Hello all.

I have a 50 gallon set up which houses a 3" Jack Dempsey and a 3" gibbiceps. The JD keeps swimming in circles against the tank side,is this normal?
I have thought about getting a tank mate, something along the lines of a Convict or Salvini. Would this be ok or would it be a recipe for disaster?

That type of behaviour is typically a sign that the fish is very stressed.

Can you give us some more details to try and track down the cause:

Test results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and hardness (gH).

Temperature

What kind of substrate? What decor?

A 50 gallon is the minimum size for a JD and in that size I wouldn't add any other cichlids.

Ive carried out tests on the water quality and they are all well within the parameters. I forgot to mention that this is a new addition to the tank. There is nothing wrong with his appetite and there are no visible signs of stress. He did come from a fairly crowded shop tank, I was thinking that the big open space has freaked him out somehow! The tank is a Juwel Trigon 190; the substrate is small 2-3mm gravel and there are plastic plants, bogwood and a clay 6"dia flower pot.

"Well within parameters" doesn't help people here really

Could you post the actual readings so we can check for you? Best to always rule these out first and they tend to be the common culprits.

These are the last test results:-

Nitrite 20
Nitrate 0
GH 75
KH 40
PH 6.8

Len.

I think you may have nitrIte and nitrAte reversed there!

I wonder if pH is much different from shop tank?

Could you post a pic of tank & decor perhaps?

I think Cathie's suggestion of a tank pic would be helpful. Also, the water is a bit on the soft side for a JD so that may need looking at in the long term.

As he's new to the tank, that may well be having an effect. JD's are quite shy fish (despite their aggression when mature), and finding himself alone with a lot of space may be freaking him out. Are there any other fish in there with him, or is it just the plec?

I see no result for ammonia? Are you using test strips? If so, a decent liquid based test kit would be a wise investment as the strips are not very accurate and may be hiding an underlying issue.

My mistake I did get the Nitrite and Nitrate mixed up! Its just the two fish in there at the moment.

I was looking to introduce a tank mate but if he`s going to be aggresive then perhaps not.

I am using test strips, I thought these were ok? There are so many test kits out there I would`nt know where to start. That was my reason for getting test strips.

I`ll try to post a pic later if I can find my camera.

Len.

JD's become very aggressive and territorial even before they mature (hence the name). In a tank that size, which is a tad less than the recommended minimum for 1 JD he'd have to be the only fish in there. He may leave your plec alone, but keep an eye on the situation as he might start to resent its presence.

In their natural environment, JD's are surrounded by heavy vegetation, but it's not usually practical to give them plants in an aquarium as they will dig them up. For that reason, it's best to provide planty of hiding places - rockes, roots, bogwood etc.

The pic as requested:-