Jack Dempsey with Other Cichlids

[Cichster]

I have two fish tanks, a thirty gallon that consists of an Electric yellow cichlid, a Kenyi cichlid, and 2 peacocks, all in the range of about 3.5 inches. I also have a 55 gallon tank only with a jack Dempsey. The cichlids don’t seem to be doing to well in the 30 gallon, mostly hiding and such. I was thinking of moving the cichlids over to the 55 with the jack, all except for one peacock, who is kind of like the runt, and is bossed around a lot. I’ll leave him in the 30 for now until he buffs up a bit, but i don’t know how well my 4 inch jack will do the the other cichlids. Any ideas?

 

[Demeter32]

African cichlid should never be mixed with Americans, especially in small tanks (55gal is considered on the small side for larger cichlids). JD are aggressive and quite territorial so there's a good chance it will go after the Africans. That being said, African cichlid are not nice either and they may be the ones going after the JD.

A 55gal is actually the minimum size I'd keep Africans in as a 30gal will not allow enough room for males to establish territories nor for you to overstock the fish, as it is recommended to do with Africans. I say get another tank, at least 55gals, and put the Africans in there while adding a few more to spread aggression. I've got around 15 Africans in my 55gal and only the new guys get harassed for a bit till things settle down once more.

 

[Wills]

Yeah I would agree with above - I'd rehome the JD, move the Africans to the 55 and up their numbers then find more suitable fish for the 30g.

Wills