Question about Jack Dempseys Breeding?

Q&A about South American Cichlids

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Tabatha
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:16 am
Location: California

Question about Jack Dempseys Breeding?

Post by Tabatha »

I was just wondering if they move their eggs around at all to protect them?..Last night I saw that they had laid eggs on a few rocks and were protecting that area. This morning I didnt see the eggs, But they still are over there protecting it, and a a darker color than before.
Just wondering how long the process takes and if there is anything I should do? This is a community tank with 3 butterfly koi's, a balla shark,a rainbow shark, a pictus catfish , 2 other jack dempsey. And a blue lobster.
Thank you so much!
Pam Chin
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Post by Pam Chin »

Hi Tabatha,

Once the parents lay the eggs it takes about 3 days for them to hatch out in to wrigglers, and then three more days before they freeswim. If the parents are concerned about the safety of the spawn, they will move them, but usually not until after they have hatched and in the wriggler stage. Parents will also eat them if they feel threatended, you have quite the mix in your tank, so I am not sure whether they ate them, or hid them. Keep an eye on them, and hopefully you will be able to see these smaller wrigglers. If they do eat them, they will do it again, and perhaps you can set them up in a tank where they do not feel as threatened.

Also it is possible that tankmates could have sneaked in and ate them also. If your pair is young, it is possible that they eggs were not properly fertilized and so they ate them. So there are plenty of possibilities, you'll have to just keep an eye them to see what comes of it.

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Pam
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