EBJD health

[Americancichlidsaredabest]

I’ve been thinking about getting an electric blue Jack Dempsey and I heard they have health problems and die early. Is this true? If so is there anyway to prevent it? Also why do they die early?

 

[Deadeye]

These guys have been line bred for so long that a lot of their genes have been screwed up. You can luck out with a healthy one, but there isn’t much more than that (and maintaining a healthy environment). You’d be better off going with a regular Jack.

 

[CTC]

I’ve been thinking about getting an electric blue Jack Dempsey and I heard they have health problems and die early. Is this true? If so is there anyway to prevent it? Also why do they die early?

many people think the genetics are much weaker than they are. I am able to grow out many EB dempseys over 5". THE KEY is to not feed bloodworms! BLOODWORMS KILL ELECTRIC BLUE JACKS due to internal parasite infections.

Feeding frozen brine shrimp instead of bloodworms should solve most issues with EBJD dying early. I have been keeping them for years, and bred them multiple times.

 

[Theos.dad]

These have grown out for me just like any other fish. I have 2 that are 6-7 inches now. Ime picking fish free of deformities (beaked face, oddly sunken bellies, uneven jaw) helps your chances a lot.

The price of these fish are so high that the people breeding them rarely cull. Every living fish, healthy or not, makes it to the fish store to maximize profits. Really gotta prick your fish carefully