Concerns About Fish Selection

[holidayinn]

Hi All

1st what i have - a 125 gallon 5ft tank, had it for about 2 months and cycled. Current inhabitants are 4 clown loaches, 5 SD's, 1 pleco...on sunday i also added a convict and JD, both juveniles, about 1"-1.5" length each...i think the convict is a male, not sure about JD

My question is about aggression, the JD seems to be marking his territory and showing mild aggression to all the other fish..after feeding last night the JD started to protect a cave...when the JD could see the convict (in its eyeline) it would go over to him for a second and then move off somewhere else...i think its trying to initimidate the convict and at times all the other fish...seems like the JD is sometimes trying to lip-locking but the other fish avoid this

from what i've read this is natural behaviour-establishing territory, but will it get worse? its only been 3 days with them in the tank...is it too early to say that the JD will be a problem fish? i'm thinking to return the Jd and just get a sev or a blue acara and avoid these issues

i plan also to get an oscar, should i add a juvi oscar to the tank with the jd at this stage or wait longer? if i was to take the jd out i would def wait a while to get the oscar so the sev and convict can get bigger..

summary - my jd is being mildly aggressive been in tank for 3 days..will aggression decrease as the jd acclimatises to the tank? or rather will one day the jd flip? i know each fish has own personality but i dont want the other fish in the tank to end up with only half the tank...would an oscar help spread this aggression? or will it cause more problems?

i'm thinking see how the situation pans out till the weekend..any opinions/advice is greatly appreciated

 

[minxfishy]

You could just observe their behaviour and any signs of a real problem, re-home one. Which aggressive cichlids it can be trial and error to see who gets on with whom.

Personally I wouldnt add an Oscar in there as well with a convict and a JD, I know it call all depend on the personality of the fish, but with 3 aggressive fish in there, you are asking for trouble.

Severum and Blue acaras are a good combo - well they are for me.

 

[ox5477]

It should be ok in the long run. Initially there is the rush and fight for territory... once it feels like it has its territory set-up, it should start to mellow a little. Though, some inidividuals are just ####s and dont want anything coming near them. My JD lives happily with sd's, giant danios, a pleco and two juve sevs... of course though, all these with the exception of the pleco were added after the fish was mature so he was quite comfortable and confident in his tank dominance. I did have some trouble when he was younger, had two JD's together and this one bullied the crap out of the other... so just have to see how this guy goes in the future.

Just give it a few weeks and see how things go... dont jump to such a quick solution when it just may need more time to acclimate. I guess too, how much decoration (bogwood, slate, plants) are in the tank? Using fake plants (obv since sd's will eat any real plants) could help break up line of sight so when it is in its cave, it feels more secure in not seeing any other fish, esp the con.

Ox

O... and if you have pics, please share.... we always love to see them!

 

[holidayinn]

Thanks Ox & Minx

Minx - i have read that JDs and Oscars are a popular combination, also read that Convicts are good with each also..I def want an Oscar and planned to get one once the other fish had grown to a more decent size (as oscars are much quicker growers)...i agree that 3 aggressive fish is asking for trouble, but as far as i know these are all semi-aggressive fish...although i am thinking blue acara and/or sev would mean very little trouble in the tank compared to a JD (but i have to hand it to the JD it is an awesome fish)

ox- i have 2 pieces artificial bogwood and a few rocks with slate on top to act as caves, as well as a terracotta pot covered in sand..there are two large plastic plants (bunch) at either end of the tank, i am going to add more complexity to the tank, its just taking some time..i'll add photos soon, 4sure

I think I let things sit as they are for a couple of weeks...observe their behaviour and then make a decision...

 

[holidayinn]

Hi All

Two weeks on and a complete role reversal.

The Convict is now terrorising the JD and everything else in the tank. Af few occasions yesterday I saw the Convict and JD fight and it seems as though the Convict won. The Jd hardly ever appears now and hides in some plants whereas before it used to rule the tank. Instead it is the Convict ruling the tank and a lot more aggressively then the JD ever was, chasing and nipping anything it sees.

Is there anychance of a good ending here? It seems the JD was more bluff then real action, but is this likely to change as it gets older? (I think the JD is a female as it has more markings round the face, con is a male)

Adding an oscar with these two remains a question mark, as i can see the con having the upperhand to begin with but then made to pay when the JD and O get bigger. Is it worth waiting it out?

Part of me is thinking to return both the Jd and the Con. Instead i would go for less aggressive cichlids with the oscar such as chocolate and severum. Are there any other cichlids that could fit that pitcure instead of sev/choc?


Many thanks