Oscar & Jack Dempsey

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Roundtree

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
117
Location
TX
I have an Oscar and two Jack Dempsey. I've had them for about 5-6 months now. And yes, when I bought them I was unaware of their size, attitude... Basically uneducated. Now I am to the point of selling one or two. So that I don't have a jaws movie in my bedroom! I only have a 55 gallon tank. I must say so far nothing crazy has happened but I do want them to be happy and safe. Any suggestions?
 
In that small of a tank, I would get rid of the Oscar first personally. They will outgrow that tank fairly quickly. Of course if you have a male and female JD, you may lose one or both the first time the female is ready to breed. So its kind of a toss up.
 
So what size tank would you suggest if I wanted to keep the Oscar? I have the option in buying a 75 gallon? I will admit I was highly uneducated when buying these fish. Now that I am a little more understanding of the needs, I feel a little dumb. Do you have any suggestions of Cichlid I could keep comfortably in a 55 gallon. I am still somewhat of a beginner.
 
I think a 75 gallon should be big enough for the oscar, and the 55 will be big enough for a single JD.
 
Plecos and catfish can go with a JD, as long as they are not too small. Just don't put too many in because if it feels crowded it may become more aggressive.

My JD lives with a striped rapheal catfish and a common pleco (who I may need to re-home if I can't get a bigger tank soon) in my 55 gal and the JD mostly ignores them. I had a rainbow shark that was just as big as the JD but he decided he didn't want it around so I had to move it to my other 55 gal.

Just be prepared to remove fish if it becomes too aggressive, as they get older they can become more aggressive and a fish that was previously tolerated may not be welcome.
 
Well cool!! Thank you both for the advice. Now, another question. I have a male and a female JD. Should I keep the female or the male? Males are more aggressive, right? I'm leaning more towards keeping the female.
 
I would say its up to you which you want to keep. It is true that male cichlids are generally more aggressive. Female JDs are slightly less colorful than males, but are still very striking fish. I personally prefer male cichlids because they have more color and I enjoy the occasional display of dominance. You should just keep whichever of the two is your favorite IMO.
 
Thats what I am after, color and personality. That's why I went for the Oscar. Listen to this; when I started I had a 20gallon tank with 2 JD, 1 Tiger Oscar, 1 Albino Tiger Oscar, and 2 Chinese Algae eaters! All in a 20tall tank! Ridiculous, right!!!

Anywho, thanks for the tips!
 
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