Electric Blue Jack Dempsey's (Rocio octofasciata)

[Verminator]

Just bought a 1.5 inch pair. £24.50 each, certainly not cheap. Absolutely stunningly beautiful. Quite rare too, i've never seen them before neither had the guys in the shop.

Shall get some pics soon of them in there new home.

[exotic_idiot]

That day, i went Wu Hu (Singapore) besides tiong bahru market.. I think they also selling blue dempsey very striking blue and i like their patterns on their body. Which costs only about S$20 each..

[Savant]

Yes... prices in Singapore tend to be cheaper...

[Verminator]

Prices here in UK are getting silly currently.

Notice dmy male likes to "patrol" the tank. Swimming round and round the edge repeatedly. Although so far this morning i havnt observed this. Was getting worried i bought an insane fish. Relentlessly pacing round the tank perimertre permanently.

Female is stunning, she keeps arching her body round the male, although he just backs away confused it looks like. For two specimens roughly an inch an half in size they're sure showing signs of mating/ ritual pairing behaviour in the least.

Exciting days in my tank

[Verminator]

Anyone know a large(ish) fish that i can get say 4 of to act as a distraction for my male dempsey. What it is is that my male pestered my female a little. So what i did was add my 3 clown loach back into my 3ft and they all get along and my male is so preocupied with keeping an eye on the clown loach the female comes out more and her colouration has returned.

Thing is, solving this problem i gave myself another. My clown loach are eating all my plants, if i dont remove them soon they're actually going to eat all my Anubias leaves too, they've already started on them. So i need a fish that i can add a few of to a tank so that i can replace them for my loach.

Anyone have any ideas. I was thinking Boesewani rainbows? Possibly something like a red tailed shark too (i think they eat plants too though)

I need some suggestions if people have any. Could do with getting this done sooner rather than later due to heavy plant losses.

[Verminator]

Never mind, i know just the fish!

Red Line Torpedo Barbs!

I shall get them this weekend.


EDIT: SCRAP THAT IDEA - THEY EAT PLANTS, LOL. HOW STUPID OF ME. NEVER MIND THE SEARCH FOR A FISH CONTINUES

[exotic_idiot]

Very nice electric blue jack dempsey... I really like their bright blue colours..

In singapore i saw once but like a batch only got one or two like yours.. The rest the fish's pattern and colouration is bad...
Can post your pair pictures???

[Verminator]

I shall whip out my pro camera tommorow and see what pair pictures i can get my friend Hard to get a decent picture of the pair, the camera always focus' on one and not the other, leaving a blur for the fish it didnt capture

[nicktc]

I could not resist them even though I do not have anymore tank space.

Got 2 of them today

[wllm33]

very nice colours.
care to share where you got them and for how much?
thanks

[nicktc]

C328 @ less than $20 each

[Verminator]

My female went that colour after being in my tank for a few weeks. Got really worried although her colouration soon returned and shes currently the same colour as my male in my display picture

Truely beautiful fish. I'm glad to see someone else on here keeping them now

[wllm33]

C328 @ less than $20 each

thanks. cheers.

[unsung]

Check out mine guys...

[Verminator]

Wow the three of us will have to update this thread as ours grow Progress will be interesting for sure

[nicktc]

Some shot of my 2 blue dempsey. Not sure if they are a male/female pair, but got a long fine so far.

[SCOPE]

Nice color as constrast to the background.....this 2 pieces seems to be getting along very well... Is it true that keeping more will disperse the aggression down...

[Verminator]

nicktc: From your first picture specimen behind looks to be the male, with the closer being female. Ofcourse their young and they will have to grow to be 100% certain, although its more than likely true. The males dorsal fin will grow and extend to roughly level with the caudal fin with a long flowing point. The females will just jut up and out a little with far less 'finnage' to show. From your pictures your female looks to be rather 'tubby' Once they reach true acclimatized colouration they look absolutely breath taking!

SCOPE: It is said to be true keeping more disperses the aggression. It also helps a breeding/dominant pair develop, which fish this is will be blatantly obvious, the ones with the finnage left intact. Unless you have somewhere to put the other fish, or get rid of, then i wouldnt advise this. Picking two specimens and hoping they mature and pair off is wishfull thinking with these fish. Although not uncommon, i've read its 50:50 if its to be successful.

My female still currently has a white eye Which has been there for a little over a week now, i'm slightly nervous as to what it is. Or how it has come about and how to get rid of it. Any suggestions?

[Matt Ford]

I have a friend who is keeping a group of 6 of these and reports zero aggression between them. They're at about 5" now. Supposedly the blue variant is a genetic abnormality in wild fish that results in a calmer personality, smaller adult size and makes them less competitive than the "normal" form hence why there are no wild populations of the blue form. I think Unsung's pics show the normal form?

[unsung]

They are indeed a form of genetic abnormality. But the ones we see nowadays are mostly farm bred because of the demand. Its also true that they have calmer personality. On top of their weaker gene, its harder for them to survive in the wild if they do occur. However, I think they can grow as big as normal JD but slower, especially when young.