Red Texas and Jack Dempsey tank setup

[A201]

I've grown out two Red Texas Cichlids. A male & female. They reached near maximum size with in two years. The male - 10.5", female - 7.5", both unfaded.
I kept the male in a 65 gal. which was too small, I had to trade him. His aggression level was off the charts. The male also grew a very respectable set of teeth, which made tank maintenence a real adventure.
IMO, a Red Texas cichlid is more or less a streamlined, very athletic Flowerhorn. I have no doubt that a healthy full grown male Red Texas has the potential to make short work of most like sized cichlids.
The female Red Texas was never a problem. She resided in a 120 gal. semi peacefully with Rivulatus, Salvini, Firemouth & Silver Dollars. I traded her when converting to African Cichlids.
Realistically, a 180 gal. Would be a minimum sized community tank for a male Red Texas.
Potential tankmates; Midas, Festae, Rivulatus & maybe Salvini.

 

[Jacob6556]

I don't want to be negative but you are asking for advice and I'm only giving you advice in the interest of hopefully helping.

IMO/IME you're going to have problems if not from the start then in the very near future. Both fish can hit 12 inches which is just under your tanks width front to back(60 gallon aquarium has a width of 12 7/8"). As you cichlids grow their need for a larger territory will grow with each one seeking to make the entire tank their territory. With no where to retreat the dominant one will either out right pick apart the sub to death or stress them out till they slowly die from a combination of stress and possible starvation. The constant state of stress will also invite disease. So even the dominant fish could be in danger. Then there's the issue of water quality. Both those fish will have a large bioload for a 60 gallon tank.

Also your return hose output for your filter is low. Usually the instructions state for the output to be close to top of the water. This is to create surface agitation which promotes gas exchange. Gas exchange increases the rate at which oxygen dissolves in water, which is important but especially so if the fish are large in a small tank. It also prevents the build up of film on the surface of the water caused most times by a protein build up. Your powerhead though will make up for the low return hose output because it causes plenty of surface agitation.

Fish growth can vary widely. Genetics play a factor. As many fish are mass produced you often get ones that may have stunted growth rates due to poor breeding practices. Other then that growth rate is dependent on how well a hobbyist maintains their fish. To optimize growth a good varied diet, good water quality and water changes wiill help a lot. But don't overfeed as it can be detrimental to your fishes health. Also being kept in small tanks stunts growth because of hormone build up. Under ideal conditions usually fish will grow faster at first and slow as they get closer to their maximum size.

As for the crayfish adding one will almost invarably become food or a chew toy for your cichlids.

And your texas color change is also highly variable. Some color up right away and some don't do so till they're much older.

If nothing else I suggest you get some eggcrate from a Home Depot or another source. You can make it into a divider if aggression gets too high. Then you have time to rehome a fish when things go bad, so you can prevent a loss of one of your fish. And monitor your water quality closely as in a small tank things can go bad very quickly.

Again I'm not trying to be negative but in my experience this is what will happen when putting 2 fairly large cichlids in a 4 foot tank.

Yeah I knew this tank was either going to be a hit or miss. Thanks for all the fees back though!! I never used canister filters before, and when I bought the tank that was how it was setup, so I just thought it was right. But I added the power and put it like an inch or so under the water line soy tank has a stronger current up top and less current in the bottom. And when I bought the tank it came with a divider with it. I’ve been keeping in close just in case it does happen to all break loose.

 

[Jacob6556]

I'd have to agree. These fish will likely not get along with eachother. JD's tend to be very slow growers when it comes to cichlids, GT on the other hand can grow from a ⅓in fry to 7in within the first year. GT also tend to be highly aggressive very early on while JD's tend to be very shy at the start and get more aggressive as they mature. From what I've heard is the RT tend to be absolutely mental fish compaired to the regular GT. If this was a full scale pond this would easily work out but in a glass box with no escape from one another they will eventually try to kill eachother or one will bully the other to the point of death. If I had to bet on who would win I would bet on the RT as they will try to actually kill another fish while a JD tends to only act as a tank boss rather then a cold blooded murder like the RT.

The cray fish would also be a no go as it will eventually be killed. Even if they can't kill it while it's armoured it still has to molt that shell at some point and that's when it's the most vulnerable.

As for possible dither fish you could possibly get away with using mascara Barb's or giant danio's provided they have enough numbers. Silver dollars could work too but they are a far slower target.

I don’t that red Texas are really all that mental. This has been my third day with them now and I know it’s still plenty early to notice anything but, I find that both seem pretty peaceful. The jd does get scared of the rt very easily, it seems almost like the rt just wants to school with him but the jd just gets scared and swims away fast and the rt doesn’t follow. They don’t mind the rainbow shark at all tho, he just goes anywhere in the tank and then don’t even look his way.

 

[Jacob6556]

There will most likely be aggression issues down the road. Tank is on the small side for just one of either of those cichlids.

If youre lucky, they might get along for a year or so if theyre small, then consider rehoming one when they start fighting constantly.

Yeah, I get it all depends on my exact fish, I know that it just depends on the fish itself, but they do only grow to 8-10 inches each max. But I’ll have something all figured out for rehoming them if I need to.

 

[Jacob6556]

I've grown out two Red Texas Cichlids. A male & female. They reached near maximum size with in two years. The male - 10.5", female - 7.5", both unfaded.
I kept the male in a 65 gal. which was too small, I had to trade him. His aggression level was off the charts. The male also grew a very respectable set of teeth, which made tank maintenence a real adventure.
IMO, a Red Texas cichlid is more or less a streamlined, very athletic Flowerhorn. I have no doubt that a healthy full grown male Red Texas has the potential to make short work of most like sized cichlids.
The female Red Texas was never a problem. She resided in a 120 gal. semi peacefully with Rivulatus, Salvini, Firemouth & Silver Dollars. I traded her when converting to African Cichlids.
Realistically, a 180 gal. Would be a minimum sized community tank for a male Red Texas.
Potential tankmates; Midas, Festae, Rivulatus & maybe Salvini.

Thanks for the great answer, I’m not quite sure what sex mine is yet. The way I see it, is some people just say no to the idea because yes the risk is there and very real but it also can work I think! I’m not sure how your red Texas were breed but mines a blood parrot and a green Texas, and both of those breeds can be kept with a jack Dempsey full grown so why can’t it? I’ve even seen it done in a smaller tank then mine!!

 

[A201]

Both my Red Texas Cichlids were beautiful fish and were well worth keeping. Mine didn't turn red & white, but had amazing blue spangles w/ traces of Red.
If your RT is male, he will likely eventually dominate, if not kill the JD. You'll have plenty of time to make adjustments before reaching that point. Here are pics of my RTs.

 

[ad88]

Thanks for the great answer, I’m not quite sure what sex mine is yet. The way I see it, is some people just say no to the idea because yes the risk is there and very real but it also can work I think! I’m not sure how your red Texas were breed but mines a blood parrot and a green Texas, and both of those breeds can be kept with a jack Dempsey full grown so why can’t it? I’ve even seen it done in a smaller tank then mine!!

It seems like you asked for advice and then chose to ignore it and do what you wanted to do from the start. When I first began with large cichlids I had an Oscar in a 29 gallon tank because I didn't have anyone with knowledge and experience helping me. My point is don't ignore the advice given and it's easier to return fish when they are juveniles than once they are adults and you haven't grown attached to your fish. Good luck.

 

[koltsixx]

Thanks for the great answer, I’m not quite sure what sex mine is yet. The way I see it, is some people just say no to the idea because yes the risk is there and very real but it also can work I think! I’m not sure how your red Texas were breed but mines a blood parrot and a green Texas, and both of those breeds can be kept with a jack Dempsey full grown so why can’t it? I’ve even seen it done in a smaller tank then mine!!

I know this wasn't directed at me but I figured I'd again give my opinion and observations in the hope of helping you.

I've personally not seen a Jack and Texas or Blood Parrot comm'ed in a tank smaller then yours. But if someone did I'm betting they where juveniles and not a long term cohab. I do see RT's and Blood Parrots or Flowerhorn and Blood Parrots juveniles comm'ed in small tanks and it's usually a sellers vid etc. It's also usually the Blood Parrot being used to "groom" the other cichlid by acting like a punching bag and even then often they seperate the two after; which isn't shown. They do it in the hopes of developing the RT or Flowerhorns nuchal hump and colors. Also a BP maybe paired with an Texas in the hopes of breeding which changes the dynamics of the cohab. But even then care is required.

As adults it maybe possible to keep these guys together but it would require a 6 foot tank. Dempseys despite their name aren't as aggressive as many other cichlids. I've even kept larger Jacks wth smaller individuals of CA/SA cichlids and still the juvenile of some species will out do the Jack in aggression.

Blood Parrots can be pretty aggressive but their deformed mouth(most can't even close their mouths) prevents them from doing any real damage. However I've had BP's actually stress other cichlids to the point the other fish wouldn't eat. I had one BP who was consistently the tank boss for many years over Green Terrors, Hartwegi and Lyonsi just to name some of the fish I kept him with in different Cohabs. And none of these guys where small. All around 8-12 inches. Mix that with a Texas and a functional mouth and you have a fish who can really damage another fish.

 

[Jacob6556]

Both my Red Texas Cichlids were beautiful fish and were well worth keeping. Mine didn't turn red & white, but had amazing blue spangles w/ traces of Red.
If your RT is male, he will likely eventually dominate, if not kill the JD. You'll have plenty of time to make adjustments before reaching that point. Here are pics of my RTs.
View attachment 1412330View attachment 1412331

Yeah, they are very beautiful fish! I can’t wait to see what mine grows to become. I think I’m just going to try and let the fish grow and if they become to aggressive to the point where ones not eating I’ll take action and rehome one of the fish. I’ll just make a decision later on whether I want to keep the rt or jd. Thanks for the help!

 

[Jacob6556]

I know this wasn't directed at me but I figured I'd again give my opinion and observations in the hope of helping you.

I've personally not seen a Jack and Texas or Blood Parrot comm'ed in a tank smaller then yours. But if someone did I'm betting they where juveniles and not a long term cohab. I do see RT's and Blood Parrots or Flowerhorn and Blood Parrots juveniles comm'ed in small tanks and it's usually a sellers vid etc. It's also usually the Blood Parrot being used to "groom" the other cichlid by acting like a punching bag and even then often they seperate the two after; which isn't shown. They do it in the hopes of developing the RT or Flowerhorns nuchal hump and colors. Also a BP maybe paired with an Texas in the hopes of breeding which changes the dynamics of the cohab. But even then care is required.

As adults it maybe possible to keep these guys together but it would require a 6 foot tank. Dempseys despite their name aren't as aggressive as many other cichlids. I've even kept larger Jacks wth smaller individuals of CA/SA cichlids and still the juvenile of some species will out do the Jack in aggression.

Blood Parrots can be pretty aggressive but their deformed mouth(most can't even close their mouths) prevents them from doing any real damage. However I've had BP's actually stress other cichlids to the point the other fish wouldn't eat. I had one BP who was consistently the tank boss for many years over Green Terrors, Hartwegi and Lyonsi just to name some of the fish I kept him with in different Cohabs. And none of these guys where small. All around 8-12 inches. Mix that with a Texas and a functional mouth and you have a fish who can really damage another fish.

I do agree and understand that most often tanks like this don’t last. But if there is no one on here that can kept both these fish in one tank can tell me these fish will kill eachother everyday of the week, then I’m still going to give it a try, then someone will atleast he able to warn others that it can’t happen. I’ll try my best to take the best action to make sure the fish don’t do harm to others, but until then I’ll see how it works out.