So... When Do They Grow A Pair?

[onidrase]

I was half expecting to get horror stories out of the GT and JD, people were all warning me about how aggressive they are and how they're hard to handle, but I gave them a shot anyway, cause they're very awesome colorful fish, my two guys are full of personality, but they're such wusses!

I added the GT first, then the JD, they got along fine, in fact, the GT didn't even notice his presence, then I added the rainbowfish, which is like, a sin or something to add non-territorial fish after hand, but they didn't give a crap, didn't even look at them, then I added the male convict, instantly goes down and lip locks with the JD twice his size, turns into tank boss, and then I add my firemouth again, and he's already taken over again, even though the GT and JD are both the biggest fish in there

Not to say any of them are particularly large, none of them are old enough for me to sex (except the convict, of course)

With such names and infamous aggression, I was expecting more than a couple of fuzzy kittens, not to say I don't appreciate their lack of care, but I'm more or less curious about when they'll actually fight back to the two smaller guys picking on them, and most importantly, how big they tend to be when they get the temperament they have been deemed?

 

[Verminator89]

I can't really speak for the GT, as they are reputably more aggressive than Jacks, its down to your fish's temperament in general. Being a Cichlid it can differ from fish to fish within a species.

With Dempseys though they are named after the famous "Mannaser Mauler", I...er, sorry. A certain mr Jack Dempsey, the famous boxer from the early 20's. Upon the time of this name being given to this fish the Jack (cichlid) was the most notorious and beligerent fish available within the hobby, or more importantly known the science. Obviously since then far more aggressive and beligerent fish have been described by science. So in essence i'm trying to say that the Jack's "pugnacious" attitude is rather exagerated by most standards. Yes, you will get a Jack that is rather brutish toward anything, however i have found them to be far more timid than they a re generally known for. Stock of Jacks in shops often exhibits this behaviour i find, as they can often be seen hiding in amongst the little decor they ahve available to them. My Jacks have all be pushovers, often not being 'top dog' in their respective tanks. They hold their own when threatened, but don't go out of their to be a pain to other fish....most of the time. There are those who bully, and those who are bullied in all walks of life though....

You may find that they may never truely boss the tank, then again they may start to in the coming months as the GT and Jack in particular start piling on the pounds and gaining in size. Cichlids, you just never know

James

 

[Timmy_Bee]

In my experience, convicts alway rule the roost. I like my threesome, but they dont half terrorise the whole tank! especailly when guarding eggs (every other week...)

I had a JD once, but he got bullied rotten and just refused to fight back...