# EBJD Size? Is this normal



## becikeja (Oct 14, 2007)

On December 31st 2007 I was lucky enough to purchase 2 EBJDâ€™s at a reasonable price. Each fish was about 1â€


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## DirtyBlackSocks (Jan 24, 2008)

EBJD's are full of genetic flaws - probably just a runt.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

The 5" fish sounds to be growing quite fast for a Blue Dempsey.... the 1.5" fish is obviously growing very slow...

I had one Blue Dempsey that did the same thing. She lived along side her siblings for over a year until she was killed by a Black Ghost Knife gone mad...

A certain percentage of fry are not meant to live per natures laws. But when man steps in and nurses the entire spawn this keeps some of those alive. Unfortunately they then get passed on...

I personally believe that Blue Dempseys should be heavily culled to only keep the highest quality fish. But on the other hand they are very difficult to spawn and are in high demand... it's hard to kill 100 fish that are worth $25 when you have 100 people asking for them... According to economics the "right" thing to do is cull and increase the prices... but no one wants that either...

Best of luck with them...


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## xXGrEeNxTeRrOrXx (Jan 25, 2006)

Toby_H said:


> I personally believe that Blue Dempseys should be heavily culled to only keep the highest quality fish. But on the other hand they are very difficult to spawn and are in high demand... it's hard to kill 100 fish that are worth $25 when you have 100 people asking for them... According to economics the "right" thing to do is cull and increase the prices... but no one wants that either...
> 
> Best of luck with them...


Amen. :thumb:


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## becikeja (Oct 14, 2007)

The laws of nature will weed out the weak and I can understand how the runt could be slightly smaller and grow slower. But the difference here is incredible. You would think with this difference the small fish would be weak and the others would pick on it, the opposite seems to be true. The others in the tank seem to nip at the big blue dempsey, and then he chases them away, but I have never seen any of them nip at the small one. It seems he has his zone and all stay away.


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## DirtyBlackSocks (Jan 24, 2008)

Fish can tell age in other fish - just because it's a runt doesn't mean it doesn't carry a place in the hierarchy.

What you see happening now will eventually stop if the runt doesn't get a growth spurt like the others have - sooner or later everyone will set up their adult territories and the runt will be relegated to the front of the tank if there isn't space for it.


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## becikeja (Oct 14, 2007)

The small EBJD finally passed away. The big one is doing fine. What was strange, is that when I found him he was fully intact. I would have expected the other fish to eat him, but they didn't, I guessed they respected the little guy. (That's the story I choose to believe)


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## ksane (Mar 19, 2008)

Aaawww, I'm sorry. I'd choose to believe that theory, too :-(
My EBJD's grew in a matter of 3 months from 3/4" to 4". They seem to be getting fatter now but growth has slowed way down. I still remember to pray to the JD Gods to keep mine healthy, so many people have had problems.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

becikeja said:


> I guessed they respected the little guy.


That's exactly what it sounds like happened 

I'm glad your 'big guy' is doing good


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## mrlimpet (Oct 27, 2004)

hi becikeja, i'm reviving this thread because i noted you keep your EBJD with h. nicaraguense and i wanted to ask how they get along? how large are they now?

i have 8 juvie nics and 3 very small EBJDs growing out in separate tanks but hope to eventually put the 3 EBJDs and perhaps 2 or 3 nics in a 100G 5 foot tank.

this is the first thread i've seen where the JDs and nics were kept together. has anyone else tried this combo? did it work out? any thoughts?

thanks.


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## becikeja (Oct 14, 2007)

They are in a 125 gallon tank. I would not keep them together in anything smaller. The EBJD's were about 2-3" when I added the nic 1.5" at the time. Once they both reached about 4" the nic began to chase the EBJD on occasion, but nothing that indicated trouble. I would say they got along fine. Unfortunately the Nic caught something in one of his eyes. The eye puffed out and he died with a day. Never did understand what happened there. The tank is spotless, and I keep a UV sterilizer so I struggle to think it was a disease. Have not had any problems since with any of the other fish. Anyway, I would not hesitate to put the nic in there with EBJD. Seem to work well for me.


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## mrlimpet (Oct 27, 2004)

thanks for such a prompt response. sorry you lost the nic. perhaps s/he got in a scuffle with another fish and eye was injured and then infected?

my dempsey's are still small, under an inch each, but the nics are older and therefore larger. i'll post some pics of them in another thread.

thanks again. anyone else with experience and/or opinions on this combo?


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