# lonesome jewel..



## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

Hello, I have a (I'm 99% sure male) jewel cichlid by himself in a 10 gallon tank. hes very active & healthy, always swimming all around his tank, and very aggressive. he goes right up to my hand when I'm cleaning the tank or moving things around, defiantly not scared of me. he will bite anyone who puts there finger in his tank, except me it seems like. however, I'm starting to feel bad for my jewel because he is getting big and I think he needs more room to swim around. I want to get a 20 gallon tank for him, does anyone know if jewels mind living alone? I could get a 30 gallon and get a female but he is so aggressive I'm worried he might beat her up, especially since he would be so much bigger then her.

it would be great if someone could give me there 2 cents on this. thanks in advance


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## samaki (Oct 25, 2002)

Hi If yu don't want yur fish to spawn then yu can keep it by itself without females.
xris


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

thanks!


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

anyone know if I did get a 20 gallon would it be ok to get a female or do you think he would attack her?


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## Jillian83 (Jan 14, 2011)

Jewels are ridiculously aggressive fish. If you get a single female, he will kill her. You need several females for every one male.


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## gutted (Mar 7, 2012)

first question is how big is he?


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

gutted said:


> first question is how big is he?


I would say around 4 inches


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## gutted (Mar 7, 2012)

That's a big fish for a small tank. If youre looking to get him a new tank, I'd go with a 20g long or 40g breeder. You want something with a larger footprint vs taller tank. Although I dont have much experience with jewels, I've heard from lots of people that they can be very nasty and mean. I'm not sure if a 20 gallon long would be enough room for a female to hide if the make decided to give her a good chase.


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

gutted said:


> That's a big fish for a small tank. If youre looking to get him a new tank, I'd go with a 20g long or 40g breeder. You want something with a larger footprint vs taller tank. Although I dont have much experience with jewels, I've heard from lots of people that they can be very nasty and mean. I'm not sure if a 20 gallon long would be enough room for a female to hide if the make decided to give her a good chase.


thanks for the input! I think I'm going to go w a 20 gallon tank for him just by himself. He is aggressive but beautiful and fun to watch.


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## irondan (Nov 22, 2007)

i have a 5 inch lifalili male in my 125 with a 10 inch oscar, 10 inch gt and 10 inch nic as well as 6 big loaches and various smaller cichlids. the jewel is so nasty that even the big guys stay away from him


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## gutted (Mar 7, 2012)

wow what a beast. beautiful too.


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

irondan said:


> i have a 5 inch lifalili male in my 125 with a 10 inch oscar, 10 inch gt and 10 inch nic as well as 6 big loaches and various smaller cichlids. the jewel is so nasty that even the big guys stay away from him


wow! he is beautiful!! do you give him live foods? he is so red it's awesome. I think I'm going to keep him by himself, don't have a tank big enough for any of those guys. which smaller cichlids do you have him in with?


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## irondan (Nov 22, 2007)

thank you. he gets plankton, carnivor pellets, shrimp, earthworms, spirolina and shelled blanched peas. the smaller cichlids are salvini, spilurus and juvie jds


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

irondan said:


> thank you. he gets plankton, carnivor pellets, shrimp, earthworms, spirolina and shelled blanched peas. the smaller cichlids are salvini, spilurus and juvie jds


sounds like its time for me to add more of a variety to my jewels diet, that must be why he looks so bland compared to yours. thanks for your input!! 
oh and just wondering, have you had any problems with the jds and jewel? my boyfriend had a large adult jd in a 30 gal and added a juvi jewel that would terrorize him so he had to bring the jewel back to the LFS.


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## irondan (Nov 22, 2007)

nope, no probs but the tank is 125 gallons so lots of places for the jds to stay clear of the jewel


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

irondan said:


> nope, no probs but the tank is 125 gallons so lots of places for the jds to stay clear of the jewel


okay it must of been territorial because of the smaller tank. thanks for your help!


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## bblovesae (Feb 3, 2012)

irondan said:


> nope, no probs but the tank is 125 gallons so lots of places for the jds to stay clear of the jewel


ok nice, thanks for the help.

anyone know if once I move my jewel into the 20 gal, will there any fish I could keep him with?


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