# new tank mates



## sbkinberly85 (Jun 19, 2015)

what would be a good tank mate for a jewel cichlid in a 75gallon tank?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You might find some ideas in this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=246578


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

That's very interesting selection. Never thought about mixing them with convicts.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

In the link provided from 2012, convicts were my recommendation but IMO is just one option. For a better chance of long term success, I'd be inclined to stick with just female cons.
You might find some ideas in these 2 threads.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=253201 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=354241


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

All of this makes me become more interested in keeping red jewel cichlid with Congo tetra in 40 G breeder


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

BC in one of the links you say your preference would be low-medium aggression mbuna. If you had to do a cookie cutter tank for jewels would the stocking look something like this?
1m:1f Hemichromis guttatus 
1m:4f Labidochromis caeruleus
1m:4f Cynotilapia sp. hara

I have a tank with like this planned with the mbuna...I might add the jewels (a group to start) to observe the spawning dynamic.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

DJRansome said:


> If you had to do a cookie cutter tank for jewels would the stocking look something like this?
> 1m:1f Hemichromis guttatus
> 1m:4f Labidochromis caeruleus
> 1m:4f Cynotilapia sp. hara


Sure. 
In terms of setting up the tank, you might want to consider a few plastic plants, as well. There use full, not only to break up lines of sight, but as divisional markers of territory. Another thing that I find very useful with any substrate spawner is to lean a flat rock into the back corners of the tank. This is always the preferred spawning site. Even when a pair tries a few different spots, they always come back to the corner cave. This puts the breeding territory to the far side of a tank. Eventually, if the pair is powerful enough they will take fry around the tank during the day, and everyone will have to move out of their way (can't say I've ever seen this with jewels, but very common with say, salvinis). The back space is free to use, though the actual spawning site is off limits as usually the male will come "running" back across the tank to chase a fish out of their cave.
IME, with electric yellows, there a little more laid back then most mbuna but still a very tough fish. Of course tanks change a lot over time and go through different phases, but I would generally expect the jewels to own territory, but not be the dominant fish in the tank. For the last 6 months, in my 90 gal. I have electric yellows, acei and salvini, all young fish. Sals have bred 3 times so far. Dominant male electric yellow holds his own quite well (and sals have weight advantage). I use this as an example, because IME, salvinis are many notches up in either a toughness or aggression scale, from the common jewel. Of course there is no doubt in this tank, sals will dominate. Jewels with these tankmates....most likely own small territory, and nothing more.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Als49 said:


> All of this makes me become more interested in keeping red jewel cichlid with Congo tetra in 40 G breeder


It might be worth a try. Time frame is the question. 
If you just want to breed the fish..... and then move on, pretty good chance it will work out.

Schooling dithers have their place, but based on my experience with jewels and other substrate spawners I think there would be likely be some problems sooner rather then later, with this set up.
Jewels are aggressive......that aggression is going to be directed somewhere.
What is to stop the jewels from claiming the entire tank? 40 gal. isn't big space for a large mature pair of jewels.
Schooling dithers continuously swim......is there a space for them to swim with out continuously trespassing?
Outside of breeding, what is to stop the pair from focussing on each other? Is a Congo tetra a good target fish? Will it "count" like another cichlid? Of course not :lol: 
It can be bodies in the way, but generally you don't want small schooling dithers to be the targets of a cichlids aggression too much, because they are fragile enough to end up dead quickly!
What is the track record of congo tetras as dithers for cichlids? From what I read, some have had success keeping them with larger, mild mannered SA. 
Maybe because they are expensive, they are not used so much(??) I know you can find way more examples of success with giant danios. Even Buenos aires tetra or tiger barbs. 
So even as a choice of schooling dither, I think it likely there are others with better chance of surviving and thriving.
I think it is also wise not to underestimate the aggression of the common jewel.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

OK they are on order...picking them up on Sunday.


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## Ten Tonne Tomahawk (Apr 24, 2015)

Just an idea, as I'm not across the availability in your country, but Rainbow fish might work. I have seen them with lower aggression American cichlids, like Sajicas and Chocolates before. They scoll and would be possibly more hardy and probably faster, perhaps less expensive than Congos?
Can't Congos be captive bred or something? Why the high price?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

DJRansome said:


> BC in one of the links you say your preference would be low-medium aggression mbuna. If you had to do a cookie cutter tank for jewels would the stocking look something like this?
> 1m:1f Hemichromis guttatus
> 1m:4f Labidochromis caeruleus
> 1m:4f Cynotilapia sp. hara
> ...


I'd be shocked if this worked out. Maybe a 6ft tank, but I highly doubt a 4ft tank things go well. Let's put it this way... let's assume for a second that the jewels "only" claim half of the tank, to the exclusion of the others, there is peaceful harmony, and that half of the tank, due to clever aquascaping isn't the middle of the tank. So, the Labs and Hara have half of a tank to exist. How many people would recommend a 2ft x 18" x 18" area as a healthy space for these mbuna?

If I were to try and mix these jewels, it would be in a heavily planted tank, with Congo tetras, Rainbow fish, or Danios.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Fogelhund said:


> How many people would recommend a 2ft x 18" x 18" area as a healthy space for these mbuna?


Not me! Guess I'll be finding out.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Fogelhund said:


> If I were to try and mix these jewels, it would be in a heavily planted tank, with Congo tetras, Rainbow fish, or Danios.


Are jewels diggers or not?


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Fogelhund said:


> DJRansome said:
> 
> 
> > BC in one of the links you say your preference would be low-medium aggression mbuna. If you had to do a cookie cutter tank for jewels would the stocking look something like this?
> ...


AFF, you guys thinking stocking far too much.
If mbuna can lve with breeding cons AND breeding sals...... :lol: b reeding jewels are absolutely nothing!! Done it so many times and NO casualties; never mind any discomfort from their competitors. Mbuna do just fine!
http://s192.photobucket.com/user/Bern-C/media/003_zpsci4ldxnv.mp4.html?sort=3&o=9 Click through and watch ALL the videos. I don't care to link to every video I have done, but click through and you will see that breeding jewels are no different then any other aggressive substrate spawner!


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Fogelhund said:


> I'd be shocked if this worked out. Maybe a 6ft tank, but I highly doubt a 4ft tank things go well. Let's put it this way... let's assume for a second that the jewels "only" claim half of the tank, to the exclusion of the others, there is peaceful harmony, and that half of the tank, due to clever aquascaping isn't the middle of the tank. So, the Labs and Hara have half of a tank to exist. How many people would recommend a 2ft x 18" x 18" area as a healthy space for these mbuna?


You can "over think" stocking. Like when I first come to this forum, I argued with people that figured a 90 gal. wasn't big enough for 5 cichlids (and the biggest of the cichlids being considered was a severum!). On "paper" there wasn't room......yet sometime later, when these very same people I argued with showed their own tanks on video, they had well over 20 cichlids in their tanks! :lol: 
The scenario you envision doesn't even happen with breeding sals. Which IMO, is at least double , if not 10x the aggression of breeding jewels. The reality is that fish can't be in more then one place at a moment in time. The whole tank gets used by all of the inhabitants.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

We can talk and talk about it. It's just talk. 
Try it, and see for yourself!
Of course there is more then one way to keep jewel cichlids. 1001 possible outcomes with any cichlid stocking.


Fogelhund said:


> jewels, with Congo tetras, Rainbow fish, or Danios.


There is a lot of success stories with this stocking?
Show me!
I read every thread on jewel cichlid and a number of posters have had them massacre schooling dithers and male killing female in the absence of other cichlid tank mates. IMO, it's generally a recipe for a dead female. 
IME, mbuna hold there own, and then some. Done it over and over, with the same results.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'm trying it. They are in the tank, but I chose to put them in the 72" tank for more room to claim a territory. Cute pink fish, I like them...so far, LOL.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

DJRansome said:


> but I chose to put them in the 72" tank for more room to claim a territory


All the better. Of course a 6 ft. tamk has better chance of working out then a smaller 4 ft., with any stocking!


Fogelhund said:


> 2ft x 18" x 18" area


Even in 6 ft. tanks, never had jewels claim anything remotely close, to that kind of space. Of course it is going to depend on having at least something in the tank that can stand up to them.
Again, I go back to the example of salvinis because that is a fish that will end up OWNING every square inch of the tank. So take that as a "worst case scenario", the amount of space they use as exclusive is generally a lot less then that, at any moment in time! Even with fry, generally there is about a 6" rule for mbuna.....as long as they stay away about 6" from the dominant male, he's 'fine' with mbuna!
The cookie cutters on this site suggest 18+ mbuna for a 75 gal. You can divide up the foot print by the number of fish and make a claim that a 6" X 8" is not enough space! But a tank does not work that way. IMO, 10 mbuna and 2 jewels is not heavier stocking!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Discussion of the experiment continued here:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=361066


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I have taken the jewels out of the 125G. They did not spawn, and I did not witness any killing or even aggression. But I still have all six jewels (they are thriving) and Malawi are disappearing. No evidence the jewels had anything to do with it.

So experiment incomplete and terminated. They are in a 38G for now...and I have not yet removed the prior residents (Otopharynx tetrastigma). The goal is to have the jewels alone in the 38G and move the tetrastigmas into another tank with peacocks.

I hope the 38G does not prove too small for them. Once the jewels start to spawn I can remove singles and pairs and try them in other tanks. I do like them.


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