i just picked up a breeding pair of jack dempseys from my lfs......i was gonna do angels but didnt want to go through the hassle. they have been through 4-5 spawns already and last batch had about 150 fry........any advice for breeding fish?
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this is the best i can get right now......they will not sit still.
Okay, first off, What kind of hassles do you think Angelfish are that Dempsey's aren't?
Jack Dempsey's were named after the late great Prize Fighter Jack Dempsey because of their tenacity and their tendency towards fighting with tankmates. Couple that with the fact that a breeding pair of Jack Dempseys will fiercely guard their territory so putting other fish in the tank with them is not really recommended unless you are using a very long tank and they are defending only one side.
You should make sure you put some medium to large size rocks that have flat surfaces, if possible, on the bottom of the tank. They will use a rock to spawn on. (Some will spawn just on the gravel if no place is provided.) Some people also use Clay Pots for spawning on or layed on their side to provide the fish with hiding places (which is a good idea.) Dempsey's tend to be good parents but will eat their spawn if they are distrubed or feel the fry are in danger.
Depending on whether the pair are raising their fry or not, spawning frequency is about once a month to six weeks. Newly free swimming fry should be fed Live baby brine shrimp until they are in a feeding pattern where frozen baby brine shrimp can be switched to be their primary food. As the babies grow, other flake or pelleted foods can be added to the diet.
Dempsey's in the wild are found in slow moving waters so you don't want high filtration in the tank. Use of sponge filters over mechanical filters is better for the fry as to not allow them to get sucked up into the filter. The sponge filter will handle the biological filtering of the tank but water changes need to be done to replace the mechanical filtering (ie. Carbon, Filter floss or pads, etc.) It is recommended that smaller frequent water changes be done instead of larger volume changes to prevent the fish from having their spawning cycle disturbed. (High volume water changes can do this.) I routinely did a 10% water change 2 times per week with my breeders.
Since these fish have spawned before, I would suggest you contact the store for the PH and Temp the fish were kept at when they spawned. If this info is not available, I would keep the PH as close to 7.0 as possible and temps at 78-80 degrees. (Adding water that is slightly cooler then their tank temp at water changes will help induce spawnings.)
Hope this helps...
Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.
