How to Breed Jack Dempsey Fish - Use only healthy fish with the color and traits you wish to have in the fry.
Prior to attempting to breed condition your fish with good quality food, live if possible and keep the water at its highest quality. Have ready a supply of food for the fry usually Brine Shrimp nauplii.
Make sure your water is soft to very soft and slightly acid. Use deionized water like that made from the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap water conditioner or if your tap water is good use Tetras Black Water Extract.
Have your breeding tank up and running and ready to go.
Move your breeding pair to the breeding tank. If all is well your pair may spawn as early as the next morning, but usually a few days will pass. Spawning sometimes can be triggered by a partial water change. A successful mating will be confirmed by the arrival of eggs, usually tiny transparent spheres.
As most fish cannot pass up a free meal it is now time to remove the parents. The tank should also be darkened if possible. It is very important to remove any nonviable eggs as mold could destroy the entire clutch. Viable eggs remain transparent throughout their development. Incubation is usually very short between twenty and thirty hours.
Newly hatched fry will still have a yolk-sac and once that is absorbed feeding should start with newly hatched brine shrimp. Feed in small amounts and often. Dead food should not be allowed to remain on the bottom. When you see nice full bellies you know your OK.
Once the fry have grown and are easily in the free swimming stage it's time to move them to a bigger tank. Keep up the water quality and good food and growth will be very rapid. You now have a bunch of new fish that you don't know what to do with! Congratulations.