Cichlid Consultants Needed!

[123justin]

I have a 75g tank with fine gravel, caves, plants, etc.

The only occupant is a 4inch Jack Dempsey who is the nicest fish ever, he likes to swim along side baby diamond neon tetras.

Anyways, I'm looking for 1 more cihclid. Any you can suggest?

I'm looking for a nice coloured, fancy lookin fish that is somewhat large (8 to 12inch)

Right now I'm considering a flowerhorn since they seem to be nice looking, I was also thinking of an oscar but oscars to me are kinda "ugly lookin but so ugly that they have cute)

Any suggestions my expert fish consultants?

 

[wwestar2000]

I think a 75 gallon is a minimum for a jack dempsey. So there would be no more room fro another big fish.

 

[abstract]

what exactly are you basing this on? everywhere i have read (which i'm sure you have done too) says min tank size of 30 gallons...although they are aggressive they don't get HUGE...unfortunately i do not have any advice on what to stock with it, but 75 gallons is plenty for a JD

I think a 75 gallon is a minimum for a jack dempsey. So there would be no more room fro another big fish.

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[-*-MicHAeL-*-]

how about a parrot cichlid they are great and are attractive and odd looking.

 

[wwestar2000]

I dont know much about JD's but i always thought they get a little bigger than oscars. And an adult oscar needs a 75 gallon minimum.

 

[wwestar2000]

what exactly are you basing this on? everywhere i have read (which i'm sure you have done too) says min tank size of 30 gallons...although they are aggressive they don't get HUGE...unfortunately i do not have any advice on what to stock with it, but 75 gallons is plenty for a JD

I think a 75 gallon is a minimum for a jack dempsey. So there would be no more room fro another big fish.

[snapback]842406[/snapback]​

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If I was wrong and oscars get bigger than JD's don't even think of putting a parrot in with one. I had 2 oscars and 1 parrot. The oscar was bigger but still drove the oscar crazy. Even though the petstore and google said they could be peaceful tankmates. I think that induced the ick in my tank too.

 

[abstract]

try using the "edit" button

 

[wwestar2000]

I wanted to post 2 times

 

[juanveldez]

here let me lay it out. JD do stay way way smaller than oscars about 1/2 the size of an adult oscar. I would be more worried about the tetras becoming fast food, as for the tank being 75 gallons I wouldn't be surprised espcially if the fish is a male if at some point it doesn't try to take the whole tankf for its self. I FH is a really really really bad choice it will also kill everything in that tank they are highly agressive and should be kept in a species only tank. some suggestions that I could give would be to look into getting a JD of the opposite sex of your current fish and then adding a couple pelcos, another option would be to add a firemouth or 2 in there along with a couple plecos.

 

[freddyk]

Everyones talking about how big he is, but whatabout how aggressive and territorial he is. Jack Dempsey was named after a championship boxer for a reason - they're tough. Juanveldez is right, two randomly chosen cichlids will most likely result in a mess at some point down the road. The best mate for JD would be a compatable JD of the opposite sex - a monogomous pair that actually gets along, so both can use the full tank in relative peace.

A flowerhorn would eventually destroy your JD in that tank - they're downright evil.

 

[freddyk]

Everyones talking about how big he is, but whatabout how aggressive and territorial he is. Jack Dempsey was named after a championship boxer for a reason - they're tough. Juanveldez is right, two randomly chosen cichlids will most likely result in a mess at some point down the road. The best mate for JD would be a compatable JD of the opposite sex - a monogomous pair that actually gets along, so both can use the full tank in relative peace.

A flowerhorn would eventually destroy your JD in that tank - they're downright evil.

 

[Rivermud76]

Some cichlids that could be compatible with a dempsey include:

Firemouth
Keyhole
Jewels

However I feel that keeping it as a species tank would be a better idea. Also, Dempseys are rather docile as compared with the majority of cichlids. They will however make a meal of your tetras eventually IMHO. Some people like to add some Barbs ie Tinfoil. However they do tend to get large though one Barb and one Dempsey would not overcrowd your 75. The Dempsey should not become over territorial but if he should, re-arrange the tank and see how it works, often times that will reduce hostillity.

 

[wwestar2000]

A keyhole with a JD. I have keyholes and they are very peaceful. At least mine are. And I've only heard about JD's being aggressive. I personaly think a JD will kill a keyhole. The keyhole just wont be aggressive enough to stand up to one.

 

[juanveldez]

I agree the keyholes would end up dead. I think that if you are going to add another cichlid species besides another JD to "try" and form a pair ( can't say it would be successful just throwing in a JD of the opposite sex, a firemouth would be your best bet.

 

[123justin]

Lol, well I saw a beatiful baby red tiger oscar and bought him.

I put him in my tank, and the two love each other instantly!

My fairly new Jack Dempsey (about 2 days in my tank @ 4.5inch) is so gentle, totally opposite from what I read in books/internet about jack Dempsy's.

Anyways, my gentle JD and the baby oscar (2inch) actually swim beside each other. They actually like lean against each other while swimming and both seem very happy for the company.