[gunk]

I have a 40g breeder tank with lots of hiding spots as well as open swimming room.

In the tank is a single Jack Dempsey, about 3 inches long. I rescued him from an overstocked tank that was a bit aggressive towards him so he's still pretty shy. I plan on keeping him alone in the tank for a while so he can recover, but I'd really like to add a pair of breeding convicts. Could I possibly pull this off? I don't want to convicts to gang up on him, but maybe if I let the Dempsey get used to his territory he might be able to stand his ground.

If I can't put a pair of convicts in there, what other tankmates would work?

 

[MidNightCowBoy]

In the long run that tank is small for a Jack Dempsey. Putting a pair of convicts in there would only make the situation worse as the convicts will harrass the heck out of the JD.

If you are going to keep the JD in there for a while I'd say add some dither fish, but probably not other cichlids as there will probably be aggression issues in the long run. Maybe get a school of whatever you like for the top portion of the tank (tetras, rainbow fish, danios, etc.) and maybe some cory cats to clean up the bottom part of it.

If you really want to do what's best for that jack start saving up for a 75 gallon or larger tank.

Good Luck.

 

[gunk]

Will the Jack Dempsey be aggressive towards those schooling fish though? I was planning on using young guppies as feeders. Would some adult guppies do okay in there? What are some Central American fish that would be safe to go with? I want to keep this a "regional" tank (Central American plants, fish, conditions, etc).

 

[MetalHead06351]

guppies would be eaten, they are too slow. Higher bodied, thicker tetras-danios-barbs with speed work good. Swordtails could work, but i've had bad experience with them. They would be biotope correct. Personally, I would suggest giant danios, nothing works better IMO.