# Trouble introducing more fish to my aquarium



## troika_ness (Jun 11, 2008)

Hallo,

I've had a lot of trouble introducing new fish in to my aquarium (70 litre).

I currently have 9 happy fishâ€¦

2 Jack Dempseys, 3 Convicts, 1 Jaguar, 1 Tilapia Mariae and 2 Chocolates.

Unfortunately each time I try to introduce a couple more fish they get attacked. Its usually one of the Jack Dempseys that does the attacking (surprisingly not the Jaguar, who was the original tank bully).

We've lost 2 rams and 1 Tilapia Mariae.

Help!


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## RickB68 (Apr 27, 2008)

It is hard to ever add fish to an established aquarium of cichlids. By "established aquarium" I mean a tank that contains fish that already have their territories.

One thing that might help, is to completely rearrange your aquarium any time you add fish.

Another thought is, I'm not sure about the mix you are putting together. Be sure their temperaments allow for them to co-exist before throwing new breeds in the mix.


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## Voodoo Chilli (Jun 29, 2004)

Having all these fish in a 70l tank isn't helping either.


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## troika_ness (Jun 11, 2008)

Eeek. They're all pretty small. The guy in the Aquatic centre said they'd be fine in a 70 litre tank... and that they shouldn't grow too big for the tank. Maybe I should've come here first. Woops. I'll leave it at the 9 fish then!


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Rule No #1: almost never believe the LFS when they tell you how many and which fish can live comfortably in a certain size tank. It's almost always wrong -- unless you're very, very lucky to have a good store.

I'm not personally familiar with your fish, but the profiles on this forum say a JD gets to be 8-9" and a jaguar gets to be 16". Some sites recommend a minimum 473 liters for a single jag. If I were you, I'd get a bigger tank or take most of these fish back to the store.


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## troika_ness (Jun 11, 2008)

Well I was thinking about getting a second tank... so maybe I'll just get a bigger one instead. Thanks for all your help


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## AU Chief (Jun 20, 2007)

To keep all those fish, honestly, your going to need something HUGE. I've seen countless accounts of Jag's taking over full 6 ft. tanks (when full grown and if their males). If your convicts breed thats going to cause problems, and if your JD's breed that will cause more problems. I know Tilapia get huge, and I don't know much about their agression levels but I'd be willing to bet they aren't going to work in anything under a 6ft tank with those others, and again if the Chocolates start breeding you are going to have problems.

I'd say in order to keep all those fish together for life you'll need a tanks with that is 6ft long. IF you want to have them in seperate tanks, you could probably leave the cons in your 70 litre(I'd like to know the dimensions of that though) and IF you have a male and female JD you could probably do them in a 55 in and a few of something small, like liverbearers, or a smaller variety of pleco (you could have few depending on the speccies). The chocolates are listed with a minimum tanks size of 75 gallons(284.25 Liters)for 2. The same goes for the Tilapia. You've got several fish that need a lot of space, and all of which are pretty messy (they are cichlids afterall). I would suggest taking the advice previously given and take these fish back. Keep the cons for now, if you do end up getting a biggers tank look through the species profiles here and on other sites, ask questions (preferably before you buy), and then decide what kind of stock listing is best suited for your tank.

Please understand, I don't mean to come off as rude, but it makes all of us angry here when LFS's misinform pet owners just to make a sale, or simply because they don't care what they are selling to whom. It situations like this, one that is obviously not your fault since you trusted someone you thought to be a knowledgable professions, that really strike a nerve with me.


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

Take some fish back. First the jag. Then the cons or jds. With this stocking I wouldn't recomend anything less than 300 gallons.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

The tilapia is also a 16" fish, and chocolates get 12-14 inches.

Totally not your fault, but you'd need up to a 240 gallon aquarium or larger to keep all nine. 240 might not be big enough....

A 240 is 8'x2'x2'


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## troika_ness (Jun 11, 2008)

Hi again, thanks for all your help, I wish I'd come on here first! I'm pretty annoyed with the guy at the fish shop too!

I'll have to take some back this weekend. I'm very sad because I've got very attached to them over the past few months.

Oh well, I gotta do what's best for the little 'uns (that will one day be very big 'uns).

Thanks again for all the advice. I feel a bit cruel now, but that's my fault for being too blumming trusting.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

No, it's not your fault in any way shape or form. You asked someone who should have known the answers and they just wanted to make a sale.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

> You asked someone who should have known the answers and they just wanted to make a sale.


I agree 100% ... There are some pet store peeps that will refuse to sell fish to you if they think your tank is too small or aggressive. At least I always did when I worked at one ...

"So you want this baby oscar and only have a 10 gallon tank? Uh ... no."

I loved working at a pet store, only place where I could tell the customer no ... :lol:


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## jimmyknuckles (May 8, 2007)

I was in PetSmart last night buying a few AC110s (pricematched of course) and overheard the sales guy saying the Red Bay Snook she's buying would be fine in her 29 gallon tank. I mean come on, it's only a 1 inch fish, right?

Suffice to say you don't need to actually know about pets to work at a pet store.


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## FiremouthShogun (Apr 26, 2006)

And you tried to add a Ram to that mix ?

Wow, essentially the fish shop has committed fraud.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Did you step in Jimmy? I think it's our responsibility to step in in situations like that. That person is going to get frustrated and give up on the hobby, and _we_ want people to stay _in_ the hobby!


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## jimmyknuckles (May 8, 2007)

TheFishGuy said:


> Did you step in Jimmy? I think it's our responsibility to step in in situations like that. That person is going to get frustrated and give up on the hobby, and _we_ want people to stay _in_ the hobby!


I didn't that particular time, but I have in the past. I'm not very good at confrontation, especially with strangers. I didn't want to insult or "educate" the salesman in front of his face, and the woman wouldn't leave his side. I have, however, pulled people aside in the pet store that have asked questions and have received answers I didn't agree with.

I like helping people out, but I don't think any of the people I have given advice to in the pet store have taken me seriously. Most of the time I feel like they're saying "who is this guy?" in their head. I suppose it has mostly been my approach in the past -- instead of going for the "education" angle, I should probably go with the "I made a big mistake in the past when I did that thing you're about to do" angle. :-?


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

That is a good angle :thumb: I just try to encourage everyone to do it. I usually pull the MFR card then people listen... Sometimes :roll:


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

TheFishGuy said:


> I usually pull the MFR card then people listen...


Not to be confused with his MF'ER card. 

BV


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

> I usually pull the MFR card ...


Dude!!!! ... am sooooo jealous.


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