Some Questions

[GoodMike]

yes it does. its the best method IMO

[jones57742]

Originally Posted by emc7

Does air cargo mean you go pick them up at the airport?

emc: you will sometimes hear this method of shipment expressed as "counter to counter".

TR

[Obsidian]

For me that would mean driving to Phoenix which will cost me an additional 50 bucks in gasoline. So I would have the price of the fish plus the horrendous shipping fee plus the gas costs. All of that equals WAY more than that I am willing to pay for any fish. I am sorry that I am not rich, but it is reality and I can't live like it is not.

[it4lian]

Soz, yeh they mainly ship air cargo, the do ground too, but its expensive as hell. Do they even know what kind of cichlids are in their "assorted cichilds"?

[Obsidian]

Okay- Are these JD's????

[jones57742]

Originally Posted by Obsidian

Okay- Are these JD's????

Obs: I have no experience with most of your fish and my knowledge (or perhaps lack thereof) comes from research.
BUT
exactly which tank (in your signature) are you contemplating placing these JDs?

TR

[Clerk]

They look like they may be jacks, I can tell you they don't look like Green terrors, the jaw is wrong, and they dont have that distinctive center spot.

[Obsidian]

These are the fish that were LABELED as Fire Mouths. They are in my 100 gallon tank so at least the tank is big enough. The green terror is always hiding. I have to figure out how I will ever catch him. These may be hard to catch, but not impossible. You should see the rockwork in the tank. I really like it, and so does my green terror LOL. I hadn't thought about what happens if I had to catch anyone!

If all else fails I will wait until the GT gets bigger and braver and catch him then. I know that my LFS will take him in. I think I am going to try to catch the Dempsy's this weekend and give them back to Petsmart since they are the ones who mislabed them. I believe the GT was correctly labeled. He is small but he has the big old spot on his side and his color looks about right, just not as obvious. Like he has a green sheen to his back end, but his scales are not outright green yet.

And I really do like the JD's. I just don't know if they will be okay with my Giant Danios as they grow. If anyone has experience with that it would be helpful to know. And I need to know if they will harm each other. Right now they are buddies, but I have no idea if I can expect that to last. The bigger one is dang fast. I would be okay leaving the tank as is (meaning not add anymore fish) if that would be okay with, and for, the JD's. But if they are just going to kill everything I will take them back.

[jones57742]

Originally Posted by Obsidian

But if they are just going to kill everything I will take them back.

Obs: I believe so and hence my question.

TR

[it4lian]

Yeh those are JD"s I think lol, sure as hell not firemouths, wonder how the store screwed that up lol. I've heard stories of giant danios mixed in with sa cichlids and being fine, and others where the fish go nots and eat the giant danios. I've mainly heard of oscars eating them though, so I don't know if thats a connection. I've just heard of them working sometimes and not working sometimes. Depends on the fish I guess.

[Obsidian]

I went back to the tank at Petsmart and I was able to see the difference between the firemouths and the JD's. Definitely a different mouth, but some of the other differences were much more subtle, such as very light stripes, but still some stripes. They still had some JD's in the firemouth tank. I have not brought mine back yet. I think for now I am just going to leave this tank as is. The GT has completely disappeared from what I can tell. He must have found a really good hiding spot.

The cool part is that my danio's have taken on the color of my center plant, with the green and pink leaves. One of them even swims right next to it and does an awesome job of pretending to be a leaf!

[Gourami Swami]

There is no question about whether they are jacks. Jacks dont really look anything like firemouths if you know what both fish look like. Do you want to keep them? If so, you can only got a couple more fish. Also, do much more research. You should at least know what a fish looks like before oyu buy it

[Obsidian]

Gourami,
I knew that they had a red streak under their mouths, and ALL the fish in the tank had that red streak. These two lost that red streak within a day of coming home, which was what first made me suspicious. Upon going back I was able to see the mouth structure differences among the fish in the "firemouth" tank. The fish in that tank continue to look similar except for that mouth. The JD's are also more colorful than the firemouth's, but the basic coloration in the tank appears really similar. I think they are trying to "match each other" in the tank.

At least I don't have to worry about the Green Terror, he did not make it. I think he hid too well and never ate. No signs of him being beat up or anything. It took me days to find him, but I was able to pull him out.

I think I am going to give the JD's back, but I like their personality. Is there anything that is less aggressive that has a similar personality?

[Danh]

Yeah, the fish store should have know those were jack dempseys, but I can't believe you didn't know it either. At least that it wasn't a fire mouth.

Uarus are similar in personality and size. They are also not very predatory or aggressive. They aren't very expensive if you can find them.

Definitely get a pack of 4 or 5 clown loaches for the bottom. It will take them forever to get too big for the tank. Then you could get a very nice trade in for them at the store.

[Obsidian]

Okay, I am really sorry that I do not know how to identify fish. I am still learning. Kill me.

I will look up Uarus, thank you.

I don't like clown loaches and will not get a fish I cannot house for it's lifespan. Thanks for the idea though.

[Gourami Swami]

there are lots of less aggro fish that will live in a 100g... but if you ask me, as far as new world cichlids go, JD's are far from the most agressive. What I recommend though would be Severums, whichever color you like. I prefer NICE golds (none of those flesh-colored ones) or red-shoulders. They have a great personality and will reach about 10" or more. Heres my nice gold