I was sold a jack dempsey when I was told it was a jeweled cichlid. Now I am frustrated. It has been 4 months and I have upgraded its tank to a 50 gallon. Now that he is in a bigger tank he seems less happy. Should I buy him a tank mate? All he does is sit in his cave and hide from me when I walk buy.
Accidental jack dempsey
- Thread starter Combatcookie
- Start date
-
- Tags
- newbie
Ime jack demspeys are pretty freaken shy when they're alone. Or even with a mate.
Add some large dithers that he can't eat. That might help him come out and explore.
Don't add another cichlid. They're just going to fight.
Add some large dithers that he can't eat. That might help him come out and explore.
Don't add another cichlid. They're just going to fight.
When I thought he was a jeweled they told me how a convict would be too aggressive. So I had them put bad the convict and bought him 2 Livingston before doing any research and he ate them within a week. They were in a smaller tank and African. Do you think the bigger tank would stop them from fighting so much?
I also have a pleco I am adding. He is in my isolation tank for right now. He is sort of a rescue. He has spines and is larger than the jack dempsey. Should I expect trouble?
You probably wont have trouble between the two, however, depending on the Pleco, you may end up needing a larger tank.
I agree with the above suggestions of Dither or Target fish. Buenos Aries Tetras, Denison barbs, etc (something that has descent size and is relatively quick) would probably do the trick of getting your Jack out and about.
The pleco was in someone's half evaporated 10 gallon that hadn't been cleaned in months. I figured anything was a better life than that.
I ended up buying 6 tiger barb and it worked immediately! They are too fast for him to catch right now and they don't sit still for him to ambush.
