# Advice for species selection. Interested in GT, JD or Oscar



## bedouin (Jul 27, 2008)

I have a 75 gal. aquarium that I am looking to house one or a few New World cichlids in. I have taken interest in the Jack Dempseys, Green Terrors, and Oscars and I need some advice. The dimensions of my aquarium are 48"x18"x21".

Some specific questions, though any advice is good:

Is a 75 gal large enough to eventually house a pair of one of these species, or should I only have one?

Can I put two of these species together in a 75? Say, one JD and one GT?

What other kinds of fish are good buddies for these fellas?

Any beauties you might recommend other than the JD, GT, or Oscar?

Also, any recommended retailers or breeders? I am in North Carolina.


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## WakinAZ (Mar 16, 2006)

For the JD or GT - Raise up 6 juvies of one species and see who pairs up. My preference would be the GTs since Jacks are so common - it would be easier to rehome the other GTs.

The Oscar would be too big for a pair. If you're willing to get past the pair thing (trouble in twos): http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_75g.php

For a breeder, it's tough to beat Ken Davis' prices and reasonable shipping: http://forums.waterwolves.com/June-Pric ... 27323.html

Eric


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## terd ferguson (Jul 31, 2007)

Welcome to the forum from a fellow North Carolinian. :thumb:

I try not to give out stocking advice around here. 8) But I'm sure there will be others to chime in.


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## MetalHead06351 (Oct 3, 2007)

I would say JD's, because I like them alot better. But, you could possibly fit one of each(gt,jd) in there depending on your fish's personality. If you were going to try that, I would get them both as juveniles and let them grow up together. This greatly increases your chances of them getting along. As for other fish suggestions, and i'm sure cichlidlover will back me up, I would do a salvini instead of the terror. Much more colorful and it is from central america along with jd's, gt's and oscars are from south america.
Another idea would be to look through the profiles section on this site, pick out a few mid sized cichlids(7-10") that you really like, and repost with what you've come up with and we will help you figure out what will work best.


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## convictkid (Jul 28, 2004)

Just a little tip, I have a 75 with new baby green terrors in it about 2 inches. Well I tried putting a small JD in there around 3 inches, and the terrors hate it. So I read, and found out the green terrors usually will attack and hate anything that looks like them in color. and they are known for dis likeing JDs, Just like green terrors JDs have the markings on there face, this could be why they seem to hate him. SO just a hint, also if your going to put a few GTs in there to grow, make sure there is LOTS of spots to hide cause one usually ends up being a real bully, as im finding out.


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## WakinAZ (Mar 16, 2006)

The phenomenon the convict kid is trying to describe is called "conspecific aggression" - "whatever looks like me is trying to occupy my niche in the food chain or might steal my mating partner and must be gotten rid of."

Also, re: my earlier recommendation for a livestock source. Ken also sells a lot on AquaBid: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/ ... fwcichlidc No active auctions right now; I think he usually ends them on Saturdays.


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## jefejt (Mar 10, 2005)

JDs are neat fish, in particular the gold and blue ones. I guess I'm biased though. You could easily house a pair in a 75. Firemouths, rainbows, bn plecos and even yellow labs make some good tankmates.


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## bedouin (Jul 27, 2008)

Thank you all for your suggestions and welcomes. I have been searching through the species profiles on the site and looking at your suggestions. I seem to have a special liking for the green terrors, though the Jack Dempseys are very cool, too. I think I will forgo the Oscar, I think I would need a larger tank. Anyways, my plan is to put the fish in the aquarium at juvenile stages and at the same time as the other tank mates so they may have a higher chance of getting along. I have a rudimentary list of species I am interested in, and any advice is greatly appreciated. I wasn't sure which section to post this in, since I am interested in both South and Central American species, so I might post a similar posting in the South American forum FYI. Here are some species of interest:

1 Green Terror and/or 1 Jack Dempsey or 1 Texas cichlid (regular or electric blue) (not in pairs)
Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids (Apistogramma cacatuoides)
Giant Danios (Danio malabaricus)
Boeseman's Rainbows (Melanotaenia boesemani) and/or
Banded Rainbows (Melanotaenia trifasciata)
Yellow Labs (Labidochromis caeruleus)
tetras?
some plecos (what do you recommend?)

I am not yet sure how many of the fish to put in the mix that are going to be in numbers greater than 1.

A Question: If I put these fish in as juveniles at the same time, do you think the terror/dempsey/texas might consume the smaller fish later on?

Thank you for all of your help!


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## Joels fish (Nov 17, 2007)

Here's a good rule of thumb to consider when creating a stocking list for your tanks. If a fish can fit into another fishes mouth, it will eventually end up there. The Apistos certainly will be among the first to become snacks, I'm not sure how fast rainbows grow or how large but will also likely become lunch. The labs could likely hold their own, but don't really go with CA/SA cichlids . As for the plecos I cant give you any help , but lots of others here can. I'd go with a few silver dollars since they get big enough to not get eaten for the most part , and losts of folks have used them without trouble. 
One other thing to consider here is that this is still a 4' tank. While all the cichlids you mention(the big ones) are suitable for this tank, due to its size I think the best bet is to pick the one you like the best and stick with that. Adding another large cichlid could be disaterous .Of the three the Dempsey is likely to be the most mellow with the GT following behind untill it gets around 8" or so then all bets are off and the texas is IMO likely to be the most beligerent of the bunch though one of the better looking(next to the GT). Hope that helps


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## cc_woman (Jan 31, 2008)

I personally like JD's better, I have had both and found the JD's have better personalities. I would definitely not go with the apisto's on that list, they will be eaten for sure. Try to stick with fish that are large enough not to be consumed by the other fish, and if you are wanting dither fish, they should be quite large ones and quick. For pleco's, I have kept tiger pleco's, common plec's, and BN plec's. I personally would recommend the BN plec's because they will not grow to enormous sizes, and are usually good with more aggressive fish. I would also try to stick with the CA theme, I have CA and africans mixed right now and to be honest would like to change every tank like this and stick to similar habitat tanks, which is what i'll be doing. I also have a breeding pair of salvini's right now, and they are absolutely gorgeous, and one might get along fine with a JD or GT. Other tank mates I have seen them housed with are severum's, don't know how well this works in the long run though. Good luck on it, keep looking around for good large schooling dither fish. I do believe some rainbows can get larger, so they might be suitable.


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## bedouin (Jul 27, 2008)

Oops, I did not mean to throw an African cichlid in there. I would like to keep the tank New World. A yellow lab was suggested to me and I think I got the wrong yellow lab (it looks like there is a central American yellow lab). As far as the rainbows are concerned, the Boeseman's Rainbowfish gets 5-6" from what I've read, so they might fare well in the tank with a larger fish I am guessing (though it looks like they require a much lower pH around 4.1, so I might just scrap the Boeseman). The other one gets to about 4" and requires a pH of 7-8, so that might be a better bet, though smaller fish. I can leave the apistos out. I'm assuming tetras might be too small, as well. I might still try the giant danios, though.

The firemouths and the salvinis do look rather interesting, something I will definitely consider.

Anyways, I've been browsing through the profiles some more. Has anyone had any luck with the Green Fin/Flyer Cichlid or the Blue Sifter/ Roberts Cichlid? The Green Fin seems to get only up to 6", so maybe I could include it with a JD. However, the Blue Sifter gets up to 10", so should I keep this one by itself? Just wondering if anyone has any experience with these.

What about eartheaters? I know they are South American and this is the Central section, but has anyone raised these before and had luck placing them in a tank with a JD or GT?

Again, thank you everyone for your suggestions.


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## bedouin (Jul 27, 2008)

terd ferguson said:


> Welcome to the forum from a fellow North Carolinian. :thumb:
> 
> I try not to give out stocking advice around here. 8) But I'm sure there will be others to chime in.


Thanks, Ted, for the welcome! Quick question: do you get your fish from a fish store in the area or mail order? I am trying to find a good reliable source.


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