Got Some Fish!

EricaD 2010-12-05, 14:44

Just wanted to share some new babies I got in my tank! I was going round and round on what to get, then a local shop had some baby blue dempseys and I was hooked!

So I got the two baby blues and 2 regular JD's (also small, all fish are under 2 inches), which I THINK are female, although I'm now uncertain and wonder if one is a male. Maybe you guys can help me out? If it's male, I'd exchange it for a female because I'm assuming that the two blues are male, though one blue has a fuller body and lighter coloring, but I know it's impossible to sex EBJD's. The way I chose these 2 from a tank of 6 EBJD's was by observing them for about 30 minutes, and I chose the 2 fish who seemed to stake out territories and who chased their Angel tankmates away. I took this as a sign of strength and health. They also happened to be the largest of the group.

A few interesting things. The known female regular JD was almost completely black when in her overcrowded store tank. That's why I picked her - I liked her coloring and the way she was eyeing me, lol. The other JD (the one of questionable sex) was regular colored and somewhat washed out looking. BUT, as soon as I put them into my tank, the black female JD has turned brown (she's the largest of the 4) and the other JD has gotten considerably darker. What does that mean?

Also interesting, I've noticed that my female JD has buddied up with the smaller, leaner, brighter EBJD. They are always together, cruising the tank. The other EBJD joins them from time to time, but he/she has been buddying up with the JD of unknown sex. They hang out in a cave together, and both are more shy. They do come out and swim around, but they are both more reserved and shy. I know they don't pair up at this small size, but I wonder if there's anything to this behavior that might indicate that I have 2 pairs of opposite sex? Unlikely, I'm sure, but maybe I got lucky?

Anyway, here are pics!

First, my EBJD's on their first day:

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And the EBJD's on the second day - colors got brighter, and they got very curious. They love to come up to the glass when they see me!

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And the regular JD's (forgive the sofa cushions, lol, I stuffed them behind the tank to make the fish feel more secure, but plan to install a black background later today).

From the coloring on the gill plate, I believe this one is a female:

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And this is the one I initially thought was female, due to the spangles on the lower gill plate, but I realize now it's not a color wash, but more dots, and maybe she's actually a boy? Or too soon to tell? Pics are bad because the regular JD's wouldn't sit still for me!

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As for the tank size, it's only 46 gallons, but my hope was to form a pair and over the next few months I plan to get a larger tank (75+) and would move the non-breeding JD's over with some tank mates, leaving the breeding pair alone in the 46. Unless by some freak chance I get 2 breeding pairs, in which case that's fine, will just separate the pairs. I also know that EBJD's are fragile and often die before reaching 4", so I figured the babies would be ok in the 46 for awhile.