EBJD and Angelfish?

[Dirt Diggler]

I've been reading up on these Electric Blue Jack Dempseys and I'm reading that they tend to be less aggressive, grow slower, and stay smaller than their normal counterparts. Would they make suitable tankmates for angelfish? I finally have a 125 gallon for my S.A. build, and instead of discus, I was thinking of adding 3 EBJDs to the build to go with 10 or so angelfish. I'm aware that bottom dwellers like Rams are good, as are certain tetras, and that discus are suitable as well. If EBJDs aren't suitable, what other cichlids are suitable tankmates?

 

[Rivers2k]

I didn't answer before because my experience has been less than positive with EBJD's but since nobody else has commented I will let you know my experience. I love the look of EBJD so I have tried 3 times each time making it at the most to 3" then they die. All less than a year. I have never had so much problems with 1 type of fish.

I heard they were very sensative and passive so I put one in a community tank that was the one I had the longest. I switched him over and added other cichlid juvies smaller than him and he stressed out and died.

Figure it was a fluke second time I bought two and added them to a tank with Firmouths and Rams and cherry barbs in a heavily planted (fake plants) and he died. Got picked on my Rams.

3rd time bought 3 figured I would do a species only tank first one died in a few days of purchase the others did well for 6-8 months and with in one week they both died a few days apart for no reason. I will not buy them again but if I were I would do a species only tank. They stess very easily and stop eating.

So if you were to get them you wont have to worry about your Angelfish I would worry about the EBJD getting picked on. Hope this helps.

 

[Fishy Smell]

If you want your Angelfish to look nice it's a definite no.
EBJD are still pretty aggressive and may well chew on (or probably kill) the Angels.
If you want EBJD, put with Firemouths, blue acara, rainbow, con, Sajica etc and make sure any EBJD you buy is over 4" as small ones don't last. Don't feed live food to them under any circumstances because parasites which could be in live food will kill them off much easier than the average cichlid.


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[Fishy Smell]

Suitable for Angels and rams would be keyholes, possibly festivum, and if you have a big tank (as you do) and want the water warmer I'd go discus.


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[Dirt Diggler]

I knew they were fragile, but wow!

 

[MICEY]

severums will also work with angels , dempsys come from central America and need different water conditions

 

[Dirt Diggler]

I think I'm just going to go with Discus now, maybe add a couple of these other fish, the rams, festivum, and keyholes. I might even add a couple kribs. That sounds safer. Is there a significant difference in the different color discus? I've read that they need a school to thrive, but does it matter if they aren't all the same color?

 

[MICEY]

they don't know the difference in color , but unless you are very experienced I would stay away from discus the are sensitive to water conditions and are costly
severums are a better choice there sometimes called the poor mans discus
discus need very soft acid water and unless you live in an area like I do with very soft water you will need an ro-di filter , and maybe a water softening resin pillow , or peat moss in your filter

 

[Fishy Smell]

Discus are not as bad as many suggest, they are often tank raised for starters. They do need warmer water though and are best in a group of 5 or 6. Given plenty of space, the right tank mates and a close eye on water quality they can be kept without too much bother.
That said, they are more trouble than many alternatives, including Severums. I wouldn't say Severums with Angels is an absolute no, but i think its risky. Severums are robust and more aggressive than Angels, and some of the large males ive seen around shops would probably be a major threat to your average Angel. The one i have is fairly small but could easily take apart any Angel ive ever kept if it wanted to.

Kribs are nice but are African, and can be nippy, another threat to the Angel. IMHO you really want other South Americans with Angels, and ideally smaller growing types. Rams and Keyholes are the best company for them really. In a 125 you could do 6 Angels, 6 Rams and a couple of Keyholes no problem.


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[Dirt Diggler]

That sounds doable. Maybe some tetras as well?

 

[Fishy Smell]

Yeah, no problem. I have Bentosi tetras with my Rams and Angels and they do well in a 48G. You could probably do 20 or so, maybe some Hatchets for the top of the tank (8-10) and some Sterbai corys (8 or so for the bottom)

They would all be from similar regions. Basically 50 or so fish of that nature including a dozen or so cichlids would be fine, they are pretty slow moving and peaceful.

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[Dirt Diggler]

About how many Angelfish is the max for a 125? I planned on having around 8-10 with about 6 rams, 6-10 cory cats, and MAYBE some tetras. I'll have 2 Eheim 2217s and a sump for filtration, and I'll be doing weekly water changes.

 

[Fishy Smell]

Put it this way, 10 at 6" inch + rams might be pushing it, but 6" is the max they get to. If you had 8 that stayed a bit smaller than the max, say 4-5 inches its doable i'd say. And of course, the more breeding pairs you get, the more space they will need and problems could arise. I'd stick to 6 with Rams and schooling fish if it were me.


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[Dirt Diggler]

Rams are bottom dwelling fish, I figured their territories wouldn't overlap at all. but I'll limit the amount of angelfish I keep to 8.

 

[Fishy Smell]

True, but for any spawning activity you still want to be on the safe side, don't want them getting in each other's way!


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[Dirt Diggler]

I suppose so. Would cory cats shouldn't be a problem though.