GREAT LIP LOCK PICTURES

Jack Dempsey Breeding Pair

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JACK DEMPSEY CICHLID DISEASES

Prevention / Treatment

     The primary reason aquarium fish get sick in the home aquarium is STRESS. Stress causes the immune system to weaken, leading to increased susceptibility to diseases and existing pathogens to flourish. A healthy immune system will go a long way in preventing disease and pathogen infestation. If you have problems, check for these stressful situations in your aquarium.

  Things that cause fish stress in the home aquarium:

• Poor water quality: measurable ammonia or nitrites, or very high nitrates.
• The water temperature is fluctuating more than 2 deg F/day
• Incompatible species in the tank.
• Overcrowding your fish tank (5 adult angelfish in 10g tank).
• The tank is too small for the fish (foot long fish in 10g tank).
• The water is too warm or too cold for the species (goldfish vs. tropicals).
• Wrong pH for species (Discus vs. African cichlids)
• pH fluctuations greater than 0.2 units/day.
• Insufficient cover or hiding places present.
• Wrong water hardness for the species (Discus vs. African cichlids).
• Insufficient oxygen in the water.
• Improper fish nutrition (wrong food, foods not varied). 

Indications that your fish are stressed and in poor health:

• Clamped fins (fins are held abnormally close to body)
• The fish refuses its usual food for more than 2 days.
• There are visible spots, lesions, or white patches on the fish.
• The fish gasps at the surface of the water.
• The fish floats, sinks, whirls, or swims sideways.
• The fish shimmies (moves from side to side without going forward).
• A normally active fish is still.
• A normally still fish is very active.
• The fish suddenly bloats up, and it’s not due to eggs or young.
• The fish is scratching against tank decorations.

If your fish display any of these symptoms, you have a problem and should treat them immediately.

Aquarium medications to keep on hand:

I suggest setting up a fish medicine cabinet. It seems like fish always get sick when the store is closed.The following list of items should be kept on hand by all home aquariusts:

• Water quality test kits: pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate
• Aquarium salt (NOT table salt. Most table salts contain additives to keep them from clumping. Kosher or rock salt is OK).
• Malachite green/formalin ich remedy
• Methylene blue
• Chlorine bleach for disinfection
• Maybe one antibiotic (Kaynamycin or Furanace)
• Antibiotic-containing food
• Copper remedy for parasites
• Q-tips
• Malachite green or Mercurochrome 

Common diseases/problems or What’s wrong with my fish?

Bad water quality
Fish are gasping at the surface, or very inactive, but there are not visible lesions when it first starts. Their fins may be clamped. Many fish of different species are affected, and possibly the whole tank. If the water has been bad for a while, the fish may have fin rot, or streaks of blood in their fins.

• If fish are gasping at the surface, or have purple gills: high ammonia or low dissolved O2 may be the problem; test ammonia, dissolved O2
• If the main symptom is inactivity: test nitrites, pH, dissolved 02, nitrates

Depending on your test results, try the following:

Ammonia
Change enough of the water to reduce ammonia levels to 1-2 ppm for freshwater or below 1 ppm for saltwater. If that means changing more than a third of the water, be sure the water you add is the same temperature, salinity, hardness and pH of the tank water. It is also okay to do multiple smaller water changes for a few days. Aerate, and make sure pH is at or below 7.0 for freshwater tanks. In addition to or instead of changing water, you can also add a dose of AmQuel to give fish immediate relief. Find out why ammonia is present and correct the problem.

Nitrites
Change enough of the water to bring nitrites down to below 2 ppm (as with ammonia, if this is a lot of water, match water parameters or do multiple water changes), add 1 tbsp/gallon salt (not all fish may tolerate this much — start out with 1 tsp), and add supplemental aeration. Find out why the nitrite levels are high and correct the problem.

Nitrates
Change water and clean the filter. If your filter is dirty, there is more waste material present to break down into nitrate. Start feeding less and changing water more often.

Low oxygen
Run an airstone. If this helps a lot, the fish probably don’t have enough oxygen in the water. Your tank may need cleaning, fewer fish, or additional water movement at the surface from a powerhead, airstone, or filter.

Improper pH
If pH is too low: make sure carbonate buffering is adequate — at least 5 dKH. In general, adding baking soda at 1 tsp. per 30 gal. raises dKH about 2 degrees. For a 10-20g tank that just needs the pH a little higher, try about a quarter teaspoonful. If that isn’t enough, add up to a teaspoonful more. You can scale this up to 1 tsp/30 gal for larger tanks. If the pH is still too low and the KH is at least 5-6 dKH, clean the tank. For long-term buffering in saltwater and alkaline freshwater systems, add crushed coral. If pH is too high, pH down (phosphoric acid) can be added. Don’t rely on this stuff, except in extreme situations like ammonia poisoning because it can cause excessive algal growth. To lower pH long-term, filter over peat, or use distilled or deionized water mixed with your tapwater.

Freshwater Ich
Symptoms: Fish look like they have little white salt grains on them and may scratch against objects in the tank.

White spot disease (Ichthyopthirius multifiliis) is caused by a protozoan with a life cycle that includes a free-living stage. Ich grows on a fish –> it falls off and attaches to gravel or tank glass –> it reproduces to MANY parasites –> these swarmers then attach to other fish. If the swarmers do not find a fish host, they die in about 3 days (depending on the water temperature).

Therefore, to treat it, medicine must be added to the display tank to kill free-living parasites. If fish are removed to quarantine, parasites living in the tank will escape the treatment — unless ALL fish are removed for about a week in freshwater or three weeks in saltwater systems. In a reef tank, where invertebrates are sensitive to ich medications, removing the fish is the only option. Some people think that ich is probably dormant in most tanks. It is most often triggered by temperature fluctuations.

Remedy:For most fish, use a medication with formalin and malachite green. These are the active ingredients in many ich medications at fish shops. Some products are Kordon’s Rid Ich and Aquarium Products’ Quick Cure. Just read the label and you may find others. Check for temperature fluctuations in the tank and fix them to avoid recurrences. Note that tetras can be a little sensitive to malachite green, so use it at half the dose.

Use these products as directed (usually a daily dose) until all of the fish are spot-free. Then dose every three days for a total of four more doses. This will kill any free-swimming parasites as they hatch out of cysts.

Another remedy is to raise the tank temperature to about 90 deg F and add 1 tsp/gallon salt to the water. Not all fish tolerate this.

Finally, one can treat ich with a “transfer method.” Fish are moved daily into a different tank with clean, conditioned, warmed water. Parasites that came off of the fish are left behind in the tank. After moving the fish daily for a week, the fish (presumably cured) can be put back into the main tank. The disadvantage of this method is that it stresses both fish and fishkeeper.

Fin rot
Symptoms: Fishes’ fins turn whitish and die back. Fin rot often follows damage or injury. It can also be caused by poor water quality.

Remedy:First, fix the water and remove any fin-nipping fish. Change some water (25% is good) and add 1 tsp/gallon salt to promote healing. If bad water quality or an aggressive tank mate was the problem, that should be adequate. Healing will begin within a couple of days.

If it worsens, decide first whether it’s fungal or bacterial. Fungal fin rot looks like clumps of cotton on the fins and usually follows injury. It is commonly seen in African cichlids or fish that have injured themselves against decorations. Bacterial fin rot is whitish, but not cottony (unless it’s columnaris), and can be contagious. The fish then need to be removed from the tank and medicated.

Fungus: For fish large enough to handle, catch the fish, and dab malachite green directly on the fungus with a Q-tip. This is extremely effective. Repeat treatments may be necessary.

For small fish, a commercial fungicide such as Maroxy may work. For severe infestations, try a bath in methylene blue (enough so you can barely see the fish) until the fungus turns blue or for 20 min. If you add methylene blue directly to a tank, you will kill plants and trash your biological filter.

Bacterial: Antibiotic treatment in a quarantine tank. This is stressful for the fish, and doesn’t always work, so be sure of what you are doing before you attempt it. If the fish is still eating, the best bet is an antibiotic food. Tetra makes one that works well — just buy the one for bacterial diseases and follow the directions on the can.

If the fish is not eating, a bath treatment is necessary. A combination of Kaynamycin and Furanace usually works, especially for Columnaris. Again, treat in a separate tank and aerate heavily.

Injuries
Cichlids and other “scrappy” fish may sustain injuries that are severe enough to draw blood from fighting. Other fish may run into tank decorations, walls, or rocks.

Larger fish can be netted and their injuries dabbed with Mercurochrome (available at drug stores) or Betadine (iodine-based antibiotic also available at drug stores) to help prevent infection. Be sure to keep these chemicals off of the gills and eyes. For really small fish, put the affected fish in dilute methylene blue (pale blue) and 1 tsp/gallon salt in a separate tank. If you want to keep the fish in the main tank just add salt, as methylene blue will trash your biological filter.

Watch the fish to be sure injuries are healing cleanly, and repeat the Mercurochrome dosage if necessary. If fin rot or fungus sets in, see the above section on fin rot.

Dropsy
Fish swells up like a balloon and may show popeyes. It may recover with no treatment and may die despite it. The swelling is because the fish is absorbing water faster than it can eliminate it, and it can be caused by many different problems. High nitrates are one thing to check. Internal bacterial infections, including fish TB, are other possibilities. If there are no water quality problems, you may want to attempt antibiotic treatment in a separate tank.

Head and Lateral Line Erosion (hole-in-head disease)
This disease can affect discus, other cichlids, and many saltwater fish. The fish develops holes in it’s head and sometimes along its lateral line. Causes are unclear but as in any disease, stress and poor water quality likely play a role. Fish in planted tanks rarely get HLLE, which supports the nutrition idea, since fish can nibble on the plants and obtain extra nutrition. With large cichlids such as Jack Dempseys that rip up plants, feed Spirulina, lettuce or Kale often. Untergasser also observes that the protozoan Hexamita can be found in the lesions. Untreated cases can eventually prove disfiguring or fatal.

Remedy: First, make sure water quality is optimal and reduce stress. Stopping carbon filtration may help as it can remove nutrients from the water. Then feed a vitamin-enriched food, paying particular attention to vitamin C supplementation.

For stubborn cases, some books suggest metronidazole (Flagyl) to eliminate Hexamita (a mildly pathogenic protozoan) from the lesions. Your mileage may vary with that one. Metrozole and Hex-a-mit are commercial medications with metronidazole.

Swim bladder disorders
Fish floats upside-down or sideways. This is particularly common in fancy goldfish because of their bizarre body shapes. Dry food eaten quickly swells up in the fish’s intestine and keeps the fish from controlling its swim bladder properly.

To help, feed the fish pre-soaked or gel-based foods. Green foods are also helpful; peas in particular.

As with fin rot, these disorders can also be caused by bacterial infection. Treatment is much the same. Use antibiotic food if the fish is eating, or add antibiotic to the water in a quarantine tank if the fish is too sick to eat.

Large external parasites (as opposed to ich)
Add a copper remedy to the tank and monitor it with a copper test kit. Also, Mardel’s Maroxy works well. For anchor worms or leeches on pond fish, remove them from the affected fish with tweezers and swab the area with Mercurochrome to prevent infection.

Velvet
Fish look like they have been finely dusted with flecks of gold. Fins may be clamped and the fish may shimmy.

Treat with an anti-parasitic medication such as copper or formalin/malachite green.

Keeping your tank free of disease

     Quarantining new fish is a good habit for all aquaria, but is not absolutely necessary for success. Quarantining is simply keeping a fish in a separate tank for long enough to be certain that it is disease free. Many beginners do fine without a quarantine tank, and object to the cost of another setup. A quarantine tank does cost more, but if a hobbyist has hundreds of dollars invested in fish, it is cheaper to have a separate quarantine tank than to replace fish killed by a newly introduced disease. Also, many of us become attached to fish and do not want to expose our pets to diseases from newcomers, no matter what the cost.

     The purpose of quarantining is to avoid introducing new diseases to a stable system, and to be able to better observe new fish for signs of disease. A quarantine tank can also double as a hospital tank for sick fish. Hospital tanks are good because they lower the cost of using medicines and keep diseased fish separate from healthy ones. Quarantine is probably most important for saltwater tanks/reef systems because of the difficulty of treating diseases, or wild-caught freshwater fish because they are probably not disease-free. Quarantining itself can stress fish so be sure quarantine is as stress-free as possible.

How to set up a quarantine or hospital tank:

• Keep an extra filter — a sponge filter is ideal — or piece of filter floss in an established tank, so that you don’t have to keep the quarantine tank set up at all times. Some people choose instead to keep the filter going with guppies or danios (for freshwater) or mollies (for saltwater).
• If you don’t keep the tank running, use old tank water to fill the tank. So: old tank water + established filter = instant established tank.
• Add a spare airpump and heater. If you haven’t messed with the heater during storage, it should come to wherever you had it last time.
• Consider using Amquel or equivalent when medicating the tank in case the biological filter bacteria are sensitive to the medication. Sick fish are especially susceptible to ammonia. (Note that ammonia which has been bound with Amquel still shows up on a nessler ammonia test. So, if you are planning on testing for ammonia in that tank, you need to use a salicylate ammonia test.)
• For a hospital tank, do small, frequent water changes (even every day).

If possible, quarantine all of your new fish for about three weeks. During that time, gradually acclimate the fish to your tank’s parameters: hardness, pH, salinity, temperature, etc., and watch for and treat any signs of disease. Do not medicate quarantined fish “just in case.” Only treat evident, definitely identified diseases. Treating all quarantined fish with a bunch of medicines will just lead to weakened fish and antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Once you are done with the quarantine, if you treated any especially nasty diseases, it is good to disinfect the tank and reestablish the filter. Chlorine bleach or strong saltwater (for freshwater) work well. Be sure all traces of bleach are rinsed off. Another good disinfectant is potassium permanganate (Jungle’s Clear Water is one commercial way to get it).

If you choose not to quarantine, do not add store water to your tank with the new fish.

Q: How about quarantining plants?

        A: Plants can carry diseases into a tank, too. It is a good idea to disinfect new plants if there were fish in the tank with them at the store.

Q: How do I avoid introducing diseases in the first place?

         A: Never buy sick fish from a store. Especially do not buy fish or plants from a tank if *any* fish in the tank shows any signs of disease or if there is medicine in the water (water is colored yellow, green, or blue). Store people may say the fish are fine, but if they were, why is the medicine in the tank? Also ask how long the fish have been in the store. New arrivals may be carrying diseases that have not shown up yet. It is better to wait a couple of weeks before purchasing the fish. If you must have a fish that just came in, be especially sure to quarantine it properly. 

Baby Jack Dempsey cichlids hatching from eggs to 8 days old. 

How and What To Feed Jack Dempsey Fry

      Congratulations, you’re the proud aunt/uncle of tiny, baby Jack Dempsey cichlids. They are tiny and yet they will soon eat crushed up flake foods and even pulverized cichlid pellets. During the first 3 days of life, these little critters won’t be eating such foods but just absorbing their protein sack. But even then, they will be nibbling around at things and possibly getting some micro, micro organisms to munch on.

     It has always been my thinking that the best nursery tank for newborns of any egg laying fish is an established aquarium. The reason being is that a good food source for these tiny fry are the micro organisms and bacteria that are covering the gravel or even bare glass bottom. Many types of bacteria that you find in an established aquarium are full of beneficial vitamins and minerals (like kids vitamins). In a newly set up nursery tank, you won’t have these beneficial bacteria and certainly not any micro organisms such as those tiny white worms you see on the glass. Those make good food for young fry.

     Despite the age of your nursery tank, you still have to provide some normal food after a few days. Now if the parents are still with the babies then they will take care of most of the feeding for a few weeks. They will, very unselfishly, accept your cichlid foods and chomp it up in their mouth, spilling tiny crumbs out their gills and mouth just over their young. It’s such an amazing thing to watch and both the male and female participate. Who ever taught them to do this? The parents try to keep the young fry in a group so that at feeding time they will all get their share. Watch the parents as they rush around the tank, sucking up in their mouth the little runts that are roaming out beyond the safety of the group.

     If you had to remove the eggs to a nursery without the parents, then your job is a bit more difficult. You must be sure to crush the food up to a powdery state to feed them. The first 10 days are critical and many of the young will probably die during this period. After a week or so, the young should be large enough to feed them newly hatched artemiabrine shrimp. Micro worms are also an excellent food source for these apprentice Jack Dempsey fish. Always take care NOT TO OVERFEED. If you find food debris on the bottom of the nursery, remove it ASAP. Feed your babies 5 times a day if possible for the first 3 weeks. Any less then that and their growth will be stunted and some will weaken and perish. As a norm, a brood of 500 fry will be shrunk down to maybe 200 after 4 weeks, even with good care and feeding… it’s the natural course of nature. 

     A 5 or 10 gallon aquarium is best for your nursery for the first month. This is so that when you feed your fry, they won’t have to wonder very far to find the food. Water conditions are not critical but stability of those established conditions are important. Temperature 72 – 82 F — PH 6.5 to 7.2 is good for fry.  But whatever parameters you initially establish, try to maintain that constant.

 Filtering is not all that important for the initial fry tank. If you’re doing it right, you’re changing about 10% of the water every day (that’s only 1 gallon of water a day in a 10 gallon tank), and keeping the bottom of the tank clean.  It’s best not to have gravel on the bottom of your nursery so that uneaten food and debris can be easily seen and siponed off.  Sponge filters are an excellent choice for your nursery tanks. This will give some filtration while creating a mild current for the young. Remember, keep the temperature stable and make sure the water you add every day is chlorine free and temperature adjusted.

     As they mature, larger food chunks may be fed, some small pieces of frozen foods and a meal of live artemia brine shrimp hatchlings every day is a great way to increase their growth rates. Raising artemia shrimp to adult stage is quite easy and will give you a great food source for older juveniles as wel as the fry grow and continue on through their intense growth period those first few months.

     Moving the fry to a larger tank (20 gallon) is advisable after 5 or 6 weeks. They will be good swimmers by then and the larger tank will give them the space they need for the coming weeks to grow out. Keep in mind that 150 to 200 Jack Dempsey cichlids in a 20 gallon aquarium is not a pretty sight after a few short months of growth. The parents should probably be removed from the fry at this time and placed back in their own aquarium. You must give thought to how you are going to house these creatures as they mature. Pet stores may take some but most will not take them under 3 months of age or 2 ½ inches in length. You will have to provide more space or more aquariums to grow that many cichlids to that size and age and have them in good health. This is the time to call on your local shops and find out who’s interested. I trade my JDs for credit towards purchasing aquarium products… no exchange of cash.

     If you’ve kept the fry in the same aquarium with their parents, I would suggest that after 4 to 5 weeks it’s best to move them to their own nursery tank. A 20 gallon aquarium is the minimum size I would suggest, depending on the number of fry you have left at this point. Parent fish often want to spawn again after about 6 weeks and they may begin to kill off some of their young if in a crowded space. When the parent JDs do spawn again, you can kiss your juveniles goodbye. The adults will see their own offspring as a danger to their new brood and attempt to clear the aquarium of them. The NEW EGGS are all important and they will do whatever to protect them. That’s how it is in “The World of Jack Dempsey Cichlids” be it in the wild or in your home aquarium.  If you have questions about this, email me and I’ll respond within 24 hrs.  jackarthur46@yahoo.com.   Have fun.

        — Jack Lamountain   “The World of Jack Dempsey Cichlids”

  USE A MIRROR TO GET YOUR CICHLIDS TO SPAWN  

CLICK FOR CLOSE UP OF EGGS

     One method to induce your pair of Jack Dempsey fish to spawn is quite simple. Tape a small mirror (4”x4” square or round) to the outside of the glass in an area that is free of rocks or other obstructions. Now watch your male try to attack his image, thinking it’s another fish threatening his territory. If he is accompanied by a female in this aquarium, she will often be stimulated by his physical aggression towards his reflection. I often have done this with my breeders and in almost every case, the male would attack and the female would be stirred. You’ll see her nudge and poke the male as his mouth is almost glued to the mirrored reflection of himself. Annoyed by the female’s reaction, the male will turn on her for a few seconds, pushing her away. This continues for several days but you’ll soon see that the male becomes more accepting of the females nudging and poking after awhile. He often leaves the mirror now and begins the matting dance with her. He will return to the mirror but sooner or later he will begin to help the female clean off a flat rock for egg laying. 

           Sometimes this process takes only a day or two and other times it’s a week maybe before they start laying eggs. It has worked for me with many breeding pairs and it will probably work for you also. Don’t use a very large mirror for that would be too distracting. When the male begins spending a lot of time with the female, cleaning the rock and doing the mating dance, it’s time to REMOVE THE MIRROR. If you don’t remove it, the male will constantly be distracted by it as she is laying eggs and he is fertilizing them. He will often rush over to the mirror and the female chases after him. She is trying to get him back to the nest and do his job. So often, if the mirror is left in place at this time, many eggs don’t get fertilized and they die. 

         This is a fun activity to watch. Check out the video below, (Jack Dempsey Lip-Lock).  I placed this on “YouTube” awhile back and to date have about 35,000 viewers. Watch it and see what this article is all about. The pair in the video had their eggs the next day after this video was shot.  Have fun!    — Jack Lamountain    

  Created by: Jack Lamountain            

WHAT TO FEED

 JACK DEMPSEY FISH

Quality, not Quantity 

      One essential condition for keeping your Jack Dempsey fish healthy for many years is good nutrition. Appropriate food is not only a question of quantity but also of quality for the offered food. In general the aquarist looks after whether he provides enough food but not always of the variation. In general the aquarist feels inclined to give too much in stead of too little food. Both extremes are harmful, because they can lead to diseases, or at least a decreased activity and resistance of the fishes.

     A lot of the time it appears to be that fishes get too little food, consequently, don’t develop any breeding activities and show poor health. It poses in a tank where several eating habits are put together. Very greedy and active fishes have already eaten all the food while the shy or frightened species haven’t yet started eating. Also, many hobbyist fear overfeeding and fouling the water, consequently, the fish are stressed from hunger and lack of proper nutrition.

      Mistakes are quit often made more in composition of food than in the amount of food. That’s due to the fact that some popular species are downright feeding specialists. In the aquaristique, fish are often divided into peaceful and predatory fish. This classification appeals but is nevertheless a result of wrong conclusions, which can be made by beginning aquarists. In common the peaceful fishes feed themselves in their natural habitat exclusively and mainly with animal food. The only criterion, on which the classification is based on of peaceful and predatory fishes, is the size of the prey, because there is hardly a cichlid species to be found which do not eat other species if the size does not correspond with the food he normally prefers. Besides absolute herbivores, there are numerous amounts of fishes, which need some herbivorous food as a side dish. For large cichlids it’s sufficient to add some big lettuce or kale leaves in the water besides their normal food. For juveniles and smaller species it’s best to use frozen or fresh spinach. For fresh fish meat we have nothing to say. We can buy it either fresh or frozen. Besides the meat of freshwater fish we can also feed saltwater fish.

___________________________________________________

The Jack Dempsey fish is a very hardy cichlid. While not being a picky eater, the Dempsey can have trouble adjusting to new foods. It is best to alter their day to day diet with: pellets, shrimp, tubifex worms, plankton, lettuce, earthworms, snails, guppies and microworms for newborn fry. The better you feed a Jack Dempsey Cichlid, the more colorful and healthy it will become. It has been reported that the Jack Dempsey will also eat flake food, as well as crayfish, grasshoppers and small frogs.

GROW-OUT ARRANGEMENT.

Not very pretty, but it worked.

   This initial grow-out diagram is the setup for my first batch of Jack Dempsey cichlid fry that I reared to adults. As you may have seen, I now have modified this fishroomwith 9 aquariums on central filtration systems. (see ‘Fish Breeding Room’ ) The homemade filters sketched below are, however, very effective and I still use one or two from time to time on very heavy bio-loads.

    A few people that have checked out this site have asked me about the first babies this breeding pair had.  I wasn’t prepared for the 2nd clutch they had and the fry all died within 2 days of hatching. It may have been due to the fact that I wasn’t feeding the breeders much of a varied diet at that time. But the very first batch they had was a success. I estimate that they had about 350 to 400 hatchlings but after the first week we were down to maybe 150. This all took place in a 10 gallon aquarium. The pair were half the size they are now (male 4.5”, female 3”) so even with the babies, the aquarium wasn’t all that crowded, at least at first.

   They grew rapidly because I was, as usual, feeding the tank 5 to 6 times a day. The adults ground up all the food so that the babies could eat and that kept me cleaning the gravel quite a bit. What a trick it was to vacuum the gravel and not suck up babies. I did catch many but I scooped them out and put them back..

   About a month after the birth of the fry, I moved to another residence out of state. I had to pack the adults and babies into a 15 gallon plastic drum with a tight fitting lid. The move took all day and by the time I had the 10 gallon aquarium set up again it was late that day. They had been in the drum for about 8 hours and I lost many babies. I think the parents panicked and killed them. Once they were settled in, everything was fine. I had about 80 babies now but the parents seemed very comfortable taking care of them as before.

   After about a week of watching all these fish growing rapidly, I got my hands on a 20 gallon aquarium. I transferred the adults into the 20 and left all the babies in the 10. This worked out very well for the babies but the parents soon hid away in their caves and for weeks I hardly ever saw them out swimming around.

   I eventually had to place the babies in a larger grow-out tank. I had a 40 gallon aquarium that I had built some years earlier so I dusted it off, cleaned it out and filled it with water. Two days later, all the babies were happily swimming around in it. It’s not a pretty tank but it sure serves this purpose very well, for now at least.

   I began to power feed the young. What I mean by that is that I fed them often and fed them a lot. I fed worms from the yard, soft insects, frozen brine shrimp and my own homemade gellatin foods with plenty of greens. Feeding in this way does produce a lot of fish waste and uneaten food particles. All this is siphoned off the bottom every day. (no gravel in the tanks) I was anxious to quickly get them to about 2 to 3 inches so that I could get the local pet stores to take them off my hands. I wasn’t asking for money or even a trade, I simply wanted to get them out of the house. I cannot just dump them down the toilet as so many people suggested I do.

   These 80 babies over the next couple of months grew like mushrooms but when it came time to offer them up to the local stores… NO INTEREST. One friend of mine who owns a retail pet store did offer to take 12 of my largest. I think they all sold within 14 days.  I’ve given a few away to friends and family and soon I was down to 32. They are getting huge and I had to add another 20 gallon tank to thin them out. I’m also using the original 10 gallon aquarium as a central filter for the 40 gallon and the 20 gallon.  (see diagram on this page)  The diagram shows how this is all laid out. Nothing fancy at all. It’s all housed in a basement room that was built to be a photography darkroom. So what if there aren’t any windows and the walls are painted black. It has a full double sink with hot and cold running water and that makes cleaning filters a breeze. It’s a good thing because I’m cleaning filters every other day or so and changing water daily. In this 70 gallon system I usually change 12 to 15 gallons daily and when I clean all the filters at the same time, I’m changing about 20 gallons. In the process of changing water, I siphon the floor of the aquariums, including the 10 gallon filter. There is lots of residue that accumulates there and with no gravel in any of these tanks, it’s easy to simply siphon off the bottoms.

   These fish are very healthy and I enjoy watching how they all get along so well as they bump and smash into each other at feeding time. When I dump a bunch of cichlid sticks in all at once, the water is churned up and splashed all over me and the floor. As you Cichlid owners know, most cichlids are very messy eaters and I think Jack Dempseys are the “King of Messy”.  I turn the central filter off for about 20 minutes when feeding them.  This is on a timer so that I can leave the room and know that the pumps will turn back on 20 minutes later. This give the fish time to consume the food particles that drop to the bottom of the tank. They will clean most of this up if they can get at it. Before I set up the timer for the pumps, my filters would clog up after a few days with uneaten food. It’s under control now.

   So check out the diagram and see how simple it is to connect these aquariums in series to provide some excellent filtering. A couple of large siphons, 3 small statuary pumps (about 150 gph each)  and 3 $1.00 food storage containers is all it takes, along with about 15 feet of 3/4″ OD plastic tubing. I had an old Ehiem filter canister sitting around that the pump had burned out and I used that as a bio-drip filter.  It does a great job.  The filter worked good and the fish looked great in this  “World Of juvenile Jack Dempseys”.

    — Jack Lamountain

       If your Jack Dempsey cichlid suddenly changes its coloration, the alteration can have been caused by a number of factors. Sudden changes can be caused by mood swings, and stress can also make the Jack Dempsey cichlid dampen its colors. A varied and nutritious diet is also necessary if you want your Jack Dempsey cichlid to display really great colors. Age and health will also affect the coloration of a Jack Dempsey cichlid. If your Jack Dempsey cichlid becomes ill or experience a lot of stress in the aquarium, it can turn much paler than normal and look dull. The dots and bands will be less visible.    

     A healthy, adult Jack Dempsey cichlid will typically feature a strong purple coloration with shimmering spots of blue, green and golden. You can clearly see a dark dot on each side of the body and tail, and the dorsal side features dark bands. If you closely at one scale, you will notice green or yellowish spots against the darker background. In older specimens, these spots will gradually become less visible. Really young specimens on the other hand will not have the purple coloration of the adult Jack Dempsey cichlids. Young Jack Dempsey cichlids are camouflaged by a pale grey or tan coloration, and have bleak turquoise dots. The mature male Jack Dempsey cichlid differs from the female, since the ends of his anal and dorsal fins are elongated and pointy.   

    It can’t be stressed enough that a varied and nutritious diet  is very important not only for the coloration but for the health and longevity of your pet.  A crowded aquarium or one with constant aggression by other fish will cause stress to ALL the fish and effect many in the display of their natural colors.  Take care that you eliminate as much stress as possible, it’s a killer not only of color, but of your fish.     

            … Jack Lamountain

     Jack Dempsey cichlids, like most large cichlids, enjoy ripping plants to pieces. Even artificial plants take a beating from the larger fish. If you wish to have plenty of hiding places in your breeding tank, try this simple method of making plant like cover.

     Take a large green plastic trash bag and cut along one of it’s seems so as to spread it out on a table. We want to be cutting through just one layer. Before doing anything, wipe down both sides with a warm cloth or clean sponge to remove any industrial residue that may be on the surface of the plastic. Use this template (diagram 1) as a rough guide. Don’t be too fussy, this method is very forgiving. Cut your flat plastic sheet in a similar pattern.  It doesn’t have to be perfect because plants are not perfectly symmetrical.

     Place an appropriate sized rock in the center of this cutting and put a bit of silicone on it.  Now bunch up the leafy petals around this rock (diagram 2) and use a rubber band or string to tighten the plastic around the rock. Leave this overnight and the next day the silicone will be cured. These homemade plants are now ready to be placed in your aquarium. Bury the bottom weighted section in the gravel or just let it sit on the surface of the tank bottom.  The Cichlids will enjoy moving them about the tank.

      You can be creative if you  wish and cut these plastic leaves in all kinds of shapes. Cut them very thin and make it look like waving grass. You could slice the leaves in the middle making the leaves look unique, maybe even attractive. These plastic plants want to float so it will always stay upright for you. At the very least, you will provide a lot of cover for young fry.  Kinda neat, huh?  :)

          … Jack Lamountain

Q…MY JACK DEMPSEY CICHLIDS HAVE LAID EGGS. WHAT DO I DO NOW?

A…  If one day you find that your Jack Dempsey cichlids have laid eggs, just leave them alone to care for them. Jack Dempsey fish are fantastic parents from egg laying right on through to about 6 weeks what they pretty much leave them to care for themselves. 

If the aquarium is housing only the two parents, then you’re in good shape. If other fish are housed in this aquarium then you need to take other measures. (see below) With only the two parents housed in the aquarium, leave them to care for the eggs and the fry once they hatch (about 3 days). Water temperature should be between 75–80F (24-27C). The warmer the water the eggs will hatch a bit sooner. It’s important to keep a gentle current of water moving across the eggs. An air stone with a gentle flow of bubbles nearby the eggs is good. This will help keep debris from settling on them. You’ll notice that the female almost constantly fans the eggs to keep off any debris that might settle on the eggs. This debris can often infect the eggs, causing a white fungus growth on them. The female will usually remove those eggs before others nearby are infected as well. Some eggs will always turn bad, even if your water is very clean. When the male fertilizes the eggs he seldom gets every single one of them and that eggs will die.  It is best if the surface that she lays her eggs on is at or near a 45 degree angle so as to help avoid anything from settling on those eggs. If she has laid them on a flat surface in the aquarium, try to carefully slant the rock at an angle near the nesting site.

TRANSFERING EGGS TO A NURSERY

If the Jack Dempseys have laid their eggs in an aquarium with other fish then you’ll need to remove the eggs to a nursery tank before they hatch.  Even cat fish or Plecos will be a danger. They will certainly be eaten at the egg stage or the hatchlings. A 5 or 10 gallon tank is the best size for the original nursery so that the young fry will have an easier time finding food on the bottom. It’s best that you not place gravel on the bottom for ease of cleaning and the fry find food faster. If possible, place the female in the nursery with the eggs. This is NOT necessary but her care is beneficial to a high percentage of hatchlings. Remove water from the original aquarium and place in nursery tank before moving the eggs.  Be sure the temperature and PH are very close to that of the original environment before placing eggs in this nursery. An airstone placed near the eggs is very important, even if the female is put in with them.  Remember to keep the rock with the eggs near a 45 degree angle.

It’s important to keep the water very clean when eggs are developing. If you have a UV filter or Ozone generator, now is the time to use it. Water that is heavily infested with bacteria from fish waste and uneaten foods is a serious danger to those tiny eggs. Once the fry have hatched, it is less important to have such pristine water conditions. After 3 or 4 weeks, your baby Jack Dempsey Cichlids should be placed in a grow-out aquarium. Keep in mind that if your hatch is 3oo to 500 babies, just imagine how much space they will need in 3 months.  Good luck and by all means, have fun and enjoy nature in the “World of Jack Dempseys”.  — 

                                                                         … Jack Lamountain

A…  Not as a rule, no!  Jack Dempseys enjoy feasting on plants or at the very least, ripping them out of the gravel. Artificial plants are the only way to go with these energetic cichlids, however you’ll find that they will change your planting scheme contstantly.

     If you have a nursery tank full of growing babies, then plants can be very beneficial. They will harbor micro organisms and bacteria that the fry will consume.  Small juveniles may not destroy your plants but JDs much larger than 2 1/2 inches can, and probably will make a mess.

Check out this method of making your own DIY artificial plants for your aquarium from green plastic trash bags. It’s not for your show tank but it makes very good shelter for your jeveniles in the nursery.

    … Jack Lamountain