Um so i bought a rather large jack dempsey today, like larger than everything else in my tank. Woops! Any ways he has been fighting with my green terror ever since i put him in and my green terror is about half his size. Whats normally more aggressive? Will their jaw locking stop once they settle their dispute or will this be ongoing forever?
JD vs. GT
- Thread starter quikksilver8
- Start date
They could eventually settle down, or they simply might never like each other.
I would try moving things around in the tank, this could ease territory battles.
I would try moving things around in the tank, this could ease territory battles.
If the tank is big enough they could settle and be ok... how big is the tank? How big are the fish?
Yeah, it really depends on how big your tank is and obviously how aggressive the fish are? Usually it isnt a good idea adding a larger cichlid than what you already have into your tank! Moving decorations around your tank can help set-up new territories which will help settle the fish down for a short time depending on the size of the tank?!
See, I don't find the JD particularly agressive. At least not the ones that I have. They get quite territorial when they are spawning but other than that they seem more timid.
lol i had the same problem but in the end th GT won and wouldnt stop hassling the JD so now its seperate tanks 
shame as both are truly beautifull cichlids and would look amazing together but its just not gonna happen ! good luck with yours, ive had a few other cichlids that did the whole mouth locking for a day or 2 but afterwards settled down and sorted out ranks and now live peacefully !
good luck
shame as both are truly beautifull cichlids and would look amazing together but its just not gonna happen ! good luck with yours, ive had a few other cichlids that did the whole mouth locking for a day or 2 but afterwards settled down and sorted out ranks and now live peacefully ! good luck
Agree with everyone so far. TAke the dempsey out for a while and move ur decor around. You might end up having to separate them in the long run. The Dempsey will just take over again in a couple of days.
I know ime the gt is more aggressive. Mine killed off my jd and both large oscars a couple years ago, I moved him into a 55g and he's been alone since. You may have the same issue I had when I tried moving my gt into the 125g, and then I moved my green texas in and that lasted all of 5 minutes! They were the only two in there, and it was not big enough for the two of them. 
Jack Dempseys are funny. I have had some that are very timid and I have had ones that are in your face a bit. Same with GTs. From my experiences though GTs tend to be more on the aggressive side and JDs more on the timid side, except for the aforementioned personalities. In fact, right now my GT is very timid and my JD is the bravest fish in the tank (and the smallest!).
The best thing you can do is rearrange the furniture and keep an eye on them. You might have to take one back. Getting a bigger tank might help too but chances are taking one back will be the best option.
The best thing you can do is rearrange the furniture and keep an eye on them. You might have to take one back. Getting a bigger tank might help too but chances are taking one back will be the best option.