EBJD Tank Mates

[PHI165]

Hey Everyone,

I have a 90 gallon that I want to set up with an EBJD as the star. The tank is cycling now and I have 2 Jebo 838 4 stage canisters each on its own CL for filtration.

I have read that blues are a lot less aggressive than a typical JD. I was planning on getting the EBJD as a juvi and growing him out to 3-4" alone in the tank before I start adding any other fish.

The tank mates i'm considerng are:

(1) Firemouth Cichlid
(1) Vieja Melanura (assuming I can find one)
(1) Jewel Cichlid
(1) Turquoise Cichlid (also may be a challenge to locate)
(5-7) Giant Danios (Dithers)

Any thoughts, advice or alternatives you reccomend would be appreciated. Thanks!!!

 

[TwistedPenguin]

Both my EBJD's were so mild they could only be in with completely non-aggressive tankmates. I'm pretty sure they were both males and I had them in with a female Severum , some Cory Cats and white Tetras. It'd have to be a pretty passive cichlid if you wanted other Cichlids in there.

 

[ErikFromNJ]

I would stay away from the jewels. They can be some mean sum*****'s. I temporarily put a 2'' jewel in a 55 with (3) 4'' EB's and within a half hour the jewel completely destroyed them. It took me 2 months to get there fins back. I was so pissed, I put the jewel in a 75 with a 9'' texas and 6'' flowerhorn. He was taught who the tough guys really are! lol

 

[Toby_H]

There seems to be a pretty wide range in how tough adult Blue Dempseys can be... there are MANY reports like TwistedPenguin's above... yet I have a 9" male Blue Dempsey that is as tough as a typical 9" male Dempsey... I also have a 7" male that holds his own very well amongst other Cichlids... Yet I've had several that were complete wimps...

My best suggestion is to initially buy a group and keep the nicest looking one (or pair) that you end up with. At that point evaluate your particular fish and gauge what tankmates would work for him...

I had my 9" Blue male in a 125 gal tank with a 13" Oscar, adult female Green Terror, Adult Convict pair, Firemouth pair, 12" BGK and possibly a few others... My 7" Blue male (and 6" Blue female) is currently in with a group of Orange Head Geos, a pair of Elliot's Cichlids and a 14" BGK.

Based on my experience with Blue Dempseys, I think your stocklist holds a pretty good chance in a 90 gal, although I do not have personal experience with Vieja Melanura.

Edit/Added - I read a lot how W African Jewels are very aggressive/tough fish, but I’ve had over a dozen of them, males, females and pairs, over the last 5 years and they haven’t been nearly as tough as what I hear. I admit since my experience seems to be an oddity, I may have had a weak strain somehow…

 

[PHI165]

Getting a small group of them to start out sounds like good advice. Especially since i have read they have a high mortality rate while they're young. I have seen some that look almost identical to regular jd's except for the coloration and some that look a lot different. People are probably inbreeding to get the blues causing some of the unsual looks and high mortality imo.

At what size would you reccomend slimming down the group and adding other fish?

 

[PHI165]

I would stay away from the jewels. They can be some mean sum*****'s. I temporarily put a 2'' jewel in a 55 with (3) 4'' EB's and within a half hour the jewel completely destroyed them. It took me 2 months to get there fins back. I was so pissed, I put the jewel in a 75 with a 9'' texas and 6'' flowerhorn. He was taught who the tough guys really are! lol

Thanks for the input on the jewels. Do you think the one you had was particularly aggressive or is that pretty standard for the species?

 

[Toby_H]

I've grown out several groups of Blue Dempseys...

I kept them together until they were sexually mature. If you have at least one male and at least one female sexual maturity should be very easy to recognize... if they are all males then it will become evident as the tougher fish of the group will no longer "hang out" together and males will start bickering a lot more. Do note that subdominant males may seek "safety in numbers" although the dominant male(s) will leave the herd.

This is usually around 3.5"+ for males, 3"+ for females. FYI - There is no way to sex Blue Dempseys with any confidence besides venting (which is unreliable at a young age). Behavior can/will suggest sex but that is only as reliable as the experience of the person judging.

I would keep the Blue Dempseys alone until they are sexually mature and then slim down the group and add tankmates.

A bit more on Jewels...

There are several species of Hemichromis, any of which could easily be called "Jewels". I have experience with the lifalili, which I've been told are fairly aggressive (comparable to a Convict) but have experienced them to be much more docile. I've also kept the turquoise Jewel, which I could not find the Latin name for (possibly a different color morph of the lifalili, but I'm not sure) with the same experience regarding aggression.

 

[ErikFromNJ]

Thanks for the input on the jewels. Do you think the one you had was particularly aggressive or is that pretty standard for the species?

I really couldnt tell ya. That was the first and last one I'll ever have.

 

[darth pike]

FYI nc_nutcase: True lifalili tend to be smaller and less aggressive than the 'common jewel' (Hemichromis guttatus). Most 'lifalili' in the hobby are just a regional, very red race of H. guttatus and just as aggressive. The sp. turquoise is unknown, believed to either be a line bred version of H. guttatus or a hybrid of it and another jewel cichlid. And although the common jewel is usually listed as H. bimaculatus, it is really. H. guttatus. It's kind of like how most Geophagus are sold as 'surinamensis.'