New baby Jags

Need some peoples opinions/advice on the best way to go about this... I ordered 8 baby jags from my LFS and they threw in 2 extra for free since they arrived much smaller than expected (.75"-1.0"). I'm hoping to get at least 3 females from this group of 10 but am guessing it will be tougher than it sounds since I'll need to keep them from killing each other til I can accurately sex them. Once I've got my females picked out, they're going in my 125g with my 10" male and hopefully he'll hit it off with 1 of them. All 10 are by themselves in a 55g, which looks pretty empty at the moment while they're so tiny but I know in a few months that things may get a little crowded. Should I just leave them all in the 55g for the entire time until they can be accurately sexed? Divide my 125g in half and put half of them on the opposite side of my male? Divide both 125g/55g tanks in half? This is my 1st time growing out a group of 1 species of cichlid so I'm just wanting some advice to cut down aggression and give them the best chance of survival until I can pick the females out. Here are pics of the 2 tanks I have to work with..... Have plenty of dividers ready if needed.

125g with 10" male jag


55g with 10 .75"-1.0" baby jags


Sent from my LG-E980 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

I believe all 10 survived the 1st night, although they're so small and hide so much that I never see them all at once so I can't say for sure. Will definitely add some more hiding spots though... What have you guys experienced when it comes to temperatures with small fish like this? would it be best to keep the temp lower to reduce aggression or higher so they grow a little faster? Temp is set at 78 right now

Sent from my LG-E980 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

pops said:

curious why 3 females? A male and 3 females will not work, he may pair with one but then the rest dead meat. sorry just trying to fig your logic.

Click to expand...

Just trying to get a single female for my male, would just like to get a minimum of 3 to increase the odds that he chooses 1...Grow them out, pick out the females, put them with my male, hope he pairs off with 1, then sell the rest is the goal. Not going for a jag community, just looking for tips/advice to give me the best chance of keeping these 10 small jags alive long enough to sex them

Sent from my LG-E980 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

follen said:

With temp I would have it higher to get em to grow quick it will be inevitable you will lose 1 or 2 but wish you all the best keep us posted. Jags are by far the best cichlid


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

Click to expand...

What do you think, bump it up from 78 to 80-81 then? And I agree, I've had my 10" male since he was 1.5" and have never been able to bring myself to get rid of him. Figure I might as well hook him up with a female and get on the jag breeding bandwagon.

Sent from my LG-E980 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App