HELP!! Tank Mate Fights! JD vs Tiger Oscar

[A. Nonymous]

JD's are mean. I've got one that I'm convinced hates me for some reason. I once had a smaller dempsey that he got along with, but beyond that he (a she actually, but I won't say that around the fish lest it hate me more) won't get along with anyone. He happily hunts down and kills any dither fish you put in there. I added a breeding pair of convicts at one point figuring he'd have some extra food in the tank and the convicts could keep him in line. He happily bullied, killed and ate both fish.

Oscars tend to be pretty passive fish. I've always wanted one TBH, but don't have a tank big enough.

 

[wataugachicken]

no one has mentioned a tank divider. . . .

 

[BigZed]

Thanks again guys for the info!

I had a 30G tank that i wasnt using so Ive started to cycle that tank for the Oscar...it'll be good for a couple months at the most until I find a 60G or larger for him.

Now I have a new problem, what to do with this 130G tank and the single JD that is in there. I would like to add more fish to this tank, since 130G with one fish in it is kind of a waste (IMHO). That being said, Im taking any recommendations as to tank mates for this JD, or any options in general.

Thanks again for the info and support, this forum is unbelievably reliable.

Just an update on the Oscar, he's doing fine, relaxed and eating again. I think its only a matter of time b4 he is at full health.

BigZed

 

[BigZed]

Hey guys

After some review on this forum Im gonna try and add a couple Green Terrors (between 2 to 4 of them), or a Jaguar, or a Dovii

What do you think? Tank is 130G's

 

[terror spawnin]

In my neck of the woods oscars are much more aggressive than jd's. I can assume that the jd you have is one of the uncommon bullies of the batch and will only get worse as he grows. You should be able to exchange the jd at your lfs for another one and it is likely that it won't harass your oscar.
And a 10 gallon is not too small for a two inch oscar. Everyone acts like they are ten inches from hatching.
If you keep this jd and get green terrors..just make sure you get at least four terrors. They are more bold in numbers.
Plus many fish that are not the meanest will seem so if there is not enough dither population in the tank.

 

[Rbishop]

I think I would use egg crate divider and let the oscar grow up on one side. He will grow much faster than the JD. I also think if you get a jag or dovi, it will just be a worsening of your present situation.

 

[dent20]

If there is one thing I've learned since going to a 125 it's that the size of a tank doesn't always prevent aggression. Some fish just don't get along. My polleni (the biggest fish in the tank) for the most part leaves my dempsey and male rainbow alone, but has always harrassed my Texas cichlid nonstop. In the 55 he about had the Texas dead. I moved the Texas to the big tank first and as soon as the polleni came over it was back to the same chasing and biting. I finally put the Texas back in the 55.

It's really hard to generalize with cichlids and say dempseys are all mean (mine isn't) and certain tank sizes will prevent aggression (mine hasn't). Some fish just don't get along no matter how much space you give them and some have a particularly nasty streak.

 

[BigZed]

Thanks guys for the advice, I thought about getting 4 convicts so we'll see how it goes. I'll take rbishop's advice and not get the jag or dovii bc I obviously dont want this situation to get worse.

I went to the LFS where I picked up the JD (Petsmart) and it has been well past the 2 week warranty bc the JD was in the QT tank for a month and then put into the main tank. The worker said its been too long even though I insisted that this fish is very healthy So now im stuck with this aggressive JD...oh well that's part of the game I guess, you never really know what fish you are gonna get.

 

[terror spawnin]

Avoid petsmart and support your local fish store. Petsmart stocks diseased fish.
Plus your local fish stores will at least accept a fish from you after warranty if it will not work in your tanks. Petsmart will not.(company policy)
Your lfs can order any fish you see at petsmart if they don't stock it.

Petsmart is not a "LFS" they are a chain like walmart.

 

[lucy42083]

Avoid petsmart and support your local fish store. Petsmart stocks diseased fish.

But what if his LFS is like mine, and 10x worse than any petsmart/petco I've ever seen?? You probably want to ask what the local specialty shops in his area are like before recommending them - for example, in my area, the mom and pop specialty shop is horrific, almost every single tank has several dead fish, many being eaten by their tankmates. Algae is so thick on many of the tanks that you literally cannot see what fish may be inside. There are balls of black moldy-looking stuff all over the substrate in the tanks.

However, at the local petsmart/petco, I won't say that there advice is always correct, but I can say that their tanks always look clean, their stock looks pretty healthy, it is very rare to see even one dead fish in a tank, much less all over the place like at my LFS.

Personally, I skip them both and buy online rather than drive 2 hours to the nearest really good LFS. However, in my local area, Petsmart has a far, far better kept fish section than my LFS, and it could possibly be the same in the OP's area, so I'd again avoid recommending a LFS when you don't know what the OP's LFS is like.