Good tankmates for a jack dempsy

[All_fish]

In a 65 gallon tank, what are some good tankmates for a jack Dempsey

 

[mikem691]

I would just do a school of dithers

 

[All_fish]

I would just do a school of dithers

What are some good dithers?

 

[Fishy Smell]

Good size catfish such as the Syno's / Pictus for the bottom and some giant danios for the upper levels. Other options would be a dwarf Pleco (or pair), any barbs except cherry should be fine, or congo tetras. If you want another cichlid you may get away with a firemouth, maybe a severum but that would depend on the Dempsey. I'd stick with the giant danios and a couple of catfish only if you do want another cichlid though. Balancing out so that you get fish that swim in differnt areas to the cichlids is important as (particularly Dempseys) need their space. I probably wouldn't go much above the inch per gallon rule if you're trying to house a Dempsey.
1 x Dempsey 10"
6 x g danio 24-30"
3 x pictus 15"
1 x Severum 12"

Gives you total when fully grown approx 65", so you would prob be ok.

 

[Plecos4596]

Firemouth

 

[mikem691]

Good size catfish such as the Syno's / Pictus for the bottom and some giant danios for the upper levels. Other options would be a dwarf Pleco (or pair), any barbs except cherry should be fine, or congo tetras. If you want another cichlid you may get away with a firemouth, maybe a severum but that would depend on the Dempsey. I'd stick with the giant danios and a couple of catfish only if you do want another cichlid though. Balancing out so that you get fish that swim in differnt areas to the cichlids is important as (particularly Dempseys) need their space. I probably wouldn't go much above the inch per gallon rule if you're trying to house a Dempsey.
1 x Dempsey 10"
6 x g danio 24-30"
3 x pictus 15"
1 x Severum 12"

Gives you total when fully grown approx 65", so you would prob be ok.

There is no way this would work. 6 tetras or danios and the jack. Never try to use the inch per gallon rule with sa/ca.

 

[All_fish]

Good size catfish such as the Syno's / Pictus for the bottom and some giant danios for the upper levels. Other options would be a dwarf Pleco (or pair), any barbs except cherry should be fine, or congo tetras. If you want another cichlid you may get away with a firemouth, maybe a severum but that would depend on the Dempsey. I'd stick with the giant danios and a couple of catfish only if you do want another cichlid though. Balancing out so that you get fish that swim in differnt areas to the cichlids is important as (particularly Dempseys) need their space. I probably wouldn't go much above the inch per gallon rule if you're trying to house a Dempsey.
1 x Dempsey 10"
6 x g danio 24-30"
3 x pictus 15"
1 x Severum 12"

Gives you total when fully grown approx 65", so you would prob be ok.

It says on live aquaria that the gold severum only gets to be 8 inches. What about a green terror? Is it too big or aggressive?

 

[All_fish]

There is no way this would work. 6 tetras or danios and the jack. Never try to use the inch per gallon rule with sa/ca.

Would a green terror work with a male/female pair of jds and 6 giants

 

[mikem691]

What is the foot print of the 65? 48"x13" or is it longer? The foot print is more important than gallons. if its a 48x13 most large sa/ca cichlids will claim the whole tank as a territory and aggression will be an issue when they become adults.

 

[All_fish]

What is the foot print of the 65? 48"x13" or is it longer? The foot print is more important than gallons. if its a 48x13 most large sa/ca cichlids will claim the whole tank as a territory and aggression will be an issue when they become adults.

If I'm not mistaken it is 36x19x27

 

[All_fish]

Would a 48 inch 75 be better? Not sure how much space I have...

 

[mikem691]

Would a 48 inch 75 be better? Not sure how much space I have...

That would be much better. You may get away with a severum and the jack as long as you have some good hiding places and the jack isn't on the aggressive side. 36" is too small for even 1 jack IMO.

 

[Fishy Smell]

I think you would be risking it with a Green Terror, but i stand by my original suggestion based to a degree on personal experience. It does depend on the Jack but if you're lucky enough to have one that's not too aggressive you would be absolutely fine with the Danios/pictus etc. An idea to make it more certain would be to remove the Jack for a while to introduce the other fish and then put the Jack back in there last.

For long term, i think you would need 75 gallons plus to have a green terror with anything else, and then you would want big robust 6" schooling fish, maybe silver dollars for example.