Baby/ Juvi Jaguar challenge

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screaminleeman

screaminleeman

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 27, 2009
1,445
10
38
Westminster, MD
I messed up big time. I saw an adorable baby jaguar cichlid (~1") at one of the LFS and couldn't help but get it. I had read up on them previously and lead to believe that this was one of the top ten roughest toughest CA/SA cichlids!

I am having MAJOR problems exactly in reverse!

I started the 1" Jaguar fry in a growout tank with six other similar sized juvi cichlids (also prone to aggression). To be specific (two firemouths, two Butter. Tilapia & two Dovis) The Jaguar got the crap beat out of him in there and lasted less then a month until it had to be removed so it could have a chance to survive.

I moved the jaguar to a second growout tank again with similar sized, but slightly less aggressive cichlids. It fared no better in with a juvinile Cuban cichlid, Red Oscar and Sex. Pike cichlid! Another 3 months of torture for the poor little guy and I moved it to a third growout tank of similar sized NON-aggressive fishs. A baby EBJD and two juvinile Ctenapomas mercilesly beat the tar out of the wimppy Jaguar.

At this point, the Jaguar has nothing that can seriously be considered fins left. It has been virtually skinned alive. I feel like a turd that with 19 tanks, I can't find a single tankmate to house this once beautiful little jag in!

I feel terrible that it is in solitary confinement in my small 10 Gallon hospital tank treated with mela-fix, but I WILL save this fishes life damn it.

The jag. is closing in on six inches now, and I don't know what to do with it once it heals completely! I know it is HORRIBLE that a six inch jaguar would have ANYTHING to do with a 10G tank, but I am short on options.

I do have a 20 gallon long understocked with only 11 fish (6 cardinal tetras and 5 neon tetras). I was worried that at like an inch each, that they would be nothing more then meals even for a badly beatup wimpy 6" jaguar. I might be underestimating it's wimpyness though and they might just continue the "whipping jaguar" series! J/K!

I have the 20L specifically set up for the tetras and the tank looks great. I would hate to break it all down and cram all them in the 10G hospital tank just to get a few more months for the Jaguar if it will never be able to defend itself from other fishes.

Is there anything that I can do to help the Jaguar be able to defend itself from other fish? I have tried feeding it live feeders, and it agressively eats them, but it has never equated into the type of aggression that would allow the Jaguar to defend itself, even against smaller non-agressive fish!
 
the problem is you keep putting it into tanks that already belong to the other fish. you need to heal the fish first then let him be in a tank for a few weeks and add fish to him so he knows its his tank. any you need some bigger tanks. do you have any? your just going to have to sacrifice someone elses tank for him or get him healed and trade em back in so someone else can take it. good luck
 
the problem is that jags dont get aggressive until they are bigger and while at 6in he should be more aggressive, he has been being beat the crap out of his entire life so hasnt had to the chance, just heal him completely so that he isnt having to deal with wounds and then try re-introducing him one of the tanks, and make sure to rearrange everything first, i would totally switch out decorations from one tank to another that way the deco is new for all the fish and he has a chance to establish a territory
 
megalops///;3949657; said:
Natural selection, maybe its telling you something.
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I know, but I can't just sit back and let nature take its course with a pet. I think that I understand what you are saying; a whimpy Jag like I have would not have made it in the wild....

I will do everything in my power to not only save this wimp, I am going to figure some way of giving it a long happy life!

Just because I have the wussiest Jaguar Cichlid on all of MFK does not mean thay I like him/her any less.
 
Jags are not that agressive compared to just about anything that gets big. In my experience they are more of a bully until something really tough calls their bluff. I agree with what everyone else said about u having problems introducing them into already established territories. add some more rocks ,wood or caves or in a small aquarium add a bunch of big bushy plants, make it look like a rain forest in there. hard to catch and do any real damage like that. next time try to head that stuff off early before fish gets really shreaded. Also the last resort is to take a fish out because once out and healed I've never had any success reintroducing back into the same tank regardless of rearranging decor. its also tough with jags that small better to try 2 or 3 inches they are a lot hardier, dovii come out the egg ready for combat.
 
lanthony18;3950190; said:
Jags are not that agressive compared to just about anything that gets big. In my experience they are more of a bully until something really tough calls their bluff. I agree with what everyone else said about u having problems introducing them into already established territories. add some more rocks ,wood or caves or in a small aquarium add a bunch of big bushy plants, make it look like a rain forest in there. hard to catch and do any real damage like that. next time try to head that stuff off early before fish gets really shreaded. Also the last resort is to take a fish out because once out and healed I've never had any success reintroducing back into the same tank regardless of rearranging decor. its also tough with jags that small better to try 2 or 3 inches they are a lot hardier, dovii come out the egg ready for combat.
Click to expand...

I have heard the same thing about the Dovi. I have been lucky thus far. It is wierd. I bought the Butter. Tilapia, Firemouth, Dovi's and Jag all at the same time. One of the two Tilapia has gone from 1" to about 4", the othe 1" to 2". The Dovi's were < 1/2" and are now about 2" and 3.5". The Firemaouth were about 1/4" (Free fry from Petsmart), and are now both well over 1". The only aggression in the tank is the larger Tillapia chasing the smaller Tilapia, and occasionally lashing out at the larger of the two Dovi's during feeding time.

The Jag has almost DOUBLED the growth of its initial tank mates, and there is no doubt in my mind that they would all be nothing more then snacks for the wimpy jag that tey originally nearly killed. Eating a fish less then half the size of a predator fish is NOT aggression, it is simply the food chain.

I don't see how to avoid rearanging fish from growout tanks when their growth rate is so varied.

I will do the decor rearangement, but no way can I allow the Jag to devour my smaller pets just to "boost" it's ego.

He/ she will HAVE to learn to "defend" itself from similar sized tankmates, or will have it's own tank all to itself, albiet much smaller swimming room then it would enjoy if it could live with other fish.
 
You're kind of torturing this fish on many levels. Throwing him into established tanks, keeping him in tight quarters.

I think you have 2 options get him into a nice sized tank by himself, or find someone else who can.
 
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