# Which Grows Faster? Carpintis or Jack Dempsey?



## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

hey guys, which one has a faster growth rate? Rocio octofasciatum or Herichthys carpintis?


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

I would say probably the Carpintis just from experience of my Texas pair. They grew very fast!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

really :-? , i heard they were both relatively slow growing.


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## nothing else matter (Oct 2, 2007)

experience also tell me that texas definitely grow faster than JD. JDs are so so slow growers


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I would say this 100% depends on the fishâ€¦

I have seen a Dempsey put on almost an inch a month for two months straight and Iâ€™ve seen siblings of such fast growers not grow any noticeable amount in the same two months. I think if we are discussing a top quality grow out from a strong pairâ€¦ both species grow about the sameâ€¦ and neither would be â€œslow growersâ€


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

ok, lemme rephrase this, if i had a male JD in a 55g, and a male Carpintis (not cyanoguttatus) in another 55g, with EXACTLY the same care, which one is likely to grow faster?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Toby_H said:


> I would say this 100% depends on the fishâ€¦


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

one of them is bound to, on average, grow faster then the other though no? ill post one MFK's then


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## BigJagLover (Oct 25, 2006)

No My texas and jack grew the same to 5" then the texas grew faster to 8" of course. I think if giving the same care and same tank space then they grow the same to 5-6" and then the tex out grows the jack from there without a dout. Seen it soooooooo many times.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

In my tanks the Texas have always grown faster than the JD's


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

> No My texas and jack grew the same to 5" then the texas grew faster to 8" of course. I think if giving the same care and same tank space then they grow the same to 5-6" and then the tex out grows the jack from there without a dout. Seen it soooooooo many times.


This is always the case for me, and everyone else i've seen with these two fish. Jacks seem to almost stop growing noticably After5-6 inches, whereas the texas's usually grow at the same speed until done growing.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Most larger growing Cichlids that I am familiar with seem to have a growth spurt from around 30% adult length until around 70% adult length... Most of the strong Dempseys I've grown out have followed this general guideline...

For those of you who have grown a Texas Cichlid to full size, do you think it follows this approx growth spurt description? Also what is/was the adult length of your Texas?

Most healthy male Dempseys I've raised top out between 8~10", with 12" being the extremely rare "max" size... I know adult Texas Cichlids are beefier (more mass per inch) than Dempseys... but isn't the length for them about the same as Dempseys (I'm of the impression they are around 1" larger 'on average' for each of the lengths I suggested for Dempseys above)?

I have ample experience raising Dempseys as they've been a favorite fish of mine for a couple decades and I'm chest deep in a Blue Dempseys breeding project, but I've only raised one Tex which didn't turn out all that impressive of a fish... So based on experience I can only truly cover one side of the coin.

I also stress that it depends on the individual fish, as 20 years ago Dempseys seemed to be more aggressive, stout fish than I typically see in the aquarium trade today. But I've also seen a much higher 'average quality' in the Dempseys I'm selectively breeding than I see in typical Pet Store stock. Since Texas Cichlids are less 'commonly available', it seems the mass breeding farms haven't had their impact on Texas Cichlids the way they have Dempseys... So I feel the quality of the individual fish is a huge factor... Because I feel that the range of quality in Dempseys is huge due to many generations of less than ideal breeding in the aquarium trade.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

just to clarify, we are talking about green texas, not normal.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

Toby, how long did it take your male jacks to get 8"?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

The growth spurts starting @ "30%" @ about 3" @ about 8 months after hatching...

Then reach "70%" @ about 7" @ about 1.75 years...

Then they grow real slow for the next several years...

I consider a 10" male a very large male, 9â€


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

2.5 years??? dam, no way i can weight that long, im very impatient, thanx  i might be getting a 150-180 and a pair of dovii lol, my mom hasnt just told me no yet, usualyy when she says no she really harshly says NO lol. wish me luck!


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Also note I said 2.5 years from hatching... when you buy one that's already 2" long you cut out about half a years waiting... which also means you could expect a healthy specimen to reach 7" in about a year or a little over...

I bought a few WC Trimacs over half a year ago @ 3" and not one of them is massive yet... They all turned out to be females... So not every "massive growing fish" quickly becomes a massive fish...

But if you have the space for itâ€¦ heck yea, get the Doviis!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

i have a spare 6 foot wall in my bedroom...hehehe...so im working on it, and i do plan to if i can get my parents to agree hehehe.

i always ask for the growth rate of a fish if i cant find it, i get bored of them if they dont grow quickly for the most part.

i read trimacs were very slow growers, kinda sux.


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## BigJagLover (Oct 25, 2006)

Toby h I totally agree about the "spurt". My male hit 7" In about 6 months from the time I got him @ 2". I to am very selective with fish. Normal petsmart fish have to be exsqusid in the tank for me to get it. This on just happened to be one of those "1 in a millon" fish

Texas the green varity that I have kept did grow along these lines but it seemed their "spurt was sligthly longer. to the 8" point insted of 7" like my jacks. I have had Jacks hit 8" in 1 1/2 years from 2" before but ussally 7" is about max then like you say they slow way down.

By the way not to hijack the thread but I lived my whole liife in wiston-Salem " until the army 5 years ago" I wish I had know you in 97 because I would have loved to give you the 12" stud I had the pleasure of owning. He had no humped back and from what the guy told me was wild caught and only 5 years old. He was blue/ green spangeled and Igot hkim for free from a buddy who bought him and gave him to me after 3 weeks. He gave me the tank and all for free. Of course like all great fish I have 0 pics but Man was he a beautiful fish. That's the kinda stock I wish I had breed. But being 17 and newish to cichlids I had no idea what I had.

Enough of my jaw jacking I'm done...................For now :lol:


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