I have a question about Jack Dempsys, we bought a mated pair that are about 6 inches long, some one had them and turned them back to the pet shop. they are in a 55 gallon tank and we have had them for 3 weeks but we never see them eat. We have tried cichlid pellets, feeder goldfish guppies and blood worms but they don't even seem interested in eating. they try to hide when you approach the tank but will come out when you move away. they seem healthy but we don't know enough about them to know what to expect any ideas?
jack dempseys
- Thread starter sav
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Wow that is strange, mine always come up to great me, hungry lil guy all the time! I feed mine feeders, cichild pellets to they love them! But there big treat that he goes nuts for is frozen blood worms. You can get them at the lfs. Its ussually behind the counter kept in a freezer. They are faily cheap and will last quite a while too.
Hey Sav
Welcome to the Forum
Just give the guy's time, they are probably just getting used to their new tank, give them some rocks to hide by. They should have eaten by now IMO. Do you do regular weekly water changes? how long has this tank been runing for?
If this is a brand new tank and you just filled it up with water and stuck them in there, they are probably really stressed as your tank is cycling.
Welcome to the Forum
Just give the guy's time, they are probably just getting used to their new tank, give them some rocks to hide by. They should have eaten by now IMO. Do you do regular weekly water changes? how long has this tank been runing for?
If this is a brand new tank and you just filled it up with water and stuck them in there, they are probably really stressed as your tank is cycling.
Jay thanks for the info it is a new tank water was in for about 3,4 says and it has gone through a cycle. the fish seem very timid and like to hide a lot but they are starting to move the plants around. we were just concerned about them not feeding for so long, how long can they go with out having problems? It seems odd they wouldn't even be interested in eating.
here is a link with info on cycling your tank.
IMO, using fish is cruel
http://honors.montana.edu/~weif/firsttank/cycle.phtml
IMO, using fish is cruel
http://honors.montana.edu/~weif/firsttank/cycle.phtml
If the Jacks are moving stuff around the tank, then it sounds like they are settling down. They can be quite 'busy' fish, and like to arrange things their own way, marking out their territory in the tank. Introduced to a new tank, they were probably watching for a while to see what else would happen before making themselves comfortable.
When I recently moved mine to a smaller tank, he went off his scoff a bit, but I figured that his previous environment was a community tank, encouraging him to get as much in his mouth as quickly as possible, whereas now he's on his own (for the moment), so he doesn't eat 'competetively' now.
They are very sociable fish (with humans and other jacks), so try feeding by hand to give them confidence in their surroundings. Most fish can go without food for a week without any bother at all, so no need to panic - they'll headbut the side walls to get your attention when they get hungry.
Jacks seem quite hardy as far as cycling goes, so I reckon you needn't worry unless they get lethargic (water change time) - just keep an eye on the behaviour and that'll tell you what to do (as far as Jacks are concerned, you are the one in the tank, and they are in charge)
When I recently moved mine to a smaller tank, he went off his scoff a bit, but I figured that his previous environment was a community tank, encouraging him to get as much in his mouth as quickly as possible, whereas now he's on his own (for the moment), so he doesn't eat 'competetively' now.
They are very sociable fish (with humans and other jacks), so try feeding by hand to give them confidence in their surroundings. Most fish can go without food for a week without any bother at all, so no need to panic - they'll headbut the side walls to get your attention when they get hungry.
Jacks seem quite hardy as far as cycling goes, so I reckon you needn't worry unless they get lethargic (water change time) - just keep an eye on the behaviour and that'll tell you what to do (as far as Jacks are concerned, you are the one in the tank, and they are in charge)
Jacks are very territorial in thw way they like their space to be. Mine digs big holes in the caves I have have made for him. When I change the water ill fill in the hole and 10min later hes dug um back up!
Im sure if you added some feeder to the tank they will entice them to come out of hiding. Have you tried frozen blood worms?
I would say for now feed them clean them let them get used to you and the tank, just keep the lights off and watch from a distance. When I add feeders they gobble them up and leave the ones they cant catch, but when the lights are out and its dark they get them all.
Im sure if you added some feeder to the tank they will entice them to come out of hiding. Have you tried frozen blood worms?
I would say for now feed them clean them let them get used to you and the tank, just keep the lights off and watch from a distance. When I add feeders they gobble them up and leave the ones they cant catch, but when the lights are out and its dark they get them all.