My Male Dempsey Just Switched

[D4n.gr33n]

So normally I feed my fish before he lights go out how ever today i was about 10 mins late after they turned off. So here I am putting the bloodworm cubes in the tank and I turn the light on to see them get demolished an there is my male Dempsey chewing on one of my denisonii barbs, so I quickly scooped the Dempsey out with a net and forced the barb out of his mouth (I was on a mission to save it) but it was too late it was headless dam you jack

 

[*pete*]

So normally I feed my fish before he lights go out how ever today i was about 10 mins late after they turned off. So here I am putting the bloodworm cubes in the tank and I turn the light on to see them get demolished an there is my male Dempsey chewing on one of my denisonii barbs, so I quickly scooped the Dempsey out with a net and forced the barb out of his mouth (I was on a mission to save it) but it was too late it was headless dam you jack

Big fish eat little fish...

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Its not that he switched....his tank mates were feeder fish

 

[D4n.gr33n]

Its not that he switched....his tank mates were feeder fish

That would normally be the case but the denisoni are 2' and the Dempsey is 3' ovbiously that's enough difference, I've spent the last 20 mins fishing out the remaining barb and it now has a new home in my planted tank

 

[Dieses Madchen]

jack dempseys are also omnivores. they will readily eat meat. Even if the food is almost their size

 

[Tolak]

ovbiously that's enough difference,

Guess it isn't obvious enough to the JD. Sorry for your loss, these things happen with larger cichlids.

 

[D4n.gr33n]

ovbiously that's enough difference,

Guess it isn't obvious enough to the JD. Sorry for your loss, these things happen with larger cichlids.

I'm also sorry as the price for them is pretty steep compared to the the other barb species. I was thinking about buying 5 more next week but Im pretty certain their not going in the cichlid tank now lol

 

[Dieses Madchen]

You might try a bigger barb to go with your dempseys

Topedo Barbs or tinfoil barbs would probably be a better choice. I have a breeding pair of jacks and them males ca get vicious. And they will eat anything it can fit in its mouth.

 

[D4n.gr33n]

Here's the culprit

I thought denisoni barbs were torpedo barbs?

 

[Dieses Madchen]

are they? you may need to find them at a bigger size. The fish you had was smaller than the jack. THat is all it takes for the jack to think food.

 

[D4n.gr33n]

are they? you may need to find them at a bigger size. The fish you had was smaller than the jack. THat is all it takes for the jack to think food.

That's a mistake I'll defiantly learn from. It's just theyve been in there for ages as well as some Odessa barbs and this is the first I've seen them cannibalise but they have grown a hell of a lot recently

 

[meguro]

its only cannibalism if its the same species eating the same species. denosonii and jd's are different species therefore not cannibalism

also the price for denosonii is high because theyre kinda rare in the wild and difficult to breed (maybe even illegal or restricted catching/fishing wtv been a while since i read up on them)

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I'm sorry for your loss, but I would not be stocking temperate Redline Torpedo Barbs with tropical Jack Dempseys on a long term basis, these barbs live considerably longer lives when kept at <20C for most of the year (and obviously when not eaten by tankmates).

A good tropical alternative to Redline Torpedo Barbs at tropical temps are Filament Barbs, which in many respects have even more colour (amazing 4" specimens at Amazon Aquatics back in March) and their deeper body shape would make them more compatable with a JD (although I have no idea without googling how big your cichlid will get, especially as regards mouth size).

 

[mattlee]

filament barbs would be a great choice for tank mates. also consider arulius barbs, they dont get as big as the filaments but are very active and beautifull when adults.