Electric Blue Jack Dempsey?

[Aquawoman]

I saw a beautiful fish in my favorite store, and was told it was an electric blue (or neon blue as I've also seen it referred to) Jack Dempsey. Now, I want one; naturally. I was told it stays smaller than the norm at around five inches but have also been told it reaches around 10 inches. I was also told it doesn't get as aggressive as the norm. Can anyone confirm or touch up on this info? I know I can't just throw in with any fish or tank for that matter. I know there's google, but I keep finding things about natural habitat, and I wan't to know about tank setup.

[toddnbecka]

Not sure about the max size, but they are (somewhat) less aggressive than the regular breed. However, they are still a cichlid, and may not play well with other cichlids. They also tend to die for no apparent reason, most likely some genetic defect, before reaching maturity. Some do make it in the long run, but most likely 5" is the max size most will live to. Tank setup would be the same as for any good-size CA or SA cichlid. High turnover rate (10x tank volume/hour) on the filtration, and don't fall in love with your aquascaping because it will probably get rearranged by the fish. Live plants are usually eaten, large rocks should rest on the bottom of the tank, not the substrate. They don't require much cover, not a particularly shy fish.

[sheamurai]

Yup, ditto the above. Mine was less aggressive than regular Jacks, but ONLY compared to regular Jacks - they are still an aggressive fish. You should stock around them same as you would a regular Jack.

[FishGuy67]

I'll third on this one; amazing looking fish with some genetic issues but they are still jacks at heart even if they may be a bit more timid.

[fishmommie]

I'll add my 2 cents. I purchased a 1 1/2 inch ebjd a year ago in Sept. Now he's a strapping 5 inches. I babied him something awful as I grew him out. I kept him in a 30 gallon with some tetras so I could monitor what he ate as I understand that getting them to the 3 inch mark is difficult because, as someone said, of a digestive issue. He was a finicky eater for some time so I tried everything to get him to eat. Once he started eating blood worms, he started on live shrimp, then started hoarding algae wafers and now he eats everything with gusto. He loves cichlid pellets, flake food and shrimp pellets as well.
He currently resides in a 90 with a gold sev, 3 blood parrots, a geo and some congos. I have seen little aggression - in fact, one of the BP's is the tank boss and she just loves pushing him out of where she thinks he shouldn't be.. I have 2 crocks with multiple openings and he sleeps in either one or the other. The tank has a huge piece of leggy driftwood and lots of rock formations so there are a lot of 'line of sight' barriers which helps with over all aggression. The tank has no plants in the substrate but I've tucked Anubis, java fern, hornwort and anacharis in every nook and cranny and he pretty much leaves it alone.
I've never seen him try to take on a fish but he's not fully mature yet so that could change. He's a gorgeous fish - a real show stopper - and I enjoy him immensely. I think you should give it a go if you can get a proper set up.

[Sandz]

I have owned one about 3 months now. I have had JD's in the past but this is my first EBJD. Does well with its geophagus school - looking to put some congo tetra in the tank in the future. Eats well, great color, mine is 4.5 inches and growing bulk fast.