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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| JD's question
hey everyone im new to the world of cichlids and i have a 55 gal tank at the moment i have 3 JD's they are still 2 in long babys and i have 9 tiger barbs, but my question is when will my dempsey start turning into their normal color right now they are bronwish and you can see the blue and green come out and every so often 2 of them turn black and all the spots have come out but then goes back to brown..... is this normal..... my pH is at 7.5 temp is at 76 nitrites are at .25 nitrates are at 5 and chlorine is 0. i feed them flakes and blood worms.... blood worms once a week thoe. and is there any other tank mate that i can put in with them i would love to make this tank into a cichlid tank with just only cichlids anyone have any good advice | 
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Welcome to Fishlore, Camacho  I have several JD's myself. I keep mine with convicts, jewels, and RTS.
I saw in your profile you're babysitting two? How long is that going to last? 3 JD's in a 55g is going to backfire as they get older. I wouldn't recommend more than two, and even that is pushing it if they're really active. They really need plenty of swimming space.
I've found that when I feed mine live food, they tend to show better color. However, it's best to breed your own live food so you know they're not carrying diseases. Convicts and livebearers work great for that.
I'm not sure if they're compatible with tiger barbs or not. I'll let another member answer that. | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Welcome To Fishlore!! 
I dont have JD´s but i have found that if you breed your own feeder fish they are healthier   | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| ok thanks umm im giving one jd back on sunday and im thinking about keeping the other one just because its small and it has spots on the gill plate more than anywere on the body so i think its a female and mine is a male and my buddys is a male. my male jd and his female are just sticking together and playing "tag" if you wanna call it so i think they paired with each other but its still too small to tell cause of the fins havnt fully grown yet..... but so far the barbs are keeping to themselfs and still alive | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Moderator
| I just saw that you're going to be getting a 160g soon. You could look at severums, and other large South American cichlids that will got with JD's when that tank is set up. | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| yea but the rents wont let me keep it the house they tell me once i buy my house it can go in there so it wont be for a while and with the 160 i am thinking of oscars jd salvini bumble bee cichlids and blue acuras i got big plans for that bad larry!! | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Now you're talking! Unfortunately, I have no experience with any of those due to my largest tank is a 75g African Malawi tank, but some of our other members do. I've seen pics of all of those and they're GORGEOUS! | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| yea what i have seen and herd all cichlids are pretty much the same with the same temperment and they go nuts during spawning but as long as you intro duce em at the same time and if you have something big make sure that the other fish is hardy and will grow to be the same size | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Camacho  yea what i have seen and herd all cichlids are pretty much the same with the same temperment and they go nuts during spawning but as long as you intro duce em at the same time and if you have something big make sure that the other fish is hardy and will grow to be the same size | This isn't true all the time, some Cichlids are very placid, others are Demons. And you don't need to always keep Cichlids of the same size together, I have a 2 inch Convict and 3 inch Jewels living with a 10inch Oscar and 6 inch JD. The Cichlids ability to stand up for itself is more important. | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| good to know thanks the more info i get the better of a hobbyest i will be thanks | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| how can i tell if a jd is a male or female at a young age they are about 2 in long | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| Not easy at that stage, Males have longer, pointier dorsal and anal fins, and are more colourful than females. | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Camacho hey everyone im new to the world of cichlids and i have a 55 gal tank at the moment i have 3 jd's they are still 2 in long babys and i have 9 tiger barbs, but my question is when will my dempsey start turning into their normal color right now they are bronwish and you can see the blue and green come out and every so often 2 of them turn black and all the spots have come out but then goes back to brown..... is this normal..... my ph is at 7.5 temp is at 76 nitrites are at .25 nitrates are at 5 and chlorine is 0. i feed them flakes and blood worms.... blood worms once a week thoe. and is there any other tank mate that i can put in with them i would love to make this tank into a cichlid tank with just only cichlids anyone have any good advice | welcome to fishlore!!!
Your jds will color up more from 4-7 inch mark...but first off you have to get that tank cycled  are you using test strips to test your water? i dont see an ammonia reading is why im asking..and you have nitrites which is a killer to fish....you will be cycled when you have 0 for ammonia/nitrites and under 20 nitrates....they are probably turning funky colors because of the stresss of nitrites but as well, cichlids of all kinds change colors with moods.....good luck! | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Raymond new hampshire lol i know were that is...... but yea its going crazy i have been going 50% water changes every weekend and 25 every day its killing me but i have to do it cause i love my fishes and i want to put more in but..... idk how many more i can fit in a 55 gal | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Camacho Raymond new hampshire lol i know were that is...... but yea its going crazy i have been going 50% water changes every weekend and 25 every day its killing me but i have to do it cause i love my fishes and i want to put more in but..... idk how many more i can fit in a 55 gal |  and I know where boston is
I have so been where you are now ..took me 9 weeks of every day bucket changes on a 75 g tank ..it was a killer!!! and we do what we have to for the care of them thats for sure | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| +1...... are you anywere need the walmart warehouse thats is like 1mill sqft | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| 5 min away lol... | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| i see camacho getting a couple of shawnie´s kids in the future  | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| lol im married and i got a kid on the way | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Camacho lol im married and i got a kid on the way |  he means fish babies  I cant pay ppl to take my real kids  | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| married and have a kid on the way.... anyway is there a way to make the nitrgen cycle cycle faster | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
|  haha srry kinda slow | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Camacho married and have a kid on the way.... anyway is there a way to make the nitrgen cycle cycle faster | see if you can find any fish store in your area that carries tetra safe start...ONLY that one is proven to cycle a tank in 7-10 days so dont let them talk you into anything else if they dont carry it..(which they will and they will also tell you safe start doesnt work like their product) so be ready...write it down as theres a ton of tetra brands im sure they carry ..... | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| you could seed the tank from another established tank. What you do is take some gravel or deco or sponges that have been previously been in the established tank,. and transfer them to the new tank. THis tends to speed up the cycle. YOu could also get TSS ( tetra safestart) t will cycle your tank in 7 days
btw, we call our fish "babies" or "kids" most of the time LOL | |
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October 22nd, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| well its at .25 and thats not that high ill just keep pluggin away at the water changes. when i start it was at 10ppm witch is nuts i had no fish at the time i put the fish in last sunday | |
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