jacks in a 75

L

latazyo

Grisled
Sep 17, 2002
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0
I want to keep 2 jacks in a 75 with a pair of cons and a pair of firemouths...they are all VERY young and the jacks haven't even been purchased yet...

how well do two jakcs in a 75g work?

I would also be interested in hearing how one jack does in a 75

I"m really just wondering if 2 jacks will "fit" in a 75
 
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I know you dont want to hear from any one that doesnt own any but i think that they would do fine. (at least its some kind of start)
 
I think the reason for the light response was your very specific requirements about you wanted to hear from. For example, I have a lot of experience with cichlids, even JD's but I have never attempted to keep two in a 75. However, since almost no one has chimed in I'm going to jump in here anyways.

I agree with Andy16 that it should work. The JD's I have had have never been particularly aggressive. However, I would make sure I had some other target fish to distract them (silver dollars, or rainbows, and a couple of synodontis ocellifer or decorus for good measure) and and plenty of terrain to give them well-defined territories. Also, if you could lengthen the tank by a foot or two (the "standard" 75 is 48"L x 18"W x 21H), you'd increase your chances of success dramatically.
 
haha...sorry guys...I said that because around here you usually get "well I think..." and I don't want to buy a pair only to find out what someone thought was horribly wrong


here is the deal

I have a small pair of cons, and a tiny pair of firemouths....after those get a little bigger, I plan to add the jacks

I already have teh 75 (standard size) set up and running...so buying a l0onger one is not an option...

sorry if it sounded bad...hehe...no harm intended

anyways...if anyone has experience with jacks and thinks they'd have enough room...let me know...having enough room is mainly what I'm concerned about

and I planned on making this a pretty aggressive tanks...so the target fish have already been considered and planned (prob will have giant danios or a bunch of zebras)
 
See, now you are complicating things. You never mentioned other CICHILDS going into that tank. Your chances for success now have been cut in half...at least. There will be casualties with that mix, for sure.

But then again I never attempted to keep all those fish together in a 75. :)
 
so, my first thought would be: how big will the fish grow up to be?

then I would need to realize the demensions of the tank; is it wide enough for larger cichlids, is it long enough? deep enough?

then I would think, are there territories that can be divided? are there rocks, logs, areas to hide behind or divide the tank with? caves or spaces between larger objects? can aggression be avoided by evasion?

then I would think, are they going to breed? how big is their buffer zone? how aggressive do they get?

then I would consider feeding. is it expesinve? do they need alot? will they fight very much over food? will they pick at the gravel?

my personal thoughts are that a pair of jacks in a 75 wouldnt work. I look at a 125 every time I go into my lfs and its kinda crammed, but the jacks look good in that space rather than their smaller "large fish" tanks. but I dont know what a 75 feels like with 2 pairs of aggressive cichlids that reach 6 inches each. I guess it could work...
 
I tried:
1 jack
1 convict
1 firemouth
1 parrot fish
in a 75 gallon long. I thought that I might take a stab at a community tank. Keep in mind that none of these fish were over 2.5". They were all tiny babies. However, it didn't work. All of them were constantly fighting. Especially the Jack, con, and firemouth. I don't think it will work in your tank either, especially because you might end up with a breeding pair of fish in your tank, and that would lead to even more aggression.

I would suggest just keeping the cons and firemouths for the 75. Or, try a JD, one convict, and one firemouth cichlid with a few dither fish like giant danios. If you decide to do that it would be best to get the JD smaller than the firemouth and the con since it will eventually be the largest and possibly the most aggressive. Also, I would add it soon, so they can all grow up together. I think it helps because they get use to each other. My Oscar grew up with my BP and giant danios. Now he is way bigger than anything else and he doesn't even touch the danios (which he could eat if he wanted) and he shares his sleeping pot with the BP.

I hope my experiences help you out a little. :)
 
but thanks for the info anyways...looks like a pair of jacks might not work

perhaps one will be more appropriate

yes there are plenty of places to hide and territorialize and yes I have a confirmed breeding pair (cons), but I really don't plan on having only 4 fish in a 75g tank...I would have gotten a 55 if I wanted to be so constricted on selection
 
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