Jack Dempsey 55g

[steez]

I'd just like to hear some opinions on my questions.

1. 55g is big enough for a single Jack Dempsey? Better than an Oscar in a 55g? Oscar's grow quite a bit bigger than JD's and really should have 75g, correct?

2. After browsing a lot of forums and doing some reading, it sounds like a good tankmates for JD are Convicts. Would 2 Convicts + 1 JD and one medium pleco(bristle, rubberlip, etc) be pushing it in a 55g?


I'd just like to start up my own discussion on these guys and hopefully get my questions answered. The information ranges from "A pair of JD's works totally fine in a 55g!" to "JD's need 75g alone".

 

[jetajockey]

A JD in a 55 is way better than an oscar in a 55. I'd even put a m/f pair of JD's in a 55 personally, but that might just be me As far as tankmates goes, I would maybe do one smaller cichlid like a firemouth or con or whatever, but probably not two in the event that they could pair up. Same with the JDs, if I went with a pair I would not add tankmates at all.

I don't know of any plecos off hand that would work well with an adult JD, I have shortfin BN plecos that are 3-4" and did not mesh well with mine at all, although your results may be different.

 

[steez]

Thanks jeta

I'm going to go see what my LFS's have tomorrow and make a decision. Pretty set on just getting a pair of them.

Right now I'm reading a bunch on how to sex them.

 

[steez]

I was able to get a trusty local store to take my Oscar. He got his own tank that is plenty big enough for him until someone buys him. She told me that they don't let people leave with Oscars unless they already have a cycled large tank. He'll be missed . I didn't have enough room to upgrade to 75g where he would live happily, my 55g just wouldn't cut it for a full grown Oscar so I wanted to rehome him sooner than later.



I got a EBJD Male, JD Female and Convict female. My Grey Bichir is still in the tank, he'll be staying. The convict was free, so I'm going to see how it goes. I'll be speedy to take her out if the two JD's pick on her. The Electric Blue JD's are supposed to be a little bit more timid than the regular JD's. I'm hoping that this setup will work for that reason. I'm also hoping to get my two JD's to breed, but I know they will get very aggressive over their eggs. This should be fun


They are still in a blackout so I don't stress them out. I will get some pictures of the new 55g setup tomorrow.

EDIT: I misread Jeta's post when I was reading it at the pet store today. When reading it on my phone I saw the "m/f pair, i would maybe do one smaller like fm or con" so I got the Convict.

 

[steez]

Taking the Convict back today. The pics below are my 2 JD's, EB is the male and the black one is a female (I think).

 

[jetajockey]

Definitely looks like a female JD there, I'm not sure how people sex EBJD's apart but I've been told that most are males. There's some subtle differences though because the guys that breed them can tell pretty easily.

 

[steez]

Awesome, thank you


I have a blue light on it and I was able to watch them last night while they were getting attuned.. The Male JD and my Eel came face to face a few times just staring at each other. Then the JD just let the Eel feel him (literally the eel just scanned his whole body with the 2 little feelers he has) and from there on they have been great. So I'm just going to keep the JD pair and my Grey Bichir.

 

[steez]

So, yesterday I got a different JD. He is a 6-7" JD. I don't know sex yet, neither did the lady at the LFS. He was living with Discus, and the Discus were his boss . She said she had never seen such a mild tempered JD.

His/her coloration is beautiful! I'm hoping to keep the new JD + the EBJD. The smaller female JD is going back to the LFS today.

I'll post a pic in a couple hours when the lights go on, he has had the lights out since about 4pm yesterday.

 

[steez]

I don't if anyone is following, but here's the pics

 

[Savoie83]

This one is a beauty!!! Congrats. I Want to have one but don't know if i can. Got the tank for sure, will read on it I guess. To me with the color it look like a male, but its only me...

 

[steez]

Thanks. I'm not sure, it's hard to sex them. I was planning on just venting him once he's used to me. I only have half the tank lighting on so he has a dark spot to go to, don't wanna stress him out too much right now. Definitely leaning more towards male right now due to the fins.

 

[jetajockey]

It's not too hard to sex them as adults. Females have a very colorful gill plate compared to males, get a clear side photo to be sure but I think that's a female.

 

[Convict2161]

I'm by far no expert but at the firehouse the guys have 2 JD's with there convicts but it's a 75 gallon.

 

[steez]

I'll get a better picture when I can at some point today. I would be very happy if it's a female

 

[Convict2161]

Nice pictures, at the FD we have tiny ones so far but if they grow as beautiful as yours I'll be pleased.

 

[steez]

Here's another picture.

 

[steez]

More


JD's eyes are a little cloudy, I know this can mean multiple things. It just looks like a bit of film on his eye, is there anyway I can help it?

I love this one, my eel is so curious still. They really could care less, no aggression whatsoever
View attachment 58382

 

[jetajockey]

That looks like a girl to me. Might explain the lack of aggression also, my girls are timid in comparison to the boys.

There was a great side by side photo done on a forum somewhere via google search but I can't find it currently. The females have a lot of spangles on the cheek plate and the males have a sparse amount in comparison.

 

[steez]

I've been reading and checking a lot. I'll consider it a girl for now, I'll vent her later on.

Do you know anything about why is eyes are cloudy?

 

[jetajockey]

here's a good reference Fish Eye Disorders