2x male JD's in 55g = disaster? - Aquarium Advice

cgcaver · 01-18-2006, 02:07 PM

I started off w/ 4 2" Jack Dempseys in my 55g, with the plan of keeping only 2 all along. They are now all about 4-5", so it's time to break 'em up! My family had 2 8-10" JDs in a 55g all while I grew up living at home, but they were a male and a female. We took good care of them (they're still there), and they were always healthy - so I know it's not total taboo to have 2 JDs in a 55g.

What I'd really like to know is: will keeping 2 male JDs be a really really bad idea? I know they are typically somewhat more aggressive than females, but the ones I have aren't really aggressive towards each other at all currently. I just wanted to keep the 2 I think are males because they are so much more pretty [acronym:c949c10aa3="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:c949c10aa3] Will they be able to tolerate each other, or am I really setting myself up for disaster?

BrianNY · 01-18-2006, 02:20 PM

It's hard to say but [acronym:ede86835ad="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:ede86835ad] it's worth a shot. Somehow with cichlids the real bad number for aggression is 3. I'm inclined to think that with no female present, and being as young as they are, they just may live in harmony even as adults.

bosk1 · 01-18-2006, 04:00 PM

Don't repeat this to anyone, but... Years ago, when I was a teenager with no clue how to keep fish, I put two juvenile Dempseys in my 10 gallon! Although I did not realize it at the time, I had a male and female. And after about 6 months, they spawned!

In a 10 gallon!

Uh...not that this helps you with your situation, but you jarred the memory, so I thought I'd mention it.

cgcaver · 01-18-2006, 08:11 PM

Im not interested in them breeding at all... so other than that, what would be the upsides to having a male/female pair instead of 2 males?

01-18-2006, 02:07 PM	#1
cgcaver Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Starkville MS Posts: 71	2x male JD's in 55g = disaster? I started off w/ 4 2" Jack Dempseys in my 55g, with the plan of keeping only 2 all along. They are now all about 4-5", so it's time to break 'em up! My family had 2 8-10" JDs in a 55g all while I grew up living at home, but they were a male and a female. We took good care of them (they're still there), and they were always healthy - so I know it's not total taboo to have 2 JDs in a 55g. What I'd really like to know is: will keeping 2 male JDs be a really really bad idea? I know they are typically somewhat more aggressive than females, but the ones I have aren't really aggressive towards each other at all currently. I just wanted to keep the 2 I think are males because they are so much more pretty [acronym:c949c10aa3="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:c949c10aa3] Will they be able to tolerate each other, or am I really setting myself up for disaster? __________________ Gabe C. Starkville, MS -Typical 55g "Walmart Special" -3.75wpg AH Supply bright kits -Flourite substrate w/ granite rocks -Tanked [acronym:cb9e1bff2f="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:cb9e1bff2f] & powerhead/tube reactor -Currently growing Glosso with Corkscrew Val patch -49 Neon Tetras, 2 Clown Loaches -AC500 powerfilter -Rio Mini powerheads for some current -Tapwater is 8.2-8.4 pH, very soft -[acronym:cb9e1bff2f="Poor Mans Dosing Drops"]PMDD[/acronym:cb9e1bff2f] dry ferts

01-18-2006, 04:00 PM	#3
bosk1 Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 693	Don't repeat this to anyone, but... Years ago, when I was a teenager with no clue how to keep fish, I put two juvenile Dempseys in my 10 gallon! Although I did not realize it at the time, I had a male and female. And after about 6 months, they spawned! In a 10 gallon! Uh...not that this helps you with your situation, but you jarred the memory, so I thought I'd mention it. __________________ http://dreamtheaterforums.org/forum/index.php

01-18-2006, 08:11 PM	#4
cgcaver Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Starkville MS Posts: 71	Im not interested in them breeding at all... so other than that, what would be the upsides to having a male/female pair instead of 2 males? __________________ Gabe C. Starkville, MS -Typical 55g "Walmart Special" -3.75wpg AH Supply bright kits -Flourite substrate w/ granite rocks -Tanked [acronym:cb9e1bff2f="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:cb9e1bff2f] & powerhead/tube reactor -Currently growing Glosso with Corkscrew Val patch -49 Neon Tetras, 2 Clown Loaches -AC500 powerfilter -Rio Mini powerheads for some current -Tapwater is 8.2-8.4 pH, very soft -[acronym:cb9e1bff2f="Poor Mans Dosing Drops"]PMDD[/acronym:cb9e1bff2f] dry ferts

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01-18-2006, 02:20 PM	#2
BrianNY Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 4,259 Images: 18	It's hard to say but [acronym:ede86835ad="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:ede86835ad] it's worth a shot. Somehow with cichlids the real bad number for aggression is 3. I'm inclined to think that with no female present, and being as young as they are, they just may live in harmony even as adults.