Electric Blue Jack Dempsey's worthless?

[l3lhsl3]

Watch them eat B4 you pick one out. Get one that looks fat and active!:thumbsup: ALSO - make sure they have had the fish for a while B4 you buy one. Thats my Tips anyway!

Good Luck,
Arkangel77

decided not to get one how come the lfs's EBJDS all look different ?

i wish i would of took a picture of the one that died but it had a long dorsal and anal fin? but the ones i just looked at look more like the picture u posted?

 

[Arkangel77]

Not sure? All mine look simmilar. They do change as they get larger

 

[l3lhsl3]

well it was from 2 different fish stores they looked healthy i might go back but the guy said they grow extremely slow?

 

[Arkangel77]

Here are a few quick shots.

 

[l3lhsl3]

yea the they look sorta different same colors the ones at the lfs were more circle...

 

[jay60642]

Most people don't know that the Electric Blue Jack Dempsey is a Hybrid--that's how breeders get that great color. Thus, as with some hybrids, there are numerous problems with them. They are more delicate, need almost perfect water parameters, the best tank environment you can provide, and then you have to figure out what each one will eat!! They are more susceptible to parasites and diseases that come along--often things that your other fish could deal with. Breeding will only give you problems, as a hybrid rarely breeds true to one of its species, much less with a third specie interoduced. Even breeding back to a normal Jack may be difficult to impossible. I'll never have one in my tanks--rather have a normal Jack. Make life alot easier!!!!

This new variant occurs naturally. However, that's besides the point. Except for often being sterile, most hybrids are much healthier than purebred animals, especially animals bred for pets. That is why cat/dog/fish/etc. breeders out-cross their champion animals with new variants or animals from other genetic pools to create HYBRID VIGOR, the term for the tendency for mixed breeds to be stronger than purebred, often INbred animals.

I wonder if you are thinking of inbred animals who have been so genetically modified that they are no longer vigorous. Consider all the new "designer" dogs like puggles, labradoodles, etc. All of these F1 animals are MUCH healthier and more robust than their purebred parents. It's the crazy breeding that people are doing with the same gene pool to get certain characteristics (bigger chests in bulldogs, flatter noses in Persian cats, brighter blues in rams) that produces weak fish. However, these animals are not really hybrids--people are attempting to hone in on one desired physical trait or phenotype, not mix animals to create a new trait. A hybrid is a mixing of two distinct variants usually done to create a distinct third variant (like parrotfish).

The fact that EBJD are sports of the original/plain Jack Dempseys makes them mutations, not hybrids. It's not as if people are breeding Jack Dempseys to turquoise discus to get the blue color. In fact, I can't think of another Meso-American cichlid that could throw that color when bred to Jack Dempseys.

 

[jay60642]

Didn't read down far enough. I apologize for my other post.

 

[jay60642]

I'm surprised by so many posts about what a waste of time and money EBJDs are. Have any of you guys ever kept or tried to breed discus? Growing up, my family went through so many discus just to get a breeding pair, that I find it funny that people are turned off by mortality rates. Part of the excitement of the hobby is overcoming a challenge that other hobbyists still cannot. Since being able to breed discus, I now go from one species to the next just to find another challenge. Maybe I should try the EBJD.

 

[valkalis]

i live in louisiana..after reading all this stuff about EBJD i was not sure i wound go with them then i bought 4 EBJD for 12.99 each at a pet store they are doing good.
they are in a 55 gal tank they seem more active when the water temp is arund 74 - 78. they are eating buy not much like im used to seeing with other fish..they are pretty fish...

 

[GEV83]

Dude this is an old thread. I remember this one from a couple years back. Why does this one keep coming back from the dead?