Hi

I have a 15cm Mangrove jack in a 4x2 tank, just want to know what is the best tank mate for him. What is everyones thoughts?

Cheers

Hi,

I've got a Jack (~15-18cm) in my 6x2x2. He's been in there with a mixture of malawis, pleccos, etc etc from a very young age (~3cm). As he, and his larger tank mate (a 40cm barra) have grown, the malawis have been removed (for obvious reasons).

I did some research (not much info out there) on Jacks in the aquarium before purchasing mine. Stories ranged from individuals not being able to be kept with ANYTHING as they were very aggressive and killed everything in site, to being able to live quite happily with fish it's size or larger and armored pleccos such as sailfins and the like.

I also noticed a trend in which juviniles bought up in a community tank with plenty of tank mates were more likely to be compatible with other fish as they were used to a crowded tank and never had their own territory. So I think once an individual has an established territory it may be a bit risky to introduce a tank mate.

But from everything I've read, each Jack has it's own personaility they may or may not suit tank mates. I guess its just one of those trial and error things.

Having said that, mine doesn't seem to mind the barra, pleccos and synodontis he's been with for 12 months now....but time (and size) will tell.

P.S. a 4x2 may get too small for him shortly and he may not like sharing that small space with another fish.

Jacks are pretty brutal. If you're thinking of putting anything in there with him, i'd be getting something bigger and well able to defend itself if he tries it on. If you do introduce new fish, catch him and take him out, rearrange the tank and put the new fish in and then add him in at the end- leave the lights off and let them settle. Good luck!