Hello cichlid people,as you see this is my first post,I have huge question thats been asked countless times Im sure,had this Jack Dempsey since he was barely 2" in a 55 gln tank with a texas cross convict for little over a year,had problems with the texas/convict bullying him and to the point they were fighting and injuring each others mouths,so I set up a 75 gallon with eheim 2075 canister and a aqueon 75 hob cycled tank completely...I wanted some schooling fish so I figured buenos aires tetra would be great so I put 6 of those guys in for the first week and they did very well,second week I transfered Jack to the 75 and he seemed to be the happiest fish on the planet..and which he still does,so it seemed like him and the tetras were going to work out,after 2 weeks I noticed him starting to stalk the tetras then one evening I turned lights out and could still see the fish pretty well from tv light,low and behold I watched Jack gulp down a 2" fish like nothing and be continued to hunt them down,so I moved the 5 tetras that were left to another tank that would be safe for them,anyways long long story short,what are the possibilitys of having maybe other cichlids or some other schooling fish with the jack dempsey
6" male Jack Dempsey..possible tankmates
- Thread starter Woody Wood
- Start date
Since JDs (and most cichlids) are territorial, now that you have given him the 75, he probably considers the entire tank, 'his" territory, and any other cichlid would be considered a threat to that dominance.
In nature they share waters with live bearers like sailfish mollies.
But a 75 doesn't allow much room for them to escape/evade, as you found out with the even faster tetras.
Below a video of how JDs live in nature.
Eden2
when they share habitat with other cichlids, they are often torn up, and suffer.
as you can see below, where in comparison, their population is small, and by the ragged fins.
027 zps4b102ffd
In nature they share waters with live bearers like sailfish mollies.
But a 75 doesn't allow much room for them to escape/evade, as you found out with the even faster tetras.
Below a video of how JDs live in nature.
Eden2
when they share habitat with other cichlids, they are often torn up, and suffer.
as you can see below, where in comparison, their population is small, and by the ragged fins.
027 zps4b102ffd
Thank you very much thats kindof what I thought,so it looks like the 75 is all his which is ok since I plan on settting up longer and larger tanks in the near future,hes a really sociable fish and seems to like me,prob cause the food,Ill throw one more question out there,would it be possible to get a female Jack same size and age as the male and that they could be a single pair in the 75 or is tank to small and or will there still be aggression over territory?
Tbh most purchase a group while juvenile and let the male and female pair off naturally. Most of the time adding a not bonded male and female will result in most cases the male beating or killing the female. Experienced breeders are sometimes successful though I personally have done it myself.
I agree with Tom, if you were able to buy 3 or more females, put them in the tank with him and expect to have two killed in the process it might work. But just 1 is as Tom suggested, usually a crap shoot at best.
Unless the female you bought was totally hot to trot.
Unless the female you bought was totally hot to trot.
I might try the crap shoot and if it looks like hes going to kill her Ill take and put her in another 75 or give to a buddy that will take care of her..I dont want to put any in with the male and just let him kill the ones he doesnt like,thank you so much for your advice,Ive only been into american cichlids for couple years and now I became addicted to them I think
I have a little bit bigger of a tank (125 gallon) with a male and female jack about 5 inches currently, but a good schooling fish I have with them is Silver Dollars. They are cousins to the Piranha and Pacu but waaay more peaceful and grow to be 6-8 inches wide so nothing can eat them, but also are a good dither fish to deflect aggression from other cichlids in the tank since these guys are always swimming fast back and forth. I also have with my dempseys a pantano cichlid, a vieja argentina, a green terror, two redhump eartheaters, and a black belt cichlid. They're all still adolescents but have all gotten along really well.
There is a certain fragility to the process of cichlid pair bonding. The bond is influenced by an increase in hormones, these are hormones that fire the pair up to protect nest and fry. When there is only a single female or pair in a tank, they often lash out at each other due to the increased hormones, and the bond is destroyed.
By providing a number of pair options (females) the fish are able to bond in a natural manner, and the aggression becomes focused on the interlopers, instead of each other. The interlopers are then admonished to the far side of the tank, but provides an outward focus of the pair against the others, and strengthens the bond.
After pair selection, the dither fish mentioned above offer the same distraction, and focus of the heightened hormonal increase. In many cases they should be looked at as sacrificial.
Although finding a bond with just 1 random female of "your" choice is certainly a possibility, the plethora of threads here on MFK, with a title akin to "why'd my male kill my female?" might suggest a more pragmatic, and natural approach.
Although we humans often think of fish should be satisfied with any random partner.
Cichlids are often more complex than we give them credit for. We "date" to find a mate, how would you feel about being forced to take any old partner at random.
Some cichlid relationships are often even more complicated the some "higher" animals like dogs that copulate and take off. Many cichlids will remain together and monogamous, defending nests and fry for long periods I have had pairs remain bonded that way, raising different broods for years.
By providing a number of pair options (females) the fish are able to bond in a natural manner, and the aggression becomes focused on the interlopers, instead of each other. The interlopers are then admonished to the far side of the tank, but provides an outward focus of the pair against the others, and strengthens the bond.
After pair selection, the dither fish mentioned above offer the same distraction, and focus of the heightened hormonal increase. In many cases they should be looked at as sacrificial.
Although finding a bond with just 1 random female of "your" choice is certainly a possibility, the plethora of threads here on MFK, with a title akin to "why'd my male kill my female?" might suggest a more pragmatic, and natural approach.
Although we humans often think of fish should be satisfied with any random partner.
Cichlids are often more complex than we give them credit for. We "date" to find a mate, how would you feel about being forced to take any old partner at random.
Some cichlid relationships are often even more complicated the some "higher" animals like dogs that copulate and take off. Many cichlids will remain together and monogamous, defending nests and fry for long periods I have had pairs remain bonded that way, raising different broods for years.
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That makes much more sence,I understand what you mean now so I just need to make up my mind whether to leave him as a single fish or let him find his mate the proper natural way,and I certainly wouldnt want someone picking my woman for me no telling how that would turn out...one things for sure,Ive learned for now on to do my research before just up and getting anymore cichlids,thanks again duanes
