Finally got my fish for my new 55g

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
T

tpopcaz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 9, 2008
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USA
Had my 55g set up and running for two days so today I went to the local fish shop and asked a couple questions to confirm some things I had read up on to see what there opinion was. I went with central and south american cichlids for my tank and have a video of what they look like so far. I know I have two jack dempseys that are about an inch and a half the other two my girlfriend picked from a tank that the owner said would go with the jack dempseys but when he said the name I didn't see it on the tank lable so maybe someone could help me out. The orange ones in the video I thought he said were parrot something but I might of misunderstood. Only questions I still have is how long should I leave the aquarium lights on for them? He told me to feed them twice a day and each feeding put small amounts until they look like there eating slower and slower is this right? I'm feeding flakes and they seem to like them but also bought frozen blood worm cubes. Will dropping one or two cubes a week for them harm them any? All the fish seem to be getting along fine the only thing I've noticed is when the jack dempseys swim near each other one chases the other around the tank for a while. Is this because they are the same sex or maybe different sex? The owner of the shop said they were two small to tell the only difference in them is the one that chases the other seems to have darker colors on it. Apperciate all the answers and any help I can get!!
[video=youtube;yYgY4TFvmWw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYgY4TFvmWw[/video]
 
Your tank is fine for now. Not overstocked at all. My advice is for you to Google all of your questions and read. Read, read, and read some more. Learn and learn some more.
 
Yea I've been reading a lot on the jack dempsey from different sites but you I've been getting a lot of different answers from different places and I trust the people in here with the information the most. Yea me and the owner talked about the fish for a while and he said if they get to big he gets big tanks all the time I can get a deal on or he will buy them in good health. I figure while they small I'll enjoy them and when the time comes I'll deal with it then.
 
I've looked on the internet and might be wrong but are the orange ones red blood parrots? Still working on info for my other questions.
 
Yes the orange ones are red blood parrots. They mostly get 8in
The jack dempseys get 10in if male, if female expect them to get smaller. To see if its a female check the gill plate. Lots of blue=female. Little to no blue=male. If you plan on keeping them for life your tank will be overstocked, but you may be able to pull it off with extra filtration.
The time of lighting doesn't matter much. You should feed 2 times a day until they get about 4in, then 1 time a day, then once they hit 8in or so feed ever two or three days. While flakes are good right now, when they get bigger you need to feed them pellets. Hikari gold are the best pellets, but when my jack were younger(1in-3in)I feed my jacks aqueon mini cichlid pellets with good results. Also the bloodworms should only be a treat, so feed them it like you are doing now. When they get bigger shrimp would be a better treat.
The jacks chasing is probably just normal cichlid aggression. If your jacks do breed then move all fish out or they will get killed. Because of red blood parrots being hybrids the males are infertile but the females are not, so your red blood parrots(rbp) may cross-breed with a jack.
I noticed a lack of caves or retreats in the tank. You're going to need some more so they can claim territory. If they don't then they will be more aggressive. As long as you remember to change the water, clean the gravel, quarantine the sick/injured, and what I just posted; your cichlids will be good.
Goold luck and sorry for the long post.
 
Thanks for all the info right now I have six different decorations all with holes in them but am planning to get some bigger rocks and make a bunch of caves instead.
 
Cool, you can also use pvc pipes, but not the small ones. Also I watch the vid again and you have enough retreats... for now.
 
Yea first time with a tank this large so I'm up for any advice that I can get. Also for the sex of the fish the only difference in the dempseys I see is one seems to get a darker color at times all the blue looks the same. I had asked the guy at the lfs and he said they were to young to tell. The rbp I notice one has a really pointed fin and the other has a more rounded fin thats about the only difference.
 
For CA/SA cichlids males tend to have pointed fins, and females rounded. My two jacks were the same way. I couldn't sex them until a couple days later when the weren't as stressed. So in a couple of days you should be able to tell the deference. What do you have for filtration?
 
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