Jack Dempsey Tank Mates

[Circus]

So I today I purchased a pair of tanks, 80 gal and 90 gal, for $100. I know I want a JD in one of them, and I was wondering what tank mates I could do in the 90 gallon with it. I am hoping to come across one of the Electric Blue varieties. I am thinking a large tetra species or Molly fish (I adore the dalmatian Molly in my brackish tank) and yoyo loaches? Would I be better off with more aggressive fish? My ph sits around 7.4 and my Gh 100-110 ppm.

 

[Fishiemang]

Remember....

If a.Jack Dempsy can get it in its.mouth, it's.food.

They grow pretty large. They have a good sized mouth as well...mine ate a molly and he is only maybe coming up on 4 inches long....

Juss sayin...

 

[Circus]

Remember....

If a.Jack Dempsy can get it in its.mouth, it's.food.

They grow pretty large. They have a good sized mouth as well...mine ate a molly and he is only maybe coming up on 4 inches long....

Juss sayin...

Dang! So maybe something more like Silver Dollars or Spanner T Barbs?

 

[Fish4dawin]

Dang! So maybe something more like Silver Dollars or Spanner T Barbs?

Ideal tankmates for Jack Dempsey is well... nothing really annoyingly. They have a reputation for being a very aggressive species, and the silver dollars are very timid fish so could be the wrong tankmate. If you want to go with tankmates maybe tinfoils could work but they get to 20cm+ so wouldn't really work. Jack Dempsey's are a tough fish to crack in terms of tankmates.

 

[Circus]

Are there fish with similarly nice color that do better with loaches (I really love loaches).

 

[Fish4dawin]

Are there fish with similarly nice color that do better with loaches (I really love loaches).

I would suggest clown loaches but they need a 150 gallon plus

 

[Circus]

What about this:
2x Blue Acara
7× Yoyo Loach
15x Black Ruby Barbs

Would there be room for more?

 

[Fish4dawin]

What about this:
2x Blue Acara
7× Yoyo Loach
15x Black Ruby Barbs

Would there be room for more?

That would probably work. Maybe another yoyo loach but that shoould be fully stocked. Add all the loaches at the same time so they can set up a hierachy between themselves. If you get 7 of them and then a week later you get another one, that new one will probably be bullied by the dominant members of the hierachy.

 

[Circus]

Thanks! I will probably do a lone JD in the 80 Gallon, and set the 90 up like above, but with 8 loaches instead of 7.

 

[Colin_T]

If you buy a group of cichlids that are young and all the same size, and only get 1 of each (preferably all males), you could keep some of the tougher cichlids with a Jack Dempsey (JD).

Parrot cichlid (Cichlasoma nicaraguense), Green Terror (Aequidens rivulatus). Black belt cichlid (Cichlasoma maculicauda) or Synspilum cichlid (Vieja melanura) but not both. Texas cichlid (Cichlasoma cyanoguttatus) are some that can be kept with a Jack Dempsey. However, you will still need to watch them as they mature and make sure no one decides to go nuts and kill everyone else.

If you want a smaller peaceful cichlid that resembles the Jack Dempsey for colour, look at Blue Acara (Aequidens pulcher). They only grow to half the size of a JD and are peaceful. You could have them with clown loaches or other types of loach, tetras, barbs, etc. And you could have plants in their tank.

FYI, clown loaches lose their colour as they grow and don't look anywhere near as nice when 10 inches long compared to their 2 inch juveniles.

And if you want mollies, you will need a separate tank that has a GH above 250ppm.

 

[Circus]

If you buy a group of cichlids that are young and all the same size, and only get 1 of each (preferably all males), you could keep some of the tougher cichlids with a Jack Dempsey (JD).

Parrot cichlid (Cichlasoma nicaraguense), Green Terror (Aequidens rivulatus). Black belt cichlid (Cichlasoma maculicauda) or Synspilum cichlid (Vieja melanura) but not both. Texas cichlid (Cichlasoma cyanoguttatus) are some that can be kept with a Jack Dempsey. However, you will still need to watch them as they mature and make sure no one decides to go nuts and kill everyone else.

If you want a smaller peaceful cichlid that resembles the Jack Dempsey for colour, look at Blue Acara (Aequidens pulcher). They only grow to half the size of a JD and are peaceful. You could have them with clown loaches or other types of loach, tetras, barbs, etc. And you could have plants in their tank.

FYI, clown loaches lose their colour as they grow and don't look anywhere near as nice when 10 inches long compared to their 2 inch juveniles.

And if you want mollies, you will need a separate tank that has a GH above 250ppm.

Thank you! I think this has decided me on getting the Blue Acara with some barbs and loaches. I appreciate the JD tank mates. I am partial to the Texas cichlids as well. I'll have to see what all my LFS carries.