# Electric Blue JD vs. Red Texas?



## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

I know the electric blue jack dempseys are less agressive the the normal ones, but I was wondering about the red texas cichlid. are they also less agressive? will the 2 get along together?


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

My texas is pretty aggressive but everyones differs. also depends on your tank size
an decor


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

do you have a regular texas or a red texas?


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

In theory, most red texas are likely going to be more aggressive than regular texas or green texas simply because of the crossed breeding with a more aggressive, larger fish.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

my 3" SRT tries to take pieces off my hand whenever I'm in his tank... never had a normal texas do that.

just compare the cockiness of a texas (which tend to start fights they can't win) combined with the pure power and capableness of a Midas/RD... A fish that continuously starts fights in can almost always win... does not make for a good community fish.

I wouldn't dare even trying to keep mine with convicts of the same size, or even an inch larger, would tear them apart for sure.


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

my texas is regular still young and shy.

i've seen large red tex an the one i saw

was no joke jumps up from tank for your

hand very agressive

an cons can be nasty but eventually just

be a snack


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

sorrry meant green texas. an dont recommend the 2 fish together.


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## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

Even though my red texas is not very red at the moment :roll: he is, like Gage and SinisterKisses said, very aggressive. He has killed every fish that was in his tank and he did that while he was around 3" long. I also have a EBJD (in another tank) and there is no way I'd put the two together!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

together? not a chance  any EBJD I've had would be ripped to shreds by my SRT.


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## SiNFuLWaYs (May 18, 2009)

ebjd cost too much to turn into a feeder :lol:


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

ok. So what would be good tank mates with the ELBD?


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## lil mama (Nov 24, 2007)

I have some Tetras in with my EB.


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

really? do the EB try to eat them?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I have had a pretty wide range of results in adult Blue Dempseys... Some passive, some aggressive, some topping out smaller, some attaining typical Dempsey sizes...

Therefore it would be hard to suggest what your will do well with, since there is no way I/we can predict what it will grow into...

My more passive ones do very well with Geos, Severums and other fish in this agression range...

My more aggressive ones have done well with any fish you would typicall keep with a Dempsey...

I would not consider a Red Texas a good tankmate for any type of Dempsey...

While young, I avoid cichlid tankmates for my Blue Dempseys... unless they are noticably smaller and of a docile species...

I currently have baby Geos growing out with a large group of baby Blue Dempseys...


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

cool. thank you. i will not be getting the texas cichlids. although i wish i could. their contrast would look really good together. i have a 60 gallon tank. i was thinking ov getting 4 ELJD and some small tank fillers. is 4 of them a bad idea? should i get less, or will they be ok since they are not very agressive?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I've kept Red Seprae Tetras with Blue Dempseys... I appreciated the contrast...

I've kept (W African) Jewel Cichlids (which are red) with my Blue Dempseys and they did well providing a similar contrast...

I've kept Green Severums with Blue dempseys and they did well... and I know of no differences in aggression between Red and Green Severums, so they would be another red option as a tankmate...


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

what about some mollies with the EBJD? or will they get eaten?


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

Isn't that what livebearers are for???  
Although actually ... I bet he'd really enjoy the fry and the adults would be too large for a little while at least for the EBJD to eat...


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

yea. i figured the fry would get eaten. i need population control. but i am having a really hard time figuring out what to put with my EBJD. any suggestions?


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

I don't know. Honestly I haven't really tried tankmates with my EBJD. The only thing he is housed with are some corycats.

However, I recently got another EB and now that his quarantine period is over I'm going to put him in a 55 with some gold barbs and swordtails that have been in there for a few months. Not sure if it will work out or not ... but he's comparable in size to the fish in there at least.

I guess in my case I'll be doing a bunch of aquascaping to make sure everyone has lots hiding space.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Toby_H said:


> I've kept Red Seprae Tetras with Blue Dempseys... I appreciated the contrast...
> 
> I've kept (W African) Jewel Cichlids (which are red) with my Blue Dempseys and they did well providing a similar contrast...
> 
> I've kept Green Severums with Blue dempseys and they did well... and I know of no differences in aggression between Red and Green Severums, so they would be another red option as a tankmate...


I raise my young Blue Dempseys without Cichlid tankmates...

I am currently keeping my adult Blue Dempseys with Steiny (Red Hump) Geos, Elliot Cichlids (very similar to Firemouthes) and Black Ghost Knife...

I've previously kept them with Severums, Firemouthes, Green Terror (female), Oscars, (W African) Jewel Cichlids, Convicts, young adult female Trimac, other Dempseys and I'm sure several others that are not coming to mind...


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## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

I have my EBJD in with some giant danios. Nice combo IMO because the danios are active, always swimming around, and of course they are not aggressive towards the EBJD at all. Also they are too big to be eaten at least at this point!


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

yea.. i ended up getting several types of mollies. lots of different colors. they are very active too. i also got some elephant fish. but it died with in 24 hours. i read a little about it, but i overlooked that it needs a much lower ph. i felt really bad. but the mollies and my ebjd are doing good. except one is not eating as well as the others. i tried spiritula flakes, shrimp pellets, regular ciclid flakes. and it wont eat much at all. the other one is eating alot of all of it. i did give it frozen blood worms today and they both devoured it. what do you all feed your ebjd'd?


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

I feed mine mostly NLS + Thera A, but on occasion I give them frozen brine shimp with spirulina, bloodworms and sometimes beef heart. My EBs are a bit like yours. One I've had since sometime in July and he eats like a pig. The other I got a few weeks ago and I worry about it because it doesn't seem to be as interested in food as the other one is. Although it could be that he's just a picky eater because he absolutely devours any sort of frozen food.


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

i'm sorry, but what is NLS + Thera A? still not eating for one and the other one eats everything. i am beginning to think something is wrong with him. 2 weeks and i have not seen him eat except 1 time


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

NLS is New Life Spectrum, a brand of fish food. I feed it to all of my cichlids, although the company also makes fish foods for saltwater species, freshwater community, etc. with different pellet sizes based on the size of the fish. The Thera A bit means that it has garlic added to it. It's just supposed to be a dietary supplement to boost your fish's immune system.


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## bacondaddy (Dec 6, 2007)

speaking of immune systems. one of my electric blues was dead when i got home monday. now the other one is starting to act funny. looks fine but will not eat and it is hiding alot. which is exactly what the other one did a week before death. do you think it is a parasite? what should i use to treat it?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I do not think it is fair to say they have weak immune systems... I think it is accurate to say they are prone to internal parasites...

I use UV lights to prevent the threat of parasites and I highly suggest others using them as well. It is much better for the fish to prevent the illness than to treat the illness once it appears...

I've heard of other's using Jungle Parasite Clear with a fair amount of success. Use as directed...


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