# picking a female jack dempsey



## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

Hey all, i am planning on going to a fish store tomorrow to look for a mate for my male jack dempsey which is about 6-7" long. Does anyone have any suggestions on what i should look for? as far as size or how i can tell which ones are females if they are still fairly small/young? will my male jd attack juveniles? thanks in advance!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Introducing a lone female with a large male like yours could be problematic. If you locate a female, and decide to go for it, the use of a divider will be very helpful. You can buy these, but can also be made with basic supplies. See vid...






I just read your post concerning the health of your existing male, and it appears he's going to be fine. I would be 100% sure on this before adding to the tank.

If you're unable to find a for sure female, another approach would be to buy 4-6 unsexed fish around the 3". Grow them up together with your larger male. Just be sure they are large enough to not fit in his mouth. This will allow the male to spread his attention out amongst several fish rather than focusing on just one. The use of a large, fast dither like Buenos Aires tetras would help as well, but could very well end up being on the large male's menu. You have a 75 gallon(4' x 18"), correct?


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

Thanks for the reply! It was very helpful. Yes, its a 75 gallon tank. I was thinking of doing the 4-6 method like you were saying in the hopes that he wouldnt feel inclined to intimidate just one other lone fish. I may try doing that if i cant find a large enough female to want to try the divider technique. I've tried having e-blues in the past but they proved very hard to keep healthy. I'm thinking about giving them another go now that my tank is much more suitable for them to be and stay healthy. Do you think my regular JD will bully them to death being they are such fragile fish? Or do i just go for all regular JDs?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I'd skip the EBJD for now. Maybe plan another tank around them, or move/rehome your existing male.


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

probably a good idea. thanks for your help!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Welcome and please keep it updated...


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

Update: I recently went to the store and found a female of similar size to my current JD (slightly smaller by about an inch) and put her in the tank along with a relatively young pangaseus cat and 5 small, quick fish that would serve as a distraction for the large JD to attack instead of the new JD. Upon introducing them (no divider used, i was confident that he wouldnt be too aggressive with her and he had distractions), everything went well. They got along and were just kind of inspecting eachother and showed no signs of aggression towards eachother. They sort of just swim around the tank together and go to the same spots. They both seem a little nervous or stressed, but im fine with that because they arent fighting! My male was even attempting some sort of mating dance from what it looked like, where he kind of wriggled back and forth next to the female. I woke up this morning to find the pangaseus cat and the 5 quick guys all dead- it was expected but is a shame becasuse i thought the cat would have a chance  . However, my female and male are still both doing fine and just do everything together and hide together, etc. Should i be under the impression that they will be compatible since its been a day and no aggression was shown? Will they become a mating pair if that is true? Thanks! :fish: :thumb:


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

So how did the dither and catfish die? Were they beat to death? If the male or female JD had a problem with the small fast dudes, I'd suspect that problem would be lunch.

There's no guarantee with cichlids, but the fact they're getting along well is a good sign, IMO. Problems could arise if the male decides it's time to spawn and the female isn't quite ready. Or either may decide they don't want anything to do with the other. There's nothing in the tank for him/her to focus their aggression on. Just keep a really close eye on the two. Hopefully you have a backup plan(separate tank, divider, etc) if things go south.

Good luck...


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

Pretty sure the little guys got swallowed whole but the catfish was pretty brutally torn up on the head and tail. Any ideas on other smaller quick fish i could put in that he could kind of go after but would be able to survive? But yeah, i do have somewhere i can put the female if that becomes necessary and will look into a divider at that time. Im desperately hoping that they can just be friends and get along! Ill post an update later on as well


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Oh... so the dither fish were just gone? Eaten? What species were they?


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

Yep eaten whole. They were Scissortail rasboras. Thought they'd be quick enough to escape his attacks but i guess i was wrong...


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

If you're going to try another dither, go with something more robust and fast like Buenos Aires tetras.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Can you post some pics of your setup so we can see what you are working with? Should help with general suggestions as you may be needing some added structure in order to help dithers survive; as well as provide cover for the female JD.

As far as dithers go, try to go with something higher bodied. Buenos Aires tetras have worked well for me in the past. Get a decent sized school (6-10).


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

Sure, here's my tank. 2 JDs- 1 male, 1 female
I have a terracotta pot as a cave on the left and a large flat rock for breeding purposes on the right. Lighting is a marineland single bright 48-60"
























My male  :


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Good looking JD's. I'd definitely recommend some more cover for them though. Maybe add in some driftwood and/or a second pot. Some branches or twigs near the surface will help the dithers escape from the JD's predation.


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

UPDATE: My pair is doing GREAT!!! No signs of aggression from either fish and they stick together like glue. I'm sensing signs of them being a pair but cannot be completely sure. I'm going to wait until probably the summer to attempt to initiate mating behaviors and egg production so I wont be away at college for that and also so that my female can get a bit bigger. Here's the loving couple! Thanks for all the help from everyone who posted with their thoughts! Made this process much easier for me.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Glad it's working for you so far. Are you planning on separating them to keep them from breeding?


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## tburkeulosis (Jan 1, 2015)

I was planning on just keeping the temperature at 74-75 since i read they usually will want to spawn at temps above 78. If they end up breeding while im gone, then i will just have to deal with it- i think im going to get automatic feeders anyways, so i can put crushed pellet in one for when the fry are old enough and another feeder for whole pellets for the parents and they can grind it for the fry if they choose to. Really the only reason i wouldnt want it to happen when im gone is so that i can be there to watch them raise the fry. How long does it usually take for the fry to get to a size that i should separate them from the parents?


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