# Possible tankmates in new tank for young JD pair?



## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

Hello all,
First thank you in advance for any advice you can give me. I recently gifted my husband with a pair of Jack Dempseys, Bonnie and Clyde. They were one inch each a month ago when we got them (from a friend who couldn't keep them). They came with a 10 gallon which we knew was not big enough, but being new to Cichlids, we thought we'd have more time before they would need to be moved. Needless to say, in one month Clyde has double his size and is terrorizing Bonnie. Per the advice and discussions I've read here, we are now getting ready to move them to a roomier 55 or 125. My question is, what other fish would be ok to move in with them. I figure adding new mates now, while the pair are young is best, right? My husband used to have oscars, a clownknife, and a pacu...I would like to stick with the Cichlids but I'm not sure which ones would be ok with the Jacks. Any recommendations?


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## underOATH87 (Apr 14, 2007)

well if you want them with tankmates, and to feel comfrotable, you might want to go with the 125 instead of the 55, the 55 would be good for just the 2 of them. You could try:

Convicts
Firemouth Meeki
Midas
Salvini

Not all of them, but you could look into some of them, I believe those could work for options. That midas can get pretty big, but in the 125 it would be alright(ish).

Anyone agree/disagree?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

As UnderOat pointed out... the tank size you decide on will make a big difference in what we could suggest...

In my personal opinion, when keeping fish such as Dempseys that are likely going to break 8", the 18" (front to back) footprint makes a far better home than the 12" (front to back) foot print. Therefore I suggest you put the most consideration in the 75 gallon tanks or larger.

The larger the tank you use the more tank mates you can keep and the wider the range will be.

As a general rule with some exceptions, Cichlids do not appreciate same species / same gender tank mates. Meaning your male Dempsey wouldn't want another male Dempsey around. Similarly, they tend not to appreciate similarly looking species of the same sex. Therefore in a 4' tank your male Dempsey probably wouldn't appreciate a male Salvini, but would be more tolerant of him in a larger tank, such as the 125 gal you are considering...

So it's hard to really nail down a list of potential tank mates until we know which tank you are most likely going to go with...

One thing you can do in the process of decidingâ€¦ review fish that are available to you. If you only plan to shop locally, stop by the stores in your area and see whatâ€™s in stock. Feel free to ask questions at the store but I highly discourage spontaneous purchases. Some pet store clerks have been known to give out poor advice either due to ignorance or being over eager to get that sale.

If your willing to order fish online and have them mailed to you check out the stock lists on a few of the bigger breeders websites to see what is available to you. Iâ€™d love to recommend using Jeff Rapps or Ken Davisâ€™ sites as a base for whatâ€™s available online, but we arenâ€™t supposed to recommend individual retailers in the open forum. So check the review section for ideas of breeders to look at


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

I guess we'd be initially moving them to the 55 for the moment, just to give her some relief...then once finances allow us to outfit the 125 that we already have, we'll move them again. How much time do I have before he outgrows the 55? I realize this may not be exclusively due to his size, but may need to be done to calm down his behavior. Even though he's cute, he's a bit of a bully! Is there a generic growth timeline for males? As to tankmates...the hubby would like to get an oscar or two, and I was kinda leaning towards a firemouth, so obviously we'd have to wait to do this until we set up our 125. Probably a stupid question, but that means we'd need to buy the new mates at around the same size as our little terror, or however big he is at that time? If that's the case, most likely will not be able to go with anyone local. I was not impressed with our local pet supply chain store, or their staff. Having had some larger tanks many years ago, the 125, and a salt set up....we at least have the rudimentary skills, but I was appalled at some of the information (or lack of) I'd been given at the store. Hence my online search and finding you guys. I have been trying to read everything possible that's been posted here about our new brood, and I am so thankful for some of the things I've already learned we'll need to do (or avoid). Great advice, awesome site...thanks.


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## redm18 (Feb 1, 2004)

I think there are a ton of people who have kept a pair of JD's for life in a 55. I agree its not ideal but I think you could keep them in there real easily for a good chunk of time till you can upgrade. I agree that you should upgrade though if its a possiblity. I would just keep it to the pair of JD's though until you do upgrade. If you already have the tank though what parts are keeping you from putting them in the 125? If its filtration I would just set it up and use whatever you planned on using for the the 55 on the 125 then buy a cheap sponge filter in keep up on your water changes for mechanical filtration. Just my opinion though.


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

Our original stand for the 125 was broken when we moved into our new home about 15 years ago and we never replaced it, because we hadn't considered setting it up again at that point. Also, all of the filtering items that we have are ancient...thought we'd have to buy all new for the larger tank. We have a "Second Nature Whisper Power Filter 3" that should be enough for the 55, but didn't think it would be enough to maintain the 125 with several fish. We have all the gravel, driftwood, etc, just need the cash to replace the stand, hood, more filtration, etc... So for now the 55 will have to do.


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## jamesman_1994 (Jun 23, 2009)

i would think putting in a midas or a sal would b a bad idea at this stage. remember they r only 1-2" and the sals and midas will out grow them with in the month u by them.... if u w8 until they r bigger it would b ok but then they would have already established territories in the tank (in ur case the whole tank if it is only occupied by them) so i would keep to some less agressive ish and some slower growing ones. cons would b awsome in a 125 but they take a lifetime to even reach 2" they will b able to hold their own against the jacks... but just those fish in a 125 would b boring until they reached a resonable size... so u might want to put in some dithers (giant danios) and maby a plecco... good tank m8s would defenitly b firemouths.... u could get a breeding pair of FM's and JD's i would think in a 125 JD's and FM's rn't the most agressive fish but they can have a temper... but in a 125 they should b good. i think cons would b fine even with the 2 breeding pairs in there... just put in some big pieces of drift wood and plenty of caves (a visual barrier would b a good idea 2 put in the middle of the tank if u go with the 2 pairs, it will stop terf wars)


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## Blademan (Sep 20, 2008)

Isn't it possible that you have 2 clydes? I don't think you can sex JDs at 1-2 inches.


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

I am not 100% sure about anything. I tried to compare them to the images I found here on this site, just to confirm they are in fact Jack Dempseys....pretty sure on that one. And although they were identical to each other in size and coloring last month when we got them, "he" seems to be growing in leaps and bounds, while getting a little flashier in color, and "she" seems to be about the same, in size and coloring. Also noticed that his fins are a bit pointier. I know none of this is very scientific, and I am assuming a lot (yes, I know how the saying goes). I could be all wrong, and my Bonnie could be a male, and not a Dempsey at all. Here are 2 shots of them, 1 from when I first got them and 1 from tonight. They are a lot harder to get both in the same picture now than they were last month...but the promise of food seems to prevail. Please forgive the bad picture quality...my daughter is the photographer in our family, not me. 

6/21/09 









7/25/09


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## jamesman_1994 (Jun 23, 2009)

hahaha they r defenetly jacks... how often do u water change coz that is awsome grwth for 1 month


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

When I started doing the research on our new "babies", I got concerned about the tank size, so I've been doing 20% tank changes every week. It also helps that they eat like fiends...Tetra Cichlid Crisps for him, and right now she still eats the Tetra Cichlid Large Flakes. Although the last 2 or 3 days, she's been moving in on his crisps, so it may be time for her to graduate from the flakes. At this rate he'll be moving up to sticks very shortly...and then, who knows, I may have to start watching my fingers in the tank. :lol: Although he tends to be a bully, I don't see any "violent" behavior such as fin nipping or anything. I swear he just enjoys torturing her and chasing her around the tank. So I know it's def high time to get them outta the cramped quarters and move them up to the 55 at least. We were already planning on getting a pleco, and now I'm gonna look into the danios too (good advice, thanks!) Hope to have the 55 set up and start the water testing process by next weekend.


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## jamesman_1994 (Jun 23, 2009)

well good luck i think the chasing might b breeding behaviour but not sure they r still really small to b doing anything like that


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

Thanks so much to everyone for all the great advice. We'll let you know how things go once the new diggs are up and running.


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

Hello everyone,
Thanks again for all of the helpful information and advice. Thought I'd post an update on our dynamic duo. Since last June (my last post), they have been growing both in size and attitude. Although he is now 6-7" and she's about 5-6", I still haven't seen very much of the "agressive" behavior that I have heard can be a problem with the Jacks. We _have_ seen the lip lock behavior that was getting a bit out of hand for a little while. So much so, that now her upper lip looks like a lip piercing gone wrong. Other than that, they are both in great health. He's a lot more shy and won't come out of his "bat cave" very often, unless it's feeding time or she kicks him out. She seems to like to instigate him and manages to hold her own when he gets "bossy". She is incredibly social and will come immediately to the front of the tank to greet me as soon as I walk into the room. We followed some advice and got some giant danios (lost a few along the way to some tank water issues, but the rest are thriving) and a pleco. They are still in my 55 and seem pretty happy for now. Still haven't managed to raise the funds for a stand for our 125; hopefully by the end of this year. Will post some pics of our little monsters soon. Thank you all again for your helpful input.


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## jamesman_1994 (Jun 23, 2009)

holy [email protected]#$ that is crazy growth!!!! that is 3 months and they are already a solid size. i got my sall just the other week and i also have a JD the same size in my 55g along with 2 FM's and a convict. if you want to get a salvini i think it would be a great tank mate in a 125g. i would get a femal tho because males even though they only reach 7" they are a very broad fish for their size. plus the females are better coloured. i think that you could add a fair few mid sized cichlids in a 125g but having the JD's breed might be a problem. but you could try it out. you might even be able to add in a green texis. i think they look great. that would be a cool fish to have in a 125g! all up to you in the end there are so many possibilities. 
could you poste some more pics coz i would love to see them now


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

They've grown this big in 1 year, not 3 months. Although it does seem like they grew this big overnight We've decided to stick with the danios for activity in the tank for now and our pleco (also about 7") is pretty comical so it's enough movement in the 55. When we are able to get the stand for our 125, we were thinking about adding a convict and a sal. I will def post some more recent pics soon. Thanks.


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

After dealing with the under gravel filter from **** in our 55, and reading some of the threads here, we decided to redo our 55 from gravel to PFS. Thanks to all that we read, we were able to avoid some major mistakes we most likely would have made. A pic of the new set up is next.


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

Still have to get a few things settled, but danios and pleco move in this weekend and if water levels stay stable, we will move the brats back in next week. I couldn't decide on the background, so for now it's a dark blue piece of cloth...still tossing ideas around. There's also another piece of slate going on the left side of the tank to make his "cave" that he hides in most of the day.


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

I love black backgrounds, seems very nice imo 

a Female Salvini would be a great color addition too! :thumb:


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## Bkeen (Mar 13, 2009)

Get a 75, and possibly do a Firemouth and a con. :thumb:


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

We're gonna set up our 125 tank once I can afford to replace the stand. Once that's set up, I want to add a sal and a convict. Added my danios tonite and we'll see how thye do over the next few days. Don't want to add the Dempseys until I am sure I didn't miss anything and the water is still stable. I am soaking a piece of driftwood right now and that will also be going into the tank on top of the rocks. Will post a pic once everything is all done....until I change it again


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

the danois are alone atm? are those giant danios?
can you post a pic of them? been trying to find those forever


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

It's hard to snag a shot of them, they're pretty quick. Having a hard time locating any more of them in local stores. Was told that fall is the best time to find them.










Here's our pleco, "Gigantour". (Name courtesy of our daughter) 
He's a bit of a monster.










A better view of the tank and the danios. Hard to see, but Gigantour is on the rocks.










I still need to readjust the rocks a bit to get my airstones buried so the Dempseys don't dimolish them, but otherwise the tank is almost done. If the water levels stay stable by Sunday, Bonnie and Clyde move back in.


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

oh looks very nice 

and yeah those are the danios Im trying to find! hehe 

youmoved them alredy? how it went?


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## Shellbella35 (Jul 24, 2009)

Yea, I moved them back in and they were a little stressed, but only for like an hour or so. After that, they went around to stake out claims on their individual "caves" and there was a little dispute with the pleco and Clyde, but all set now. I will have to readjust the rock at next water change as they are gonna need more floor space than I gave them. Otherwise, everyone seems to love the new substrate. The Dempseys have already moved some around and redecorated a bit, which is fine. Had a little flare up with the PH again, and some fluctuation with the Ammonia level but after a few days all levels have gone back down to normal. I LOVE the look of the tank now with the sand and once I get the hang of cleaning it without disturbing too much of the sand, we should be all set. I am told it takes a bit of practice. We are on a mission to find some more of the Giant Danios in our state, and so far have not had too much luck. I am concerned about one of mine that seems to be a runt. He/she swims well, eats well, and coloring is good - but so much smaller than the others - they pick on him or her, so I am concerned it may not make it.


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