Can someone ID this fish?

[Characf]

Hello my partner randomly bought me more fish, yes I know. Not ideal but I don’t want to be ungrateful and PAH often give poor advice.

On the receipt it just said Cichlid, I’m currently stocking a community tank and have yo-yo loach, platys, sword tails, pleco, angel fish and barbs.

Just wondering whether these things will start attacking other stock when they grow? for now they’re okay but I may have to rehome but it’ll be a shame as they’re stunning

 

[Characf]

Fish

 

[Characf]

2

 

[Ichthys]

They’re Jack Dempseys, and yes they’ll probably kill all of the other fish as they grow.

 

[MaloK]

Yes, I know then well.

I saw them use their ventral and dorsal fins tips as serrated knives to make sushi out of green terrors.

 

[Characf]

New tank for me then

 

[GaryE]

Large new tank. Those are very young.

 

[Colin_T]

Baby Jack Dempsey cichlids (as mentioned above). They grow to about 10-12 inches and are very aggressive. If they are both males they will kill each other. They need an aquarium that is at least 6 foot long. If you want to keep other fishes with them, add them while they are young so they grow up together, then watch them closely because they can turn overnight and you go to bed one day and everyone is happy, the next day there are dead fish.

 

[Characf]

Baby Jack Dempsey cichlids (as mentioned above). They grow to about 10-12 inches and are very aggressive. If they are both males they will kill each other. They need an aquarium that is at least 6 foot long. If you want to keep other fishes with them, add them while they are young so they grow up together, then watch them closely because they can turn overnight and you go to bed one day and everyone is happy, the next day there are dead fish.

I’ve rehomed, checked the guy was a suitable home and he’s got a 5ft and other big fish so he’s pretty experienced.

It’s worrying pets at home are still trading as they’re telling people they’re suitable for community and 4ft tanks.

 

[Characf]

I’m keeping hold for another few weeks, what sort of size until they start causing damage to things like platys, mollies and loach?

 

[Colin_T]

A 4 inch Jack Dempsey can eat platies. Aggression wise they don't do much until they become sexually mature at around 6 inches or 6-12 months old. If you have a female there is less issues with anger management but males set up a territory and kill anything that enters it.

 

[GaryE]

20 years ago, almost every chain in the US had them as community fish. As you saw, they are beautiful when small. They could be sold for $5, but they cost the stores $0.35 wholesale. In the right set up, each spawn produces thousands, and they are really cheap. Buy low, sell high, buyer beware. It's an awful business model, but there you have it.
Chances are, if it was a kid catching the fish, they'd been told it was a great community fish, and believed it.

 

[Back in the fold]

Cool ! Jack Dempsey’s are one of the best big cichlids there is . Well worth the use of a big aquarium if you have it and them. I was one of those kids , many years ago , that bought one when it was small not knowing anything about them . He ate most of my guppies .

 

[Colin_T]

Cool ! Jack Dempsey’s are one of the best big cichlids there is . Well worth the use of a big aquarium if you have it and them. I was one of those kids , many years ago , that bought one when it was small not knowing anything about them . He ate most of my guppies .

might have to send a JD to @emeraldking to help keep his fish numbers in check

 

[emeraldking]

might have to send a JD to @emeraldking to help keep his fish numbers in check

Well, I don't have a Jack Dempsey overhere. And all the guppies that are combined in a tank, are combined with none aggressive fish. And if I do have an excessive stock of those guppies, I can bring them to a store or another breeder would be interested.