What fish I can keep in my tank?

[SJ Rex]

Hi all! I'm new here and hoping to get some advice. I'll try to keep this short....
75 gallon tank with a 12 inch Jaguar cichlid and 6 inch Jack Dempsey cichlid (and 12 inch pleco and 6 inch synodontas catfish). Trying to decide what to do with the tank from here.
I've had the JD for a few years and he's beautiful, so I dont want to rehome him, but I also love the size of the Jaguar. But clearly Jag picks on Jack when he's not hiding in his cave.
My lfs has a couple of 10-12 inch Oscar's I'd love to have, but I'm not sure if they'd do well with Jag or if Jack would do well with the 3.
I'd hate to rehome either fish, but the tank is looking quite empty after losing my Fire Mouth (he wasn't beat up and not sure what killed him) and rehoming the Blood Parrot. Not sure what I should do at this point.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

 

[astrocreep]

Man the general concensus around here will be that your 75 gal is much too small for your jag, maybe okay for now, but ultimately will outgrow by far. I would say 1 full grown jag needs at the very least 150gal tank, maybe more for a male.

Personally I would re-home the jag and focus the tank around the JD if you like him more. You can add some dithers and possibly a small group of a smaller cichlid species that can stand-up to a JD.

I would definitely not add anymore fish at the moment, especially Oscars, as they are too big for a 75 as well.

Sorry to be kinda negative, but its just the reality of it. The jag will soon outgrow the 75 and could possibly hurt the JD if given the chance.

Best of luck, great looking fish!

 

[Gourami Swami]

Your tank is already overstocked in my opinion. Your jaguar will continue to grow, big males have been known to reach 15+". And the aggression from the jaguar, is very normal, this fish instinctively will not allow other competitors (cichlids) in it's territory, which would be much larger than a 75 gallon tank.
The jaguar most likely killed the firemouth, and now is turning on the only other competitor, in sight, the jack Dempsey. The JD may meet the same fate if left with the Jag in there for too long. My advice would be to re-home the jack and enjoy the jaguar as a wet pet. A 75 is considered quite small for a male jaguar, may as well let him have the whole tank, if you don't plan on upgrading. Just my .02

 

[tlindsey]

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/jaguar-cichlid-aquarium-size.697596/#post-7862079

Welcome aboard

I agree with astrocreep about the jaguar cichlid and aquarium size.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Not the response you were looking for I guess. Sorry to pile on but have to agree with the comments so far.
I may be seeing something that is not there but the JD looks to already have a shrunken belly. Hope such is not the case and it is just the angle of the picture. Any if this is true the JD may already be showing effects as described above.
While what you are being told today may seem negative, it is not intended to be. A lot can be done with a 75 just not what you have going long term.

 

[SJ Rex]

Thanks everyone! Please don't feel your comments were negative - it's what I came to hear! I will likely rehome the Jaguar. I do plan to upgrade, hopefully to a 300 gallon, but it wont happen soon enough for him. The photo of the JD is an old one from at least a year ago and while I had an ultra aggressive Blood Parrot in there (worse than the Jag even). BP was rehomed shortly after and JD has been doing great until the Jag started becoming more aggressive recently.
Anyway, I figured that Jag is outgrowing this tank, but guess I was hoping for better news.
So... after rehoming Jag, how many cichlids would it be safe to add with the JD?

 

[tlindsey]

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...n-jack-dempsey-tankmates.695620/#post-7840917

 

[PYRU]

Welcome.

Your jack is on death row anyway along with everything else. Honestly your lucky to make it this far. Introducing an Oscar to an established territory would be very bad.

A male jag will make that 75g look very small and will not be able to move real good in a few yrs. Keeping water quality top notch will become hopeless. Been there done that with a 14" jag.

Your jag is very nice but still pretty small. If you really want to keep it (I would) then remove all other fish and give it the 75. Save up and buy a used 125-150 you have a few yrs probably. Be prepared my biggest male was over 17" my smallest was right under 16" with a lot of bulk.

 

[Gourami Swami]

If you remove the jaguar, I think that a few mid-sized (around 6") central American cichlids would likely work in a 75, depending on how aggressive your jack is. I agree that your jack's belly looks a bit sunken- has he been eating well? Ever see any white stringy poop?

Species that I would consider- Pretty much any amatitlania species (like a. myrnae) , Centrarchus, p. panamensis, perhaps thoricthys maculipinnis.
I would do a small group of one of these species. One male and 3 females.
Or you could attempts single males of multiple species, which might work out, but in my experience tends to be more difficult to balance. I would have another smaller tank running and ready, since you never know when the balance of power can be upset, and you might need somewhere for refugees.

 

[SJ Rex]

If you remove the jaguar, I think that a few mid-sized (around 6") central American cichlids would likely work in a 75, depending on how aggressive your jack is. I agree that your jack's belly looks a bit sunken- has he been eating well? Ever see any white stringy poop?

Species that I would consider- Pretty much any amatitlania species (like a. myrnae) , Centrarchus, p. panamensis, perhaps thoricthys maculipinnis.
I would do a small group of one of these species. One male and 3 females.
Or you could attempts single males of multiple species, which might work out, but in my experience tends to be more difficult to balance. I would have another smaller tank running and ready, since you never know when the balance of power can be upset, and you might need somewhere for refugees.

With some of the answers I've gotten here and elsewhere, I'm probably going to sell the Jaguar and restock the tank with things the Jack can live with. I'm leaning toward some silver dollars, skirted tetras, sailfin mollies, etc.
I've had the Jack for about 3 years now and he's always been mild mannered and keeps to himself. I think he'd do well with a setup like that. Thinking I'll add some fake plants to the rocky caves in their now so the new fish will have lots of hiding places.
The photo of him was taken a long time ago and he's much more filled out now. His colors are bright, he eats well (pellets only as he wont even eat feeder fish), and his stools are healthy. I just want his mental health to be as good as his physical health
I appreciate your reply and suggestions. I'll keep researching before I decide on anything, but I think I'll take the Jag to the lfs tomorrow to sell. I wish I had the room for the 300 gallon tank I want....