Jack dempsey dither fish

[Tracy83]

Hi I have a pair of jack dempsey ,, the male is about 5 inch ,, the female about 3 inch I went for some dither fish yesterday and got 2 giant danios (that's all they had in fish shop) I have 3 large zebra danios in my other tank ,, could I also put the zebra danios in with the jd's and giant danios ?...

 

[Colin_T]

I wouldn't put anything in with a pair of Jack Dempsey cichlids because they will kill or eat anything in the tank when they start breeding.

 

[itiwhetu]

NO!!!

 

[Tracy83]

So should I try cath the giant danios and put them in other tank ?...

 

[Tracy83]

Catch

 

[Metalhead88]

Jack dempseys are very aggressive fish. I've found this to be much more evident when they reach their max size of around 12''

At the size of your fish, full grown (or near) giant danios will be just fine for the time being. As the JD's grow, they danios must be removed or they will more than likely be eaten whole. Right now, they are very fast and even aggressive fish will pay no mind. They are more interested and aggressive towards other cichlids that look more like them. Cichlids will however chow down on anything that they see as food. If a fish fits in their mouth, it is food.

Dither fish such as giant danios and rainbows have been my tankmate of choice for many years for many of my cichlid (if they do not fit in the cichlid's mouth.)

Zebra danios are out of question. Even a juvenile JD will eat one whole.

Are you sure that this is a pair? Can you post pictures?

What size tank are these fish in? A pair of Jack dempsys will likely take over even a large tank when they breed.