JD Pair

[fishnoob]

Alright so I have a 55gal with 1 male JD. He is over 2 years old and has never had a tankmate. He looks so lonely, I would love to get a female JD(filtration is eheim pro 2 canister + ac 110) but I only have a petsmart/petco so the female would be SMALL. What are the odds of him killing her right off the bat?! Thanks!

 

[supergourami]

odds are almost zero you would need a female of the same size but he will most likely not be able to have tank mates if he has lived alone because the tank is his in his mind

 

[xinchavoc]

my guess is since he has never had tankmates he has established his territory and will probably kill the female...... i would suggest you buy a female of a similiar size take the male out before adding thr female change the decor and and give the female lots of hiding places...... and always have a spare tank in case anything gets out of hand....

 

[cichlid8336]

If you take the male out for a day and let a female become confident in the tank to herself and then put the male back it should be okay.

 

[dwacudo]

^X2

 

[xinchavoc]

how big is the male im guessing large..

 

[fishnoob]

he's pushing 9"

 

[xinchavoc]

he's pushing 9"

yea he will probably kill the female just buy the biggest female u can and take the male out before adding her and move the decor so he doesnt recognize the tank and make sure the female has a lot of hiding places.... and also have a spare tank just in case anything goes wrong...

 

[fishnoob]

What would be good dither fish to add?

 

[eatingleg4peanut]

definitely take out the male, add the female, change decor up. Your situation is very similar to where I was at mid-late last year, I have an 8" male jack that lived solitary nearly all its life. I was able to get him to accept a 4" female in a 55(I had dither fish too when I introduced), my male was/is a real killer too. She is now 5.5" and he is over 8", but I have a weird pair, they do not fight...ever. They swim together and rub eachother a lot and share the flowerpot house without conflict, I am really lucky. They are the fish in my avatar.