A few JD ?s for my new 55g

[goalie35]

ok, i just bought a 55 gal tank and currently have it cycling w/o fish in it. The reason for the no fish cycle is because im going to texas for a week starting saturday so i figure it would get some good break-in time while im gone. i have a small JD in a 10 gal right now because i knew i was getting a 55 gal in a short time. hes about 2" now and has got quite a personality. last night he picked up rocks from the tank and spit them out at the glass towards me to get my attention to turn the light off. so my question is, what type of fish can go with him? i know convicts work well, but how many would be fine? also would blue rams work? or would they get picked on and eventually eaten when the JD gets bigger? can i get a female to put in there with him? if so, should i get a bigger female? or one about the same size as him?

any input would be great!
thanks,
goalie35

[Slevin]

I have 2 JDs in a 55 gallon. Im getting rid of one because it is always getting bullied by the other one. I have 3 cons in there with them. Its hard to say if it will bully the other fish. Every JD had a different personality. Ive heard of a few people who keep full grown JDs in community in aquariums but not sure if you should risk putting rams in there. Sometimes they get so aggresive you cant put any other fish in the tank with them or they will get killed.

[goalie35]

do u think i should get 2 females and w/e one my male likes and doesnt bully ill keep? then just return the other one to the store? should the female be larger than him or same size?

[jgavlock]

I have 1m/1f in a 55. The female is about an inch and a half longer than the male and after about three weeks they are now inseperable.

[number1sixerfan]

JD's are very personable. It depends on how their personality is, but I would not risk having rams in there as JDs are very territorial and so are rams. The rams would end up being confined to a small area of the tank.

[jgavlock]

And I wouldn't add anything else in the tank if you go with more than one JD.

If you stick with only your male I would stock:

1 JD (your current male)
1 Salvini
1 Firemouth or Green Severum

[Slevin]

convicts usually do good with them too.:dance2:

[MacFish]

The rams would end up being confined to a small area of the tank.

More like the rams would end up being confined to the JD's belly :D

[goalie35]

went to the LFS's around and found out that a lot of them had females. should i get a larger or smaller female? or doesnt it really matter?

[fishfreak317]

if you want to breed JD's. then yes get about 6 juvies and let a pair form, then remove the remaining JD's and take back or sell them. if you don't want to breed them, then 1 adult male JD will claim the 55 as his. meaning basically nothing else can be kept with him.

[siklid1066]

About 15 years ago I had 2 JDs that were so nasty I had no choice but to get rid of them.Last year I wanted to try one out again and this one is as timid as a goldfish(so far).

[Slevin]

Fishfreak is right. if you want to breed them you will need to get at least six little ones and let them pair naturally.:joe:

[goalie35]

im in texas right now and went to a few local fish stores and they had a few EB Jacks there and i was amazed how pretty they were. many many different fish here in TX than we have back in WI.

[Gian krlo]

you have to see in NJ and NY then too lol:)

[Into the ocean]

I would say try out a single con and a single jd in the 55. You may have to do some creative aquascaping to allow them to develop their own territories and plenty of water changes as both are messy fish especially in a 55.

I might instead try to get a breeding pair of Electric Blue JD's in your 55.

:cool2:

[goalie35]

well i got 3 females "i think" because the pet store guy didnt know how to tell them apart...i picked out what i thought were females. i put them in my 55 and put my male in last...he kinda hung out in a log o have in there till the others ame up to him and kinda brushed up against him. now hes chasing all of them around the tank. no lip lock fighting, but he just chases them around and not really taking a liking to any of them im particular. so what should i do? take all of them back and just try a different single one?