# Meet Jack and Jill



## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

Just felt like introducing Jack and Jill, 
I've had Jack for 2 years since he was a wee tacker, and Jill was just discovered in my LFS this week, I wasn't exactly sure that she really was a she but being such similar size i had to give Jack a chance at romance .
As it turns out Jill is Jill and Jack quite likes her and bar a few scuffs on their noses all seems well.
Jill has copped the worst of it, so my question is, apart from frequent water changes and an extra dose of stress coat in the water, is there anything i should do to speed up the healing process for her nose, and is this sort of activity likely to keep happening


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

The picture is kind of small, but looks like beautiful fish and tank.


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

yeah i took it on my phone so it is a bit small, i will try to rectify that... so they have been in the tank together over a week now, the lip locking seems to have stopped and jill is healing well, i would say they are "tolerating" each other at this point and not quite a pair, however it was only this afternoon that i added a clay pot and some flat pieces so that Jill can have somewhere to lay her eggs when shes ready... fingers crossed!


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

heres Jill, Jacks a bit camera shy today


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

*** noticed since looking at other JDs on this site that Jack actually has a deformed dorsal fin... no biggie, he swims just fine!!


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## JKnPA (Jan 30, 2012)

steaklover said:


> heres Jill, Jacks a bit camera shy today


 As long as your Male isn't chasing her around the tank and beating on her; you should be ok.
My females get very 'black' when they are ready to mate...... :fish:


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

when she was in the shop she was completely bleached out... im talking albino, she went black instantly when she hit my tank and has only gotten darker since, id say he follows her around the tank more than chases, as you can see, they have a few tank mates, who i think will be moving out very soon unfortunately


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

steaklover said:


> I've noticed since looking at other JDs on this site that Jack actually has a deformed dorsal fin... no biggie, he swims just fine!!


Good looking pair. Their dorsal fins aren't "deformed" per say; they are simply old injuries that did not heal completely. It's purely cosmetic, so like you said no biggie.


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

the romance has definitely blossomed! they have found a cosy corner and renovated it nicely, they have a nice clean piece of clay pot all ready to go, the problem i now have is my sailfin pleco is being a little too inquisitive and i think i need to seperate them by use of a tank divider, can anyone suggest a good way of doing this?


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

just an update, i noticed them yesterday morning acting unusual and caught them in the act of spawning, i got it on video and will post up soon, theres now a stack of eggs and as of this morning (24 hrs) there is only 1 that has turned white so fingers crossed i get a large batch of fry!
i know there is a very slim to none chance that either of them carry the blue gene, but is there any way to tell an ebjd apart when its still fry? or do i just have to wait till they are juveniles to tell if i have any?


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

finally hereis the vid of them spawning


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

and here is another short clip 3 days after they hatched, as you can see mum and dad arent too happy about being filmed


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Beautiful Jacks, more updates on the fry and how their doing.


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

i guess its more mis management than misfortune, but it seems that Jack has gone rouge! he has demolished all of the fry and turned on Jill.. i had heard that male Jacks should be separated from the fry and the mother but as of 2 days ago all was well, both parents were doing their bit well.. then before i went to bed, i noticed Jack had cleaned and repositioned the clay slab that the eggs were initially laid on, he was also being a little frisky with Jill and managed to get her into a liplock, and being right near the fry i was concerned and decided that first thing in the morning i would separate them.
morning came and the tank was a shomozzle... no fry anywhere, plants ripped up and jill was stressed and hiding in the top corner of the tank, Jack sat in the middle of the tank, posturing and colored redder than id ever seen... he was angry!!
Jill has some pretty serious damage.
I've made a temporary measure of putting Jack in the naughty corner, and I've cleaned and completely rearranged all the ornaments in the tank, i have a tank divider on order but that will take a few days, so until then Jack stays cooped up.
Im hoping his aggression subsides and i can get these 2 back together, but it doesn't look good.
has anyone experienced this behaviour with JDs before? is there a light at the end of the tunnel? or will they have to be kept separated from now on?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I cannot help with the JDs, as I have no experience with them. Listing the tank dimensions would help.

You could possibly use some eggcrate/light diffuser grid for a tank separator, until whatever you ordered shows up.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

It sounds like Jack may have wanted to spawn again already. Was this there first spawn? If so, often times it takes a pair a few times to get the process down. I'd continue with your plan and use a divider for a while. Once your female is back to 100% reintroduce them and see how they get along. If/when they spawn again you may have to separate them again once the fry hatch. Some pairs are simply to rough on each other to be kept together all the time.


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

CjCichlid said:


> It sounds like Jack may have wanted to spawn again already. Was this there first spawn? If so, often times it takes a pair a few times to get the process down. I'd continue with your plan and use a divider for a while. Once your female is back to 100% reintroduce them and see how they get along. If/when they spawn again you may have to separate them again once the fry hatch. Some pairs are simply to rough on each other to be kept together all the time.


Yeah was their ( or at least Jacks) first spawn, and it wasn't exactly large in numbers from what i had expected, the divider arrived today so Jack is out of the naughty corner and Jill is actually healing up quite quickly and seems to be rather stress free.. i think i will give them a few weeks apart all the same... thanks for the advice :thumb:


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> I cannot help with the JDs, as I have no experience with them. Listing the tank dimensions would help.
> 
> You could possibly use some eggcrate/light diffuser grid for a tank separator, until whatever you ordered shows up.


tank dimensions are 152cm long (5 ft) x 45 cm wide and 50 cm high its 75g, just the 2 of them plus a sailfin pleco


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

So after a couple of months, and a few more batches of fry lost, it seems i have a winning formula.
The problem i had was Jack was a hungry man, and liked to eat his fry, so i put in a tank divider made of fly screen in a frame i custom built, problem was it was a millimetre or 2 away from being the perfect fit and the fry slid past... it was almost like Jack lured them across, a bit of rubber sponge around the frame fixed this.
Finally Jill has had a batch of fry that have made it past week 1 and are actually now into week 3 and going nicely. it is a small batch as i hadnt put her on a high protein diet before they decided to spawn, horny little buggers.
vid to follow
Cheers


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

done on my iphone so apologies for poor quality


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## FedEXguy (Feb 24, 2005)

Interesting looking tank divider, and congrats on getting the "formula" down! The only constructive criticism I have is to film in landscape (sideways) mode


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## steaklover (Jun 22, 2013)

this one should be better


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## FedEXguy (Feb 24, 2005)

:thumb: :thumb: Looks good! I love JDs.


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