Does anyone know what a good tank mate for a JD would be? i was thinking a fire eel... i think they're extremely cool. but does anyone else have suggestions?
quick question!
- Thread starter Agliata45
- Start date
If this is going into the 40gal. that you mentioned on your other thread, I wouldn't add the Fire Eel unless you had a plan to get a larger tank in the future. It might look nice with a school of Cory Cats and barbs. Some other cichlids to try would be a Firemouth or a single Convict. There are some good looking plecos that don't grow large that you could add too. If you have a female JD it will not get as large as a male, so you would save space that way. I'm sure other members will give you some pointers too.
yeah it would be in the 40gal for now, but not forever, definitely not. i plan on getting 150-200 gallon tank in june for my birthday. so they will be moved into a bigger home. ill look into the cory cats and the other cichlids you mentioned. i read online though that if one of the cichlids goes to eat a cory cat the spines would stick in the cichlid and he wouldnt be able to swallow it, thus it would die. have you heard of that?
Yes, that does happen some times. I've heard of Oscars swallowing them and choking. It depends on the size and type of your fish too. If you keep some of the Corys that remain bigger than a JD's mouth, you shouldn't have any problems. But if that worries you, you can stick with barbs or some other schooling fish. You really take a chance introducing anything smaller than a cichlid in a tank. Some times it works great and some times schools of fish become meals. In a bigger tank, smaller fish have a lot more room to school and evade hungry mouths. Firemouths and Convicts can hold their own against most other cichlids. IME JDs are rarely aggressive cichlids. I know there are a few mean ones out there, but typically they are not the most rambunctious. In fact, many times JD will just sit and hide unless they have other fish in the tank to make them feel comfortable enough to swim around. Males are bit more outgoing than females, but not too much to me.
yeah i was reading on here that JD's are one of the more aggressive cichlids but mine is really outgoing and passive. i have 5 guppies in their that he was supposed to eat (they were free. not my choice of food) and he actually like "hangs out" with them its actually kind of weird.. but yeah he is a male too.
Don't get me wrong, there are some JDs that can be very aggressive. But like all cichlids, individual personality has a lot to do with it. I would say for many people on this site that have kept other aggressive cichlids that JDs are very low on the scale of aggression. After you keep a few of the other large aggressive cichlids, Jack Dempseys are more like kittens in comparison. That being said, you still have to be careful what you add with them. Good luck to you and I hope your JD remains, healthy, active, and gentle toward his tankmates.Agliata45;4965698;4965698 said: