I added a tank divider with a couple of holes just large enough to allow the female to pass from side to side at will. The larger male could not fit through the hole and was limited to one side of the tank, where the female could join him, if she wished.
Breeding Behavior These fish exhibit classic Cichlid open spawning behavior. I recommend a temperate of around 78 degrees for spawning. They may not spawn at lower temperatures. The males can be really tough on a female that is not ready to spawn, to the point where he may kill her. Once a pair reach spawning readiness, all other fish in the tank will be driven away or destroyed. My Jack Dempseys have always cleaned an area on a rock and spawned there.
Mine would not spawn unless a suitable rock was available. Spawn size is can be over eggs and hatch in 3 days. Once the spawn hatch, the parents move the fry to small holes dug into the gravel. I eventually replaced the gravel I was using with sand to allow a better substrate for keeping fry. Every day the fry are moved to a new hole, until they become free swimming, which occurs in about 10 days.
Parents share duties guarding the spawn and patrolling the general area. It is interesting to watch how the fish exchange these roles. They basically exchange spots in a swift motion, timed such that the fish pass each other at the halfway point. A bit like a fishy changing of the guard. Some sources say the young eat slime off the sides of the parents, but I noticed very little of this sort of activity, in my tanks. Despite the name, female Jack Dempseys are still called Jack Depmseys.
They lay their eggs and then drag the male over by the mouth to fertilize the eggs. However, they will also drag any Jack Dempsey over to do the deed, no matter what sex the fish happens to be. Both sexes are very aggressive fish, even with their own kind, hence being named after the infamous boxer. They only tolerate being together when they are babies and then for a few minutes to fertilize eggs.
Otherwise, they tear each other to pieces if the aquarium is less than 75 gallons large. Oftentimes, pairs in large tanks will get along for most of their lives, but that does not always happen.
Spawning is a vigorous activity for Jack Dempseys. Both male and female press the sides of their bodies together and sometimes slap each other in this position. Males may become especially aggressive to the female, to any other fish in the tank or to his own reflection.
Males chase the female around the tank so fast that the both of them may accidentally slam into the glass. Be sure to have emergency sealant and buckets ready, just in case the tanks walls crack. After surviving all of this, the big moment arrives. Use 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.
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.
We left mom behind to care for remaining eggs. The hatchlings in the new nursery are starting to swim. Should we move mom and the remaining hatchlings? Should dad be moved too? He and mom got aggressive and he made his way to the opposite side of the screen barricade.
What do you do at the Jack Dempsey's laid their eggs and the female is beating up the male aggressively. A lot of this is such nonsense. It completely depends on the character of the Dempsey and the other fish, as well as the position in the tank where the breeding takes place. My Dempsey male is a big lad, but completely docile. He barely defends his food. She engaged my male Dempsey about 1 week after adding her to my aquarium and since about a week they've been breeding in the corner of my aquarium.
I now have about 50 fry who are jump-swimming under the belly of the female and floating above that is the big lad, completely ignoring any and all other fish. Mostly because he's the king of my aquarium and my other fish simply show respect. I have about 14 other smaller cichlid and 6 Pleco variants. I've had to do no moving, no crazy UV blockers and I have a see-through aquarium in the middle of my living room , no 45 degree angles.
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