Jack Dempsey Not eating...

I bought a female Jack dempsey a little bit ago, for a companion to the male that I was getting. The male is significantly larger than the female. Male is 10, she's about 6 or 7.

I've had them for.. about 2 weeks now, and they won't eat. I have been feeding OSI cichlid sinking pellets, the smaller ones, then I switched to larger Hikari sinking pellets... They won't eat at all. They show no interested. They just chill in their terra cotta pot, and that's it.

The only thing they will eat is rosy red feeders.... They were being fed in pellets when I got them.

Any suggestions?

They are in a 55 by themselves right now, minus the pleco who minds his own business and eats algae wafers.

any eggs in the pot?

Nope. Nothing.

try feeding the floating hikari ones or flakes they love them i have 5 and they do that from time to time they like their food to change

Well, here is everything I have tried so far....

OSI sinking pellets
Hikari Sinking Pellets
Shrimp Pellets
Some kind of Algea wafers, that are actual dried algae... not the processed kind
Cichlid Granuals, floating and sinking
Cichlid Flakes
Tetras- YUMMY!

I even threw in thawed salad shrimps, and they didn't move.

NOTHING is working, and I was told that feeding live fish will make them more aggressive... and is not nutritious enough.

I don't mind feeding them feeders though. At least I know they are eating.

Their tank is in our bedroom, so there is never any disturbances of people walking by or anything like that.

whats the water piramiders temp ph nitro all levels try and use a stress coat to see if it helps

hows ur water?

hhow are their kolorz?

if u dont plan on putting other fish with them, it realy dont matter how aggressive they are. and i would think feeders are nutritious enough. its not like some1 is feeding them pellets in the wild.

Their colors are amazing! No fading or anything. Actually... they have colored up more than when the original person had him.

i agree with illi!!!!!!!
feeders are good for em!
and if their kolorz are good then maybe they just gotta get used to the new place!!! or eachother??
hows their water?

feeders are good but you have to have them in a 5 gallon tank for a week to quarantine them dont feed them for a couple days then try the floating pellets and trust me they eat some dempseys die when their young but if your are already above 5 inches they should be ok try this and tell me what happens

The feeders have already been QTed. Always QT all fish regardless if they are food.

I have 3 Jack dempseys that are only 2 inches, and I have had NO problems at all.

I have heard the EBJD's are hard to keep alive. Never anything about the regular ones.

I didn't feed them at all the first week I had them, and they haven't eaten yet other than the feeders.

And the large guy was fasted for about 3 days before I came to pick him up.

Did your male eat before you introduecd the female into the tank?

The female was in the tank first. She was in there for a week before he was, and she wouldn't eat. Then he was put in, and he hasn't eaten.

They are always with one another... like... Where ever the male goes, the female follows.. They don't mouth eachother or anything like that.. They share the pot together.

sometimes is seems like the male is interested in food, but then he turns and swims the other way.

The only thing they are eating is live food? How long have you had each one?

yes, they are only eating live..

I have had the female for about a month now, and the male for 3 weeks.

Also, another thing I just noticed..

I walked into my bedroom, and walked past the tank, and the female comes flying out of the pot, runs right into the side of the tank, and she just starts freaking out... flinging up sand, and just going nuts.

Would it maybe be a good idea to cover the tank? And then slowly uncover the tank side by side over a good period of time.

The male just chills..

u sure theirs no eggs in the pot???

I am absolutely positive. There is no bottom to the pot, so I can see straight in it. There is nothing.

mshill90 wrote:

yes, they are only eating live..

I have had the female for about a month now, and the male for 3 weeks.

mshill90 wrote:

Also, another thing I just noticed..

I walked into my bedroom, and walked past the tank, and the female comes flying out of the pot, runs right into the side of the tank, and she just starts freaking out... flinging up sand, and just going nuts.

Would it maybe be a good idea to cover the tank? And then slowly uncover the tank side by side over a good period of time.

The male just chills..

They seem to only like like food....then feed them that. I would also bet on it that there is Eggs somewhere in the pot...on top..the sides...or they are very close to breeding. I would bet on it.

Could possibly be the sides... She seems to lay on the back side a lot. I couldn't see anything, but I might just be missing it.

They will breed this soon to me having them?

And uhm... I've never had breeding fish before.. what do I do?

Should I get the pleco out of there, or will she fend him off? He doesn't seem to bother them.. just sucks on the substrate/tank at night. Doesn't go near them.

Can a pleco deal with a PH of 8.0? It's the only larger tank I have...

I could put him in the koi tank, but the water is in the 60's...