Jd Tank Mates

[Waterbox]

I have a spare 55 gallon, 48" long, 13" wide, and I want to keep a larger New World Cichlid species. So far I am thinking a Jack Dempsey. I read you can keep them with other robust cichlids, what tank mates could I put in with one?

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

You're thinking along the same lines as me I bought a dempsy today and am thinking about some tankmates, except mine is 72 gallon.

I was thinking along the lines of "usual" small to medium sized CA cichlids, so I think good tankmates(Not all of them in the same tank!) could be silver dollars, firemouths, convicts, rainbow cichlids, salvini, sajicas, and catfish like synodontis eupterus or plecos.

But it all depends on the indivisual fish, a JD could be very mellow or downright aggresive.

I hope some other people with better experiences will answer

 

[Waterbox]

Yeah I have some Firemouths already, I was thinking a pair of Firemouths and a Salvini, i really like those. Thanks for the reply buddy

 

[Meds081603]

Depends on your JD. In a 55 when he's fully grown he may not want ANY mates, he may be fine with other aggresive cichlids. I would suggest something like cons or firemouths. Be prepared for fighting as they mature though. Every JD (and any other fish) has their own unique personality so it's hard to say.

 

[ox5477]

as mentioned 53 times already, it depends on the fish and it's individual attitude. My JD tolerates other tankmates (non-cichlid) pretty well. I have 6 giant danios and a common plec in with him and he seems to actually always hang around the pleco. I tried introducing a female JD at one point knowing that it was 99% likely that the two wouldn't get along, but she was a beautiful female and couldn't pass up the opportunity, and it didn't work. Now that he is an adult and almost full grown, I wouldn't try introducing anymore fish as he is confident in his dominance of the tank and adding anything new woul only send him in to a tyrade.

So... I would stay away from other cichlids for a 55G if you wanna be on the conservative side. If not, maybe a fm, or a two un-paired cons (get same sex to ensure will stay un-paired)

 

[Tobigara]

i have a severum in with mine and they get along pretty well. a gt might work too

 

[Waterbox]

I was wondering if a severum would work.

Are there any other large interesting fish you guys could reccomend besides a JD?

 

[Tobigara]

i've heard that a carpintas might be a good choice as a tank mate for jd's but i don't know much ablut them and they might be too big. that's all i can think of. all the usuals. if you want something a little more unique, you might want to take a look in the oddballs section in the profiles list

 

[ox5477]

In a 55 a sev or a gt with the jd won't work. The sev will get too big (they reach sies comparable to oscars) and the gt is too agressive. Both are normally agressive fish and by putting two of them in a relativly small space, one day, fireworksd will erupt and you will end up with one dead fish and possbily the other fatally injured. If you had a bigger tank maybe, but not in a 55

 

[Tobigara]

i've never heard of a severum getting to be more than 10 inches let alone 16 inches like an oscar. everything i've read or seen about severums says they average around 8 inches with a few sites saying they get up to 12 inches. gt's can work but it's a gamble. it depends on the individual fish.

on a side note...if you want a JD that will be more likely to get along with other fish, why not try a blue JD. they are a bit smaller, less aggresive and in my experience just as hardy tho quite a bit more expensive.

my 2 pennies

 

[rixy]

i've never heard of a severum getting to be more than 10 inches let alone 16 inches like an oscar. everything i've read or seen about severums says they average around 8 inches with a few sites saying they get up to 12 inches. gt's can work but it's a gamble. it depends on the individual fish.

on a side note...if you want a JD that will be more likely to get along with other fish, why not try a blue JD. they are a bit smaller, less aggresive and in my experience just as hardy tho quite a bit more expensive.

my 2 pennies

and a good 2 pennies too your spot on with what you've written Tobigara

thanks mark.