Jag Tankmates?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
M

MuteLiquid

Feeder Fish
Jul 13, 2011
2
0
0
Colorado, US
Hello MFK!

Seems like a nice community here; I'm hoping to hear from some people with experience with finding good tankmates for Jags! I'm relatively new to the hobby but getting rapidly sucked in!

I was given a "breeding pair" of 4" Jags along with a 40 gallon breeder a while back. They both turned out to be female, but after a lot of hassle and fish time-outs they get along really well and seem to actually enjoy one another's company. Since, they have since grown much larger (8-9")and I have yesterday moved them out of there old cramped tank into a brand new 75 gallon.

As much as I love my girls, I wish there was something else I could also put in the 75. I've read that they will brutalize all other fish, and have gotten some nasty bites myself in the past. I don't want to bring home any sacrificial offerings :)

Any recommendations would be much appreciated. The tank is gravel bottom and lightly planted with hardy, non-substrate plants (java ferns and some mosses). If nothing will get along with them, so be it, but I would like to at least try. Thanks in advance!
 
Well, for starters a 75G is eventually going to be too small for two Jaguars.

Assuming you plan to move them to a larger tank eventually, the list of tank-mates is very very long and depends on the final tank-size.

A general pointer: Any fish you put in there will need to be larger than the Jags, especially if it's relatively docile.

From my experience: I have two (male) Jags: One is in a 200G with Oscars, Silver Aro, 2 Florida Gars, 1 Endlicheri Bichir and a Giant Gourami.... The other is currently with an Ornate Bichir and was previously housed with a couple of Green Terrors.

Good luck,
 
Welcome to MFK.

If it were me, Id save myself the trouble and go ahead and get rid of one of the jags before one kills the other. A 75 is bare minimum for 1 female.

If you were to get rid of one before one of the jags does it for you, you could then possibly add a convict, sajica or honduran red point...but keep in mind the success rate of that in a 75 is slim.

Jags are territorial more than just downright mean and a 75g would probably not be enough territory for a female to want to share...but you could try it.

If not, you will more than likely have a solo tank for a female.

Good Luck!
 
I have had success with bichirs but that really depends on the fish i guess. ive had a red devil that was fine with bichirs but attacked anything else. I currently have a jaguar and he seems to attack everything in the tank that moves (except me unfortunatly:irked:)
 
+1 on everything above, that tank is too small for those fish as is.

I currently have a very young jag in a 10 gal (he's tiny, maybe 1"), he will eventually be going into my 180 with an oscar, an ocell p. bass, and a florida gar. And I'm nervous based on what I've read lol... I'm hoping that the larger size of the other fish will be enough of a deterrent for the jag. But I will buy a separate tank for him if need be.

Two of them in a 75 with other fish doesn't sound like it will produce positive results.
 
Its a nightmare having just 1 jag with other cichlids in a 75 gallon.I seen a 14 inch Jaguar that was brought in to a lfs,because it killed all the other tank mates in that 75 gallon.Also they are mainly territorial,if you had a 125 gallon or above at least,then you would be ok with having the pair together.
 
Oh, I guess I did forget to mention that the 75 gallon will eventually be converted to a CO2 injected heavily planted tank in about 6 months when I move out of my apartment into something more reasonably sized. The jags will be moving to a larger size then, exactly how much is still something I'm thinking about.

I figured that 75 gallons is more then enough for the girls since they're only at around 8-9" now. They obviously won't be in there permanently. Am I wrong in thinking so? How much should they have at their current size?

As for the two getting along, they haven't fought in months, I don't even ever see haggard fins. I know it's unusual, but I'm not worried about one injuring the other.

Ideally, I'd like something that can move with them when they move again in 6 months. If it's not possible, I guess I'll just deal with it then.

Thanks for all the responses so far!
 
Its really not enough for them now at 8-9" each. It might seem like it, but a casualty is just around the corner.

They are cichlids, not diplomats capable of being accommodating until the circumstances get better. In the wild 1 of them would have roughly about a 30 foot circle of territory. You do the math. 4'x1.5' isnt even close.

If 1 of them were a different cichlid, youd stand a better chance of it being successful...but its not. I have never seen any parachromis live in a 75g tank with another of the same sex at 8-9". never...and Ive had them all but loisellei.
 
Good to hear you plan on upgrading... in a larger tank, you could do a jack dempsey or green terror with them. Similar fish in terms of being territorial and kind of tough. I would say possibly a dovii, but then your running the risk of having your two jags murdered.

Making sure that they are of a comparable size to the jags will help, no matter what you end up with.
 
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