This 18 Red Spot Jardini was a gift from a friend who said he did not have enough room to keep the fish any longer. The Jardini is the fish at the top center of the 180 gallon aquarium just above the two 24" Clown Knife Fishes.
Nice looking fish, sure Ill take him. Wow was I ever suckered. The fish has been a constant menace to every tank mate except the 16 Plecostomus and Darwin my 30 African Lung Fish, present in the aquarium but not visible.
The only fish the Jardini ever caused to die was a 10 male Red Flowerhorn, visible on the right side of my 180 gallon community aquarium. The fish was also a gift and was rearing a batch of young after mating with a red devil. The fish fought the Jardini daily for weeks, locking jaws and going at it for 30 seconds at a time. Finally I siphoned out the fry which had been free swimming for about 2 weeks. It was then that the Jardini injured the Flowerhorn which by now showed no interest in fighting as there was nothing to defend. The Flowerhorns entire jaw structure was dismantled to the point where the fish could no longer fight nor eat and died quietly in a dark corner of the 180 about one month layer.
All the community fish in my 180 gallon tank are bunched together on the left hand side trying to keep out of the reach of the Jardini. At feeding time all fish eat properly and the Jardini appears to have no interest in bothering any tank mates, just eats till he is full. Sometime later in the day, but usually not during the night when the lights are off, the aggressive Jardini will select a victim to harass it ceaselessly.
I keep the fish because it is such a beauty. Recently I moved the 18 Jardini to a 600 gallon aquarium filled with lots of really big fish. For the past month I have not observed any aggression on the part of the Jardini; is it because he is the new kid on the block or because there is so much room in the tank? I dont know as yet, I have my fingers crossed.