Questions from Newbie to Cichlids

[ruffian64]

I have had one Jack Dempsey male for a couple years. WalMart doesnt give instructions with their fish:confused: so he only got flake food for the first couple years. He is still only 2 inches. Shouldnt he be bigger by now? Could I have stunted his growth by only giving him flake food? He is now getting a well ballanced diet of flake food, blood worms, baby guppies, Wardley cichlid pellets,(along with the one time "treat" of my frog, and angel fish). His color is now beautiful! My husband brought home a huge female in comparrison to our male(about 4 inches) who was georgeous and aggresive when she came home. The next day, I added more rocks to the tank after I found out they needed 4-5 inches. Then the female turned very pale. The male is still almost black, as well as the Jewel that my husband brought home, being a bright red.

Does anyone have any feeding tips for me? Is there anything I can add to poor Jacks diet to help him grow? How many times a day should we be feeding them? The directions on the food say twice a day, but the shop keeper says every other day. Will poor little Jack grow? Will my female color up again for me? what do I do with the baby dempsey's when they hatch? Do pet stores buy or trade them? How old would they have to be to give away or trade at the pet store?

SusanH (aka Ruffian)

[VoodooChild]

How big of a tank is this? He's definantly stunted if he's only that big after that long. That could be a product of the food, though if it's a decent brand he shouldn't have been stunted THAT bad. I'd look to your water. How often were water changes done? The female's loss of color is most likely stress related. Again, check the water. It could also be contributed to the addition of the jewel or just moving to a new tank. I'd feed your JD once a day. Usually a full grown New World cichlid could easily get buy on 3 times a week, but you may be able to get some growth out of him, albeit very limited. I doubt he'll every reach is full size, probably maxing out at a few to 5 inches, and his lifespan will probably be shortened as well.

[ruffian64]

Jack is in a 29 gallon tank. It use to be community tank with grommies(spelling?). It didnt work out so he became the sole occupant. When we moved I put him in a betta vase for a couple months. He seemed to do ok in it. So I set up my tank for 2 angels and a frog. Then the water in the vase got too cold in the kitchen of our old farm house and we thought he had froze to death. Just before I was about to dump him down the toilet we noticed hom move, dumped him in the tank and he immediately came back to life! Now so fortunate for the frog and angels who became lunch. Needless to say for much of his life he has been pretty much alone in the 29 gallon tank. I have found him to be pretty much industructable. I will check the water when I go pick up the feeder guppies tomorrow. Ive made alot of mistakes(thank you oh wise sales person at WalMart) in the past, Id like to get it right now, seeing as how Jack has lasted as long as he has under such crappy conditions.

Susan(aka Ruffian)

[VoodooChild]

It's gouramies. How often did you do water changes then? That could've been a starting factor. Definantly, by far, what did him in was the betta bowl. It's pretty unbelievable that he survived for that long. If the water in that wasn't changes daily/bi-daily you are going to have growth problems. I would guarantee that that is why your little guy will never grow. The near death experience probably shaved his life a little shorter too. 2 JD's and Jewel is really alot in a 29. I would really recommend getting rid of the jewel. You could try and get a pair out of the dempsey's, but she might beat up on him if he stays that small. And you'd need to do very frequent water changes when she got larger. So if there's a different spot for her, that's the way I go. A 29 for him would suit him just fine. Just keep on the good meal plan you have for him and do a 20% water change every week to two weeks. He should live a decent little life. Good luck!

[ruffian64]

I usually did about a %50 water change every couple weeks in the tank. He was in the tank for well over a year when we moved and I put him in the vase for about maybe 2-4 months. I changed the water in the vase about 2 times a week.

I would like to get a larger tank soon and turn this one back to a community tank, just not sure which fish Id like to explore next. Ill have to do my studying before jumping into it.

SusanH(aka Ruffian)

[Rare Cichlids]

I seriously doubt you have a Jack Dempsey. A Jack Dempsey at only 2" after couple years is nearly impossible unless conditions were horrible, and it doesn't sound like they were that bad (aside from the betta vase stage).

Can you get a picture up?

[Rare Cichlids]

Oh, and though they are often called Gouramies (plural of Gouramy ) in the aquarium trade, the original English spelling of the native south east Asian name, and the spelling that is still used as the scientific name for the Giant Goramy, is Goramy (plural is Goramies)

Was that a run on sentence or what?

[Tightdog1]

i would say put them into a 55g or bigger and let them all grow out.

[ruffian64]

Id love to put a photo up. Ill have my husband handle that tonight. Hes the photo wiz. Believe me thoug, if he only stayed a couple inches after 2 years, it wouldnt surprise me in the least, since it would be just my luck. Every time I buy a fish, or even a plant, my husband makes snide remarks about the poor thing being doomed from the get go.

[VoodooChild]

Prove him wrong and raise something right from the start to a healthy adulthood. You tell us what you like and we can tell you what you need to get. Imagine his surprise if you get a brood! Anyways, yes please post the pics. The thought that it might not even be a dempsey didn't even occur to me.

[SjButton]

My what a lot of questions.

1) Stay away from Wal-Mart. Not only do they not give instructions, but their fish live in very poor conditions and most of them are dead. Ever curious why there is no gravel or rocks in the tanks? hmm...

2) Cichlids eat Cichlid food, among nearly anything else you put in the tank... including other fish buddies. Cichlids are very aggressive and should only be kept with other Cichlids and/or MUCH larger fish. They can kill most fish quite larger than them and become much more aggressive when breeding.

3) Rocks. Can't say I'm sure about 4-5 inches of rocks, but why not. A pound a gallon at least, so the more the merrier I guess. I don't think they're too concerned about the depth of rocks and 4-5 inches sounds like quite a lot. How tall is your tank? That's 1/3 of the tank in a 10 or 20 long. I shouldn't think that you need quite that much...

4) Colors. Colors definitely change. I have several (17) convict cichlids that have very dark stripes at time or some become more pale. The males got gorgeous blue tones on the edges of their fins while they were breeding and the females added rainbow colors and a bit of orange to their tummy. When they were done breeding the colors faded. The breeding female is now a much brighter rainbow and more orange than before she hatched 70 fry. (Need any convicts? I have a few. I guarantee they are convicts and should live happy and full lives.)

5) Feeding tips. If you're quite desperate to add a bit of protein to Jacks diet, brew up some shrimps for him. Brine shrimp (sea monkeys) by the San Francisco Shrimpery can be bought from most pet stores or buy a kit from http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_fish_food_san_francisco_bay_brand_hatcher y.asp?ast=&key=
Mostly he needs a lot of protein. Cichlid food, shrimp, bloodworms. Sounds like you've already added some into his diet, so you can't do much to undo what was done. Some fish are naturally just smaller/less dominant than others. I have a lot of Cichlids that are large and agressive with dark color and others that are smaller and paler. It's just nature. You can't do much about it...

You can feed your fish twice a day (or more), but the more you feed them the more nitrates there will be and the more you'll have to clean (I would recommend a 20% water change every week, rather than the 50% change you're doing less frequently. This will keep the water quality more consistent.) Get your water tested for nitrates and chlorine if you can. Local pet stores Pet Co, Pet Smart will do these for free, or you can buy a water testing kit. They can be a bit pricy, but then you'd know what's going on in there.

6) Babies. When the baby dempsey's hatch (did she lay eggs already?) The mom and dad will take good care of them, but remove any tank mates thay may have because they will be very protective and agressive. Feed them regularly and as the hatchlings get to be larger fry you will see them voraciously picking off the same food you feed mom and dad.

Some pet stores will buy them. Some won't. Trade? I don' know. Some will just take them off your hands for you and say have a nice day. Most will want them to be a bit bigger than fry. About an inch or so I guess. You'd just have to ask. There are also sites that sell fishes wholesale aquabid.com, but you'd have to know how to successfully ship them as well. Or I suppose you could request only in your area, or you could put an add in the paper... or you could give them away to local schools or friends...

For more info on cichlids visit www.tropicalfish.co.za (info about cichlid breeding) or cichlidresearch.com (Ron has done extensive research in Central America on Cichlids)

Well, good luck!
Sarah

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Wonderful reply!

Too bad he/she wont see it since this thread is almost 3 years old.... its best not to post to old threads since its very likely his or her problem has long been dealt with and/or they dont post here anymore.



;)
-Diana

[mooman]

That stinks Sj, It really was a good reply. Could tell you took some time with it. Welcome to the Forum.

[Cylon]

I have to also go with tank size.
I had a JD in a 29 gal as well for about 6 months. Grew way slower then the one im my 90. I moved him and he whent though a growth spirt.
You may want a 55 as posted earlyer in this thread.
If you want to pair and breed them as I think you stated you are for sure going to need something larger then a 29.
Best of luck
Cylon

Ops after reading moonman and luvmykribs I retract my post.

Didn't relize these forums were up this long