Jack Dempsey

[DawnMichele]

Hello everyone. I decided to buy a Jack Dempsey for my 55. He is about 8 inches. He is all by himself. Will he be OK in a 55?

 

[james99]

I like to keep fish no bigger than 6"-7" in a standard size 55.

 

[DawnMichele]

I like to keep fish no bigger than 6"-7" in a standard size 55.

Hi James. Congratulations on becoming a moderator. I thought that a 55 was OK for a JD?

 

[MrsE88]

Maybe short term for a female, but not a male. He’d be better off in a 75 at least.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Hello dawn, personally think a 75 would be better, 12" width of the 55 is not great for a 10"+ fish. If you can find someone to give it to that has a larger tank, that would probably be best to be honest. On the other hand, many JD's seem to not get larger than about 8", do you know how old the JD is? If he is old and done growing, wouldn't be the worst home, better than where many fish that size at pet stores end up

 

[duanes]

I agree with the others that a 55 is a bit wimpy in foot print for an adult JD (I usually consider an adult cichlid should have no less than 10 gallons per in of cichlid as a personal goal), a 6 ft tank of at least 100 gallons would be much better. Look at the amount of space at their disposal in nature in the video below.
Eden2

 

[DawnMichele]

Thanks everyone for your help. I appreciate it.

 

[DawnMichele]

Hello dawn, personally think a 75 would be better, 12" width of the 55 is not great for a 10"+ fish. If you can find someone to give it to that has a larger tank, that would probably be best to be honest. On the other hand, many JD's seem to not get larger than about 8", do you know how old the JD is? If he is old and done growing, wouldn't be the worst home, better than where many fish that size at pet stores end up

Thank you for your help & congratulations on becoming a moderator!!!