# De-stocked tank, 1 JD & redtail shark...what to add?



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

OK I have a 75 gallon tank that used to have 1 jack dempsey 1 redfin shark 5 silver dollars and 2 blood parrots. I have ditched the parrots and silver dollars, even my huge pleco... had some serious aggression going on with the parrots dominating the whole tank. it is so empty looking now. JD seems lonely and confused about where everyone went so i figure I need to add some dither fish - companions to make him feel happier. there is a 3rd smaller cichlid (maybe 4") of unknown variety - some kind of zebra-ish hybrid i think but none of these fish seem to interact much.... so down to 3 total fish now. everyone is hiding out a lot since the shake up.

need some ideas of what would be good to add. i like the idea of some smaller fish but i dont want super aggressive additions to the tank (like convicts from what i hear).

Ideas?


----------



## conoholic (Nov 12, 2005)

get abouat 10 zebra danios. the zebra type fish may be a convict..


----------



## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Could you post a pic of your mystery cichlid so that we can help you out further. We need to know so that we can first figure out what cichlid it is and see if you have enough room for more cichlids. Also so that if you can add more we can figure out what cichlids will get along with your current stock.


----------



## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Convicts arenâ€™t that bad unless they are spawningâ€¦

I agree with the others that identifying the unknown Cichlid will help us make better recommendations. First impressions do sound like a Convict though (smaller & zebraâ€™s).

Some questions you may want to considerâ€¦
How do you feel about having a breeding pair of Dempseys?
What source of fish do you have available?

W African Jewels thrive in the same water conditions as Dempseys. Iâ€™ve had great success using them as â€˜dithersâ€™ with a variety of SA/CA Cichlids over the last year including a with Dempseys. You might want to check them outâ€¦


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

Sure here is a picture

http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/Photo...1&sort_order=&albumsperpage=&navfolderid=2008

I'm not too sure about breeding the dempseys as I don't really want a million baby fish that I don't know what to do with, and I have read that they breed quite easily. Would like to have another pal for these guys though.


----------



## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

Giant danios would work in that set-up.

The other the fish you have is african, could be a metriaclima zebra or something along those lines. It will probably get about five to seven inches and may get pretty aggressive, limiting the stock selection.


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

I was afraid of that... he's been pretty timid up until now though, and has been with the Jack and other members of this tank for over 3 years already. (I bought the tank used and it was pre-stocked). I had posted trying to figure out what he was a few months ago and didn't get a definite answer. 
The giant danios were what i was thinking to add as dithers, so i wil probably go with those. As for what other cichlid to get I really have no idea now.... guess i will hold off for now.
hmmm :-?


----------



## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

Getting rid of the zebra will open up more options.

I have a similar african cichlid in a 55g that was given to me by a friend. He's 8'' long. Right now he's alone. He's killed all his tank-mates (a 7'' bumble bee cichlid , two serpae tetras, and two dwarf gouramis) aside from a 9'' JD that i managed to keep with him.

Also the rainbow shark will also be a bully, especially to fish similar to him.


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

Interesting. I don't know, so far the zebra has been pretty shy in this tank, and he has been one of the smaller occupants for a long long time with all the prev. fish i had in here.... so i can't imagine him killing any other fish, but i suppose any new fish introduced would be more vulnerable. maybe he's of a tamer sort? I am going to have to think about it more... i dont really want to get rid of any more fish just yet.
i did however go to the store and get some giant danios just today. the red fin shark shows curiosity to them but hasnt really bullied them yet... guess i will have to watch for that. any smaller dither fish of similar size to him would probably have the same result, i would think..?
well i will let these ones get settled at least for a while and see what happens before any more changes.


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

An update on my tank: all the remaining fish were hiding out pretty good since I took out most of the fish. Lately the JD has stopped hiding so much and his colors have come back. He was pretty inactive for the last several days but i think it is slowly improving. Always comes up to eat. He likes to sit and watch me. 
I still have the African in here, and he is still hiding much of the time, occasionally coming out but chasing JD a bit when he does, or sitting quite still off on the side. They obviously aren't really compatible, so if I get rid of him, what should I add? I want to know what the best companion would be for him, now that my tank is much emptier... or is it best to leave him alone?

To recap I have in this 75g tank 1 small pleco, 8 giant danios, 1 redtail shark, 1 JD and 1 African cich.


----------



## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

If you get rid of that African cichlid, you'll be left with the JD, RTS, giant danios, and a "small pleco," correct?
I'm thinking a convict might work well in there, but you'll need to tell us more about that pleco first. I know you said you just got rid of a larger one, so I'm guessing you've opted for a smaller species this time 'round? Please let us know so we can make appropriate recommendations. From a compatibility standpoint, you oughta be fine adding a convict (as long as it's not a psycho one, lol), but IF that pleco turns out to be huge, maintaining water quality could end up being a real uphill battle...

BV


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

Right. The prior pleco I had is gone, it was the huge one, I moved in this one which I had in a smaller tank that I have (20g) so he's pretty small, only about 2"... I did this because my tank walls really started getting coated with algae after the other one was removed. It is just a common pleco though, so I guess he will eventually get large too. I am pretty diligent with weekly water changes.
From what I have read, convicts can be a bit difficult, is this correct?


----------



## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

Okay, thanks for clearing that up.


swimalong said:


> From what I have read, convicts can be a bit difficult, is this correct?


Hmm...well...
Convicts are tough, hardy fish.
Now if you're wanting a prediction on whether or not a convict will work in your setup, I'm afraid I won't be the one to give it...

Most folks here would probably agree that a convict and JD can stand a reasonable chance at working together in a 75 gal. tank, but I doubt any of them would be so bold as to say that it will definitely work. There are simply too many variables to consider---each fish's individual personality being a big one---to say with any degree of certainty.

You'd just have to give it a shot and see whether or not it seems to be working out.
If you do decide to go this route, let us know, and we can offer some tips and advice on what size/sex of convict to add (will depend on your JD's size/sex), along with pointers on how to maybe set up the aquascaping so that territories are more conducive to these fish getting along.

Got any full tank pics for us? Pics of your JD?
BV


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

Hi...
Well certainly nobody knows what will happen, all fish can be different for sure... sometimes it seems even compatible fish don't get along, other times the opposite happens and non compatible fish become buddies.

Here is a link to some more photos of my tank... I'm thinking this is a male JD but let me know your thoughts after you view the pictures.

http://www.kodakgallery.ca/Slideshow.js ... e=fromsite

Other suggestions I've had is to add firemouths.


----------



## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

Yup, looks male.
Nice JD, and nice tank, by the way. :thumb:

If the two options you're looking at are convicts and firemouths, then I'd say either would be worth a shot at attempting. I don't recall ever hearing much at all (if anything) about jack dempsey crosses with either of these two, but a con and FM of opposite sex would stand a fair chance at pairing up and producing fry, so keep that in mind when choosing what to add.

With such a nice jack, I'd definitely be sure to properly quarantine any future tankmates separately prior to adding them in with the JD.
BV


----------



## Hubbynz (May 10, 2008)

Toby_H said:


> Convicts arenâ€™t that bad unless they are spawningâ€¦
> 
> â€¦


aren't convicts always spawning?

I had 6 dainos to add some variety to my tank all but one were dead within a week....heard a splash one day and looked over to my tank to seeing a danio sinking to the bottom minus a head.

Only my Bristlenose is left partly becuase he is bigger and partly becuase he hides out all day and only comes out at dark.

Any ideas of a good tank mate for a convict in a 20gallon that they wont try to kill?


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

Thanks for all the comments....

Hmmm... well if convicts are that mean, all the small fish in my tank might be at risk.... although these giant danios are super quick fish.

I unfortunately don't have a quarantine tank, although I wish I did... I wonder if I could set up a makeshift one somehow?

So if I were to go with firemouths, how many would be appropriate, and should they be M or F?

It's weird how much my JD sits and watches me... kinda creepy...   is that normal?


----------



## pugwash (Sep 11, 2006)

Am I right in thinking the stocklist is 1 JD and Giant Danio's now?

I've got a similar tank, stocked with 1 EBJD and 1 FM - also had some Columbian Tetra's and Swordtail's as dithers. I've caught the EBJD cornering the dithers and then consuming them - so depends how crafty your JD is...



swimalong said:


> It's weird how much my JD sits and watches me... kinda creepy...  is that normal?


Yup, that's normal - my EBJD comes over to the side where I sit when having a drink, almost as if he wants to join me!

My FM's is a bit of a jerk (killed successive mates) but the EBJD is like 'whatever'. Funny to watch the FM flare up and the EBJD ignores him.

I was going to add a Salvini, but my young lad prefers Mbuna - very slowly making the switch (taken a year so far :wink: )

WRT to your setup, you could add a FM pair (the JD will act as fry control for them) - but maybe tricky establishing the FM pair in the presence of the JD. Or go for a similar community setup to what I planned...


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

hi pugwash/others,
sorry i haven't been on this list for a while, and am still in limbo about making any changes to my tank. 
I'm still at 8 giant danios, the JD, plus the 1 RT shark and 1 pleco now as well as that african zebra, which I know doesnt belong there but i dont know if i have the heart to get rid of him. wondering what would happen if I just added a FM pair... and wondering how difficult is it to even find a solid pair without adding a group of them to my tank... 
the tank is pretty mellow right now, JD doesn't attack anybody, the RTS leaves everyone alone too, but the zebra and JD still hang out in caves a lot.


----------



## swimalong (Feb 9, 2008)

OK... I went African! Found a new home for JD which was a good idea I think, because those fish are just too big for my tank, if I were to get any more. His new home is a 130g.

Here are some of my new little guys: yellow labs, msobos, eyebiters and brichardi..




























They are so fast, i haven't got too many great pictures yet. They are fun to watch - and how the new territories are being established... 
I want to get about 15-20 lbs of rock to add, to complete the decor yet though.


----------



## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

add some cribs and or yellow labs.get the bigest labs and kribs


----------



## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

well, im about 95% sure a large male con will be fine, and you cant be much more sure then that when it comes to aggressive fish, have you considered a firemouth perhaps?


----------

