Are they hardy?

Yes.

Personable?

Sometimes they can be, sometimes not.

Do they stress easily?

Not really.

Are they jumpers?

Not really, give them adequate space and a good lid though

What kind of tankmates, if any, would be most recommended?

This depends on the size of your tank. There's hundreds of possiblities

My wife was talking about an Oscar, but I don't know. I'm thinking the JD. What do you guys think?

I am partial to oscars, as they're like puppies... But again, this depends on the size of the tank. What size tank do you have? If large enough you can do both.

 

Im with TheFishGuy on "O's" over JD's. My JD is super skittish and shy. He hides 98% of the time where as my Oscar is out and about 98% of the time. I thin the JD looks better BUT in my case i prefer the personality of the Oscar better...

 

I have an 8 inch dempsey female who is awesome also have a 2 inch dempsey who just hides also have an oscar who sits at the front if the tank begging for attention all day

 

Not sure I could do an Oscar if I wanted to, my tank is only 50 gal. I figured the JD would grow a little smaller and be comfortable in that space. More than appearance I'm really after a fish with "personality" and "character". I posted last week after our Vieja passed away, and even though she's irreplaceable I was hoping to find a fish with that same kind of engaging interaction.

 

I have kept severums in the past that were close to Os in personality. One of those should do pretty good in your space and they come in some attractive colors as well.

 

Thanks, Mr. McCluggen, I shall embark upon some further investigation. You don't think one would get too big for a 50?