Jack Dempsey fight, now upside down

Question
QUESTION: I've had two Jack Dempseys in the same tank for the past 18 months or so, and they've grown to about 4-5 inches each from just little guys when I got them.  I also added a Pleco as a tank mate about a year ago and they pretty much leave him alone since he's a little bigger than the Dempseys and has quite a temperment.  Well the whole time I've had these fish, one of them grew slightly faster and has clearly been the dominant fish in the tank since day one.  The larger fish would chase the smaller one during feedings (and also during down time), but would never really act too aggressively causing any cosmetic damage to the other fish, just chasing and punking for the most part.  Now the fish are about the same size, and two days ago there was a drastic turn of events in the tank.  The "smaller" fish began very aggressively attacking the former alpha fish, and over the course of a day of this, damaged the tail, fins, and scales of the other fish.  I went and bought a tank divider but now the damaged Dempsey is upside down and looking on the verge of death on the bottom of the tank, although it is still breathing.  It stirs when I put a net in there, but goes right back upside down again.  Is there any way for me to try and revive this fish now that it's out of immediate danger from attack?  I've read a lot about swim bladder stuff with fish that are upside down, but the articles I've read have been related to disease, not trauma which my guess is that this is a pretty clear indication of.  Is there anything I can do for this guy?

ANSWER: Hi Kris,
 Sadly, as you have probably found by now, once a fish is upside down after having been attacked it pretty much never recovers.  Sorry.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yeah you're right, about 4 days after it went upside down it died.  I'm looking to add another fish or two to my tank and I was wondering what species and what number of them to add.  I'd like to add more cichlids like another set of Dempseys or maybe Oscars, but I'm not sure if that would be wise right now.  I'd imagine if I only add one of similar size to the other Dempsey that they will fight.  Do you have any suggestions on how I could replace this fish?

Thanks,

Kris

Answer
Hi Kris,
 I would definitely not add oscars.  Oscars are very interesting, but they do not play well with others.  I think you could try some more Jack Dempseys in there.  Adding one the same size would be a good idea.  I also strongly recommend the ZooMed floating logs.  They provide a hiding place when a fish is being chased.  I swear by them. They have saved several important fish for me.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>