I won't buddy, your first on my list. But I get dibs on one of them hahahaha need to get a generation out of this spawn.
Electric Blue Jack Dempsey's worthless?
- Thread starter Cylon
- Start date
EBJD's are not "hybrids". I do not know how that rumor got started but it is misleading people and causing some serious confusion. EBJD's are as interesting as aquarium fish come. Some folks want their tanks to be easy and some people want a challenge, I prefer the latter especially if the end result is an EBJD as beautiful as the ones I have. Over the past couple of days 2 of the most gorgeous of any EBJD strain that I have in my 240g have stopped swimming around and they do not eat. I am going to do everything I can to keep them alive but the truth of the matter is once they stop eating it's almost always death. I will say this anyone can toss a couple fish into some water and say they are aquarists but the truth is that's just a tank owner. It's when you resolve problems, share ideas and generally take interest in the art of aquaculture that the rewards start to come. I encourage you all to take that leap and become and Aquaculturist. It is so worth it.
As a few others have already noted, EBJD is not a hybrid. I believe it was Jeff Rapps who paid to have DNA testing done to confirm this. They show recessive traits and the personality seems like it is also out of character as compared to normal JD. I am sorry to hear that so many of us have lost EBJD over the years. I consider myself lucky. Out of the nearly 30 EBJD I have owned in the last few years, I have only lost a total of five. Four of them were mail ordered at nearly 2" and had the horrid "beak face". They never seemed hardy and died one after another within a few weeks. The fifth was a young adult at 5" and died as a result of abuse from other fish in the tank. Currently, I have 19 juvies 1.5-3", One sub adult 4.5" and two adults 5-7". All are doing well, though the larger are definitely more skittish.
Alright, I'm bringing this thread back to life because I'm interested. It has been several years since this fantastic discussion began and with these little guys popping up all over the local fish stores in my town I'm wondering if there have been any new major developments or determinations about the care for this lovely looking fish. As far as I can see the price hasn't changed, it looks like they are going for about 25 to 30 dollars. When I was looking to stock my new 70 gallon I saw these in one of my favorite LFS and thought to myself it's too good to be true. A gorgeous blue fish (my favorite color) with a name like Jack Dempsey now that's a fighter! (Joke intended) Knowing that the common Jack Dempsey cichlid isn't some crazy difficult fish I was thinking that it was a match made in heaven and I impulsively purchased one of these little buggers. Normally before I buy I spy. In other words, I get on the internet and I research everything I can about a species before purchasing. I even went through the trouble of driving around my town for about two hours checking every store that had them and ruthlessly scrutinizing their stock until returning to the store I originally found them to make my purchase. The only thing I learned about them is that no one was willing to guarantee their Electric Blue Jack Dempsey Stock, one store I visited even advertised it right on the tank in big red bold letters. That should have been my first warning, but the weather was nice I had started off the day with a fantastic talk with my girlfriend, all the planets were aligned this was the fish. For those of you still reading and wondering if this counts as an impulse buy for me the answer is yes. Shopping with me is more painful than a bone marrow transplant. So here I am now the proud owner of a little blue headache. The first few days were great! The fish was active, eating like a maniac, and a joy to watch excitedly swimming back and forth. Then one morning...white stringy poop. I cannot write here the exact sentence that left my lips because the level of inappropriate speech would scar the ears of even the most seasoned sailor. A water test that revealed nothing was performed, and of course a water change. Treatments for constipation and a desperate diet change followed. Then the research, the horror set in...what have I gotten myself into? After reading this thread I am 90% sure my little guy has an internal parasite. I understand clout is probably my only hope. He seems to be chewing food but then spitting it out, his color is fading, and he is prone to random bouts of flashing. I'm guessing he isn't going to make it. So my next mission is to find a good breeder. I want one of these fish. I am up for a challenge, but I want to know where I can get good stock. Maybe you are one of those people or maybe you know one. Anyways, new information is most welcome.
