Female Red Terror + Male Jack Dempsey?

[Serpentine]

I am growing out a group of wild true M. festae babies and wondered if it was at all possible to later put one female in a 90 gallon tank with one male Jack Dempsey (garden variety JD, not EBJD). I picked this guy up as a rescue and thought perhaps he might be able to survive in a setup with lots of driftwood and hiding places if I chose the mellowest-seeming female from the group.

I don't want to have rescued the little dude only to throw him in to his doom. However I have read numerous accounts of female RTs taking a shine to males of other species and coloring up / pairing with them.

Don't have a big enough tank for a pair of RTs and don't have an inclination to breed, so this guy would be a companion. I will be selling off most of the RTs once they can be sexed. Right now the JD is 3 inches and the RTs are around 1.5 inches.

Folly? Reasonable chance of success? Feeding chum to a shark? What do you think?

 

[Cyberman]

You can probably grow them out for a while... but once they reach 4 or 5 " then the aggression will build and the RTs will prevail

 

[Serpentine]

I won't put him in with the young RTs. The idea is to pick the mellowest female when those RTs are sexable and put only the two of them in a 90 gallon tank. Until the Red Terrors are big enough to sex (and sell off most) the Jack Dempsey will have his own bachelor pad. Good-looking dude, and was the boss of his former tank (with other JDs and convicts).

He's too aggressive to go in the peaceful SA cichlid tank but not tough enough to fight off an entire group of RTs even though he's larger than they are.

Still a no go?

 

[GTS]

I won't put him in with the young RTs. The idea is to pick the mellowest female when those RTs are sexable and put only the two of them in a 90 gallon tank. Until the Red Terrors are big enough to sex (and sell off most) the Jack Dempsey will have his own bachelor pad. Good-looking dude, and was the boss of his former tank (with other JDs and convicts).

He's too aggressive to go in the peaceful SA cichlid tank but not tough enough to fight off an entire group of RTs even though he's larger than they are.

Still a no go?

I still say no go over the longterm, the problem is that the female festae you choose will be mellow in relation to the other festae but still aggressive in relation to your average CA cichlid. I consider JDs to be around the median as far as aggression goes (perhaps slightly below it..) even a mellow festae is above the median. The JD will not have benefit of outgrowing her, I do not see it ending well.

 

[Serpentine]

Agreed. I saw the light when my little terrors went into one of their feeding frenzies and decided that I love my JD, Gollum, too much to risk his safety.

Attempting a Texas cichlid instead. More brawn to back up that big mouth but hopefully not a threat to her.

 

[Aqualoon]

Don't mean to thread hijack, but reading this thread had me now wondering - What would be suitable tankmates for a female RT in a 4-6' tank?

I'm eager to hear back from you if the Texas works well.

 

[GTS]

Don't mean to thread hijack, but reading this thread had me now wondering - What would be suitable tankmates for a female RT in a 4-6' tank?

I'm eager to hear back from you if the Texas works well.

It would really depend on if the tank is 4 or 6 Feet. The length of a tank really matters with cichlids, for example, a female festae that has not even reached her full size could take up a 4 foot tank all by herself. Going from a 55/75/80 or 90 to a 6 foot 100 gallon (if you can find one) or a 125 would increase your options, though festae can be troublemakers in tanks which are 6 feet plus.

 

[Serpentine]

I'm beginning to think a male red Texas will do just fine with a female festae, particularly if raised together. No way to know for sure until I try it, but I have a strong hunch. The 3.5 inch red Texas is in quarantine with some others I brought home to be part of a different, semi-aggressive cichlid community tank. He instantly tried to seize top spot in the pecking order.

The current #1 in charge is a large, thick-bodied, spectacular adult male electric blue Acara who actually keeps order in the tank and breaks up squabbles. The red Texas is smaller than him and defers to his leadership... but not for long. That red Texas will be a problem soon when he grows a bit, so I look forward to moving him out.

Electric blue Acara.

Red Texas to the left of the Jack Dempsey. He is brazen as can be except when he spots a camera.

The "H. cyanoguttatus" Texas cichlid is either an H. carpintis or an extraordinarily meek specimen. I'm not sure which. He's at the very bottom of the pecking order... below the Jack Dempsey, the blood parrot, the firemouth, the red Texas and the electric blue Acara. He would be toast in a tank with a festae. Also he might be a she, if my suspicion is correct.

A few of the tank denizens swirling around.

 

[Aqualoon]

It would really depend on if the tank is 4 or 6 Feet. The length of a tank really matters with cichlids, for example, a female festae that has not even reached her full size could take up a 4 foot tank all by herself. Going from a 55/75/80 or 90 to a 6 foot 100 gallon (if you can find one) or a 125 would increase your options, though festae can be troublemakers in tanks which are 6 feet plus.

I bolded the part that I have always thought to be true which is why I have stayed away from them as my current housing situation makes the biggest tank I can get is 6 foot. Festae has been for years one of those fish I have wanted to keep but as my aforementioned limited tank size, I haven't.

OP I am really eager to see how this works out for you as I may snag a 75/90 to put my gold saum pair in and try something very similar if it goes well.

 

[duanes]

I have kept females with very fast Tilapines, and Paratilapia in minimum 6 ft tanks.

As you can see by the shot above, the Saratherodan linelli are very wary, and the female Paratilapia is much larger.
In another 6ft tank I grew up a number of Heroine cichlids together, and they were copasetic until maturity.

In some cases without a male festae around, females will not color up as well. Below a female festae without a male in the tank

now below same female, when a male was put in her tank

her dominence, or lack thereof, may play an important role in color. And size of tank may also limit what you can house with it.
I've not personally found festae to be that aggressive, but I never put them in any tank less than 125 gallons or larger (the long footprint being the key)