What would be good dithers for a pair of Jacks?

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MonsterCichlids75

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 15, 2012
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Boston, MA
Ive got a pair of jack dempseys in a 75 gal. Both the male and female are currenty 6 inches or so. Theyre healthy eaters and look great but being alone in the tank, they spook easily and act a bit skittish. I was thinking dithers would help this situation. If you guys think i have to space, id like to have a school of something like buenos aires tetras or giant danios. Will they grow large enough to not be eaten?


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Whether your pair will tolerate them or not is a different story.

I think both will be eaten honestly. I would lean more towards some good size silver dollars again whether they will be tolerated in a 75g footprint I don’t know. 6ft foot print would be more ideal for tankmate success IMO.
 
I agree with reaper. If they decide to have babies you can say goodbye to whatever you put in there. I've put silver dollars in a 4ft tank and I felt as if they didnt have enough room in there. Jacks are known to be shy fish. If you only had one in there I think the dithers would be ok but with a pair I wouldn't risk it.


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When I have a similar situation to this I use filament barbs (for larger tanks) and Elegant Rasboras, picked for the agility and seemingly neutral hierarchical position when in a tank.
 
My experience with jack dempseys was the same. I had a juvenile (4") alone for a week, and all he did was hide. I removed the caves, and he hid near the heater. I tried adding tetras, he still hid, and would occasionally get nipped by the tetras. I tried my firemouth and festivum, and he still hid. If anything he'd chase them but go back to the cave.

I ended up donating him to my LFS for an awesome green terror that is much more active.

Since you have a female in a bigger tank, maybe silver dollars or some medium sized CA/SA cichlids?
 
Sorry to say adding dithers will not help with the skittish behavior. I have a pair in a 125 with other cichlids and they are still very skittish. The male is slightly less so but he's around 10 years old and only opened up with age.


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[video=youtube;Syu2d6WIc-s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syu2d6WIc-s&feature=c4-overview&list=UUZVTYwhm6uePwLBSrKzXpwg[/video] Not sure about dithers but im happy my jacks dont act like the ones i read about on this board.
 
[video=youtube;2wIK24X_dLA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wIK24X_dLA&feature=c4-overview&list=UUZVTYwhm6uePwLBSrKzXpwg[/video] My big boy will jump out the water for food. None of my jacks are skittish 2 regular 1 gold and 4 EBJDs all beg for food and are calm.
 
In nature JDs are surrounded by hundreds of live bearers, the Yucatan sailfin molly and others which hover near the surface, and the JDs stay close to the substrate, and caves to dash into.
They watch them to determine threat of danger, and occasionally eat them.
 
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