there is no fat at all and hmmm i like the idea but i grate the ox heart to the size of small bloodworm but i thought about mixing it with tropical flakes and hoping she takes to them but all i can do is hope i think

You could use gelatin to make larger cubes of beef heart and other stuff for her to take bites out of and gradually decrease the amount of beef heart in there.

Curious, how do you cure it and why?

Hi thanks for your help today ok so i cut the fat off "obviously" then i put it in a small cloth bag and gentley steam it which drains off most of the fat from within the cubes then shred it to a tiny size

 

[KittyKat]

Curious, how do you cure it and why?

i cut the fat off "obviously" then i put it in a small cloth bag and gentley steam it which drains off most of the fat from within the cubes then shred it to a tiny size

And thanks for the top too! I always tried to get all the fat with a knife, which is always a pain and doesn't sound as thorough

 

[Tauempire]

Curious, how do you cure it and why?

i cut the fat off "obviously" then i put it in a small cloth bag and gentley steam it which drains off most of the fat from within the cubes then shred it to a tiny size

And thanks for the top too! I always tried to get all the fat with a knife, which is always a pain and doesn't sound as thorough

I just found that no matter how well i cut it it always gave off fat deposits in the water so tried that and it worked great i still only give them it maybe 4 times a yer as a treat im lucky i stocked my tank when i was only learning and at first was just malawi then my lfs told me tht jack dempseys were also malawi now i have 2 of them in a malawi tank but they get on which im happy about and its all a learning curve

 

[Verminator89]

You were told that Jacks were also malawi. Oh boy fish shops are supposed to be the 'professionals' in the hobby, boy were in trouble if they are giving that information out

Feeder, or 'river' shrimp are a good cheap alternative to entice your Jack to eat. My two go nuts for it. I feed them these every couple of months. I'll drop a bag of 20 in or so and see how long they last them.

 

[roadmaster]

Pieces of thawed frozen Krill,Earthworms,cricket's, are a few of the things I used in attempt to feed a JD that refused pellet's. Finally after a year,the fish will on occasion take New life spectum pellet's and tetra color granules but still much prefer's blood worms,earthworms and freezedried cricket's and shrimp.

 

[Tauempire]

Thanks for your help guys i will try above suggestions and report back cheers people

 

[KittyKat]

im lucky i stocked my tank when i was only learning and at first was just malawi then my lfs told me tht jack dempseys were also malawi now i have 2 of them in a malawi tank but they get on which im happy about and its all a learning curve

That could cause problems in the long term as the two groups prefer quite different water conditions..