Jack Dempsey Cave

[Stewartb]

I have recently acquired a stocked aquarium, I would like a peaceful world in there and consequently was going to get rid of 2 10 inch oscars and an 8 inch (female I think) Jack Dempsey. The oscars fight each other and the jd fights them, but only them. As the jd is quite pretty I was wondering if I moved on the oscars would the jd be peaceful with introduced smaller fish as it doesn't show any interest in any of the other fish at present (3 clown loaches, 6 silver dollars, red tailed shark and a clown plec)?
At present it has a makeshift cave of a large tin on it's side, but I was wondering as I have a tank about 25 inches deep would a cave kind of half way up the wall or higher be acceptable to it? Are there any suggestions as to what kind of structure I could use?

 

[onidrase]

Cichlids tend to stay on the bottom and middle levels of the tank, building a cave closer to the top would probably be ignored.

I'd also be worried about the tin, if it starts to rust that will cause problems. Try using driftwood instead.

How big is the tank, by the way?

Define smaller fish. Cichlids are opportunistic feeders and will eat anything they can fit in their mouth.

A Jack Dempsey that size may also be unwelcoming to new fish period. He may get along with the loaches and silver dollars because they could have been introduced when he was young.

 

[mattlee]

wow this must be an impressive and big aquarium would love to see some pics

 

[Stewartb]

Cichlids tend to stay on the bottom and middle levels of the tank, building a cave closer to the top would probably be ignored.

I'd also be worried about the tin, if it starts to rust that will cause problems. Try using driftwood instead.

How big is the tank, by the way?

Define smaller fish. Cichlids are opportunistic feeders and will eat anything they can fit in their mouth.

A Jack Dempsey that size may also be unwelcoming to new fish period. He may get along with the loaches and silver dollars because they could have been introduced when he was young.

The tin was just a temporary thing, the tank is 6 1/2 feet by 2 ft by 2ft. I was thinking of fish maybe 2 or 3 inches long.
So there is a real chance it will just eat new fish?

 

[Dieses Madchen]

she may, but you could always get a male and female jack the same szie as her and maybe end up with a pair.

Can you post a picture? 8 inches seems large for a female.

 

[onidrase]

2 to 3 inches seems too small for an 8 inch Dempsey. You might end up missing fish now and then.

 

[Stewartb]

http://s1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg599/stewartmb/?action=view&current=JD1.mp4
she may, but you could always get a male and female jack the same szie as her and maybe end up with a pair.

Can you post a picture? 8 inches seems large for a female.
[/quote]
Here is a quick video, I pulled back to show the door on the left to give a bit of scale (the tank is very bare as I've only just gotton it).

I'm not sure how much use it is but there is a 12 inch ruler in the foreground (could it be a female electric blue jd?).

 

[Dieses Madchen]

syas its private

 

[Stewartb]

syas its private

Try again, hopefully sorted.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Its hard to tell from the video. Are the blue marking on the fish's face more on the bottom of the face, or more at the top around the eyes?

 

[Stewartb]

http://s1245.photobucket.com/albums/gg599/stewartmb/
Try this video:

 

[Dieses Madchen]

In all honesty, I really thnk that is a male

 

[onidrase]

Agreed with dieses, though I'm not the best at gendering fish.

If you want a peaceful community tank with small fish, you'll need to rehome him and the Oscars.

 

[minnnt]

It's not an Electric Blue. Just looks like a Blue Gene. And it's ugly. lol. Sorry. The Oscars (1 if they fight) would be the stars of the show for me. The one in the video is particularly impressive.

And please remove that tin. It could cause some serious damage to your fish and will eventually start to turn the water bad.

 

[Stewartb]

It's not an Electric Blue. Just looks like a Blue Gene. And it's ugly. lol. Sorry. The Oscars (1 if they fight) would be the stars of the show for me. The one in the video is particularly impressive.

And please remove that tin. It could cause some serious damage to your fish and will eventually start to turn the water bad.

OK, thanks. I suppose in order to have a stable and peaceful tank I'll have to move JD and Oscars.