jack dempsy's

[lowriderb]

sorry if this breed has been brought up but i couldnt find it on the search for some reason..

anyways, i have one fish (appears to be a jack dempsy, looks similar to this one http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1596) that a friend of mine gave me about 5 months ago. it (not sure of sex) since ive had it has grown up to about 5 or so inches long. which shouldnt be a problem since the only tankmate is a 4in pleco, in the 35gal tank that i have.

my question is could i introduce a mate to this one without it killing it or would i just have to start over with a pair to begin with? i am getting a 125gal tank later next month, im just not sure what would happen if i tried pairing it now..




i did have a pair of oscars in this tank for about a year before katrina hit (no power for a week=dead monsters in the tank) the larger was about 6in or so the smaller about 4 1/2-5. and they did fine with regular tank cleanings..


thanks for the help..

B



i went ahead and got a cichlid that should be big enough to not get eaten..


here are some not very good pics of them..

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Try searching for jack dempsey.

And yes, that is a JD.

It's often difficult to pair off cichlids after reaching the size of yours; it's usually best to let a group of juveniles grow up together and allow two fish to choose one another.

The other cichlid is a yellow lab.

 

[lowriderb]

i went ahead and added the yellow one today, if he starts getting ate on then ill probably go trade the jd in to the fish store and pick up a few other juviniles..


the pics dont show the size of it, he doesnt turn to pose for the camera like some people's fish..lol

the bottom of that jar set up it stays in is about 10inches across..

 

[hulkamaniac]

That's really a Dempsey? A friend of mine gave me a fish she said she'd had forever and told me it was a Dempsey. I just took her word for it. Here's a pic. It's not that great, but I've already turned off the lights on all the tanks so I don't want to wake everyone up to take a better one.

Here's another pic with him on the far left:

 

[goalorientation]

my question is could i introduce a mate to this one without it killing it or would i just have to start over with a pair to begin with? i am getting a 125gal tank later next month, im just not sure what would happen if i tried pairing it now..

Yes you could and get away with it best at this time. The reason being this fish is still juvenile and will probly do best if you add another juvi... I didn't get a real good look but it was a looker so I'm thinking male. JD's grow the same as oscars supposidly. They're arrogant and won't back down from anything, and they will rearrange your tank, at this time most in particular because is still growing. Make sure you add whatever you want to that tank within the fish month/maybe 2 after cycle because its inhabitants will soon outgrow adding capacity. I like the Black Shark (labeo chrysophekadion) with my 2 oscars, and my tank is 50g bow, which you could easily get away with adding if you find one big enough.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

That JD is well past being a juvenile. Granted, he is not fully grown. But he is a sexually mature adult and will act accordingly.

More often than not, trying to create pairs after the fish are sexually mature leads to abused and/or dead fish. Placing 4-6 young juvies together is an almost fool-proof method for obtaining a breeding pair- so much so that it's irresponsible (in my opinion) to place a female's life in danger the other way.

 

[lowriderb]

im not trying to get a breeding pair, just wanting more life to the tank.. the jd in my tank is probably about a year old now (give or take a little being that a friend had it for a while before giving it to me..) any ideas on the sex of the jd as well as the yellow one?

it seems the yellow one is alright so far since its been the first full day or so its been in the tank..


like i said before though i am working out a deal for a bigger tank, i really just need to drive to tenn to pick it up from my friend..

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

The JD looks to be a male.

Yellow labs are pretty tough to sex by sight, so I'd hate to even guess what yours is. They are usually one of the more passive mbuna, so you may not have any trouble with the combo.

 

[Menagerie]

These fish may or may not coexist well in the long term. JDs can be very aggressive and the lab is not. Also, you have an African Rift Lake cichlid in with a Central American cichlid. As a rule, I do not mix various cichlids from different lakes and never mix cichlids from different continents. I learned that the hard way a few years ago. Although the lab may be a larger fish now, the JD will easily out grow it and forget the thought of "food", the JD may simply see it as competition. Part of what makes cichlids great aquarium fish is the unique behaviors and understanding the behaviors will led to less complications. From what I know and have witnessed, JDs (look at their head/mouth structure to tell you how they evolved for a different purpose versus the lab) tend to be aggressive for aggressions sake (territory, boredom, food, mating) whereas the more peaceful lab may only get aggressive over a mate or territory. YMMV as with any fish since not many individual fish fit the profile perfectly.

it seems the yellow one is alright so far since its been the first full day or so its been in the tank..

One day is definitely not a significant amount of time to judge whether these two will make good tank mates.

 

[goalorientation]

I was kind of hoping that was a green terror, in which case you may be able to get away with keeping the lab with it. The growth of these fish ultimately is my concern, because the JD is going to outgrow and will be highly capable of outmuscle'in' that labidochromis caeruleus (aka Electric yellow). The 125g is going to be your best choice to house this fish that'll grow around a foot easy. I would keep the yellow lab in the current tank, what are the measurements?

 

[toddnbecka]

Jack dempsey's have completely different water requirements than African cichlids. Africans need hard, alkaline water, which isn't really suitable for South or Central American cichlids. Diet is another concern, JD's are carnivores, Lab's, and many other Africans, require some vegetable content in their diet. They graze on algae in their natural environment, something JD's never do.

 

[lowriderb]

I was kind of hoping that was a green terror, in which case you may be able to get away with keeping the lab with it. The growth of these fish ultimately is my concern, because the JD is going to outgrow and will be highly capable of outmuscle'in' that labidochromis caeruleus (aka Electric yellow). The 125g is going to be your best choice to house this fish that'll grow around a foot easy. I would keep the yellow lab in the current tank, what are the measurements?

on the current tank the measurements are 30(L)x17 1/2(H)x12(D), it was set up for about 1 1/2 years with a pair of oscars, once i got back home from evacuating though it was reset immediatly and a pleco was put in after the first or second cycle, then the jd was added..

the new tank is one of the long 8ft (about) ones of about the same height and depth (just guessing)..

i dont think that the lab is going to have much problem right now the jd usually only stays in the jar stuff (why i had to pull it up to get a pick of it) so the lab kinda stays clear of that area.. both of them already have been eating feeder fish and glass shrimp, ive also got small cichlid pellets and larger ones, although i will get what the lfs normally feeds their stock as well if i need to.. the size difference of the two is already a factor that i am concerned with.. the lab is only a few inches long (deffinitly a juvinile).

Managerie: the jd is probably about 5in long at least, the pics dont show his size to scale, the bottom of his jars are about 10-11in across if that gives you an idea. im watching them closely to make sure the lab isnt coming up with anything missing.


i appreciate everyones help so far.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

kool tanks

 

[goalorientation]

If anything happens at all I would think it drastic in the form of a casualty. It may be a good idea to stock that 125g with all the fish you want within the first month of adding the first one (I know it sounds wrong let me explain!). The JD doesn't care how big the tank is, if it'll be the only one in there it'll claim the whole territory, which will make adding a tankmate later on impossible. Being this fish is from Central America, consider adding likewise tankmates and possibly creating a biotope of "slow moving often murky water with caves to hide in". There are many quality species in this particular area so you should really take your time in picking out what's right for you.