Stocking of my 55g

[PostalPenguin]

So I have my 55g pretty well stocked but am wondering if I can add a dempsey? The 55g for all intents and purposes will be the largest tank I will have for over a year, might get a 75g but nothing definite.

Current stocking: 1 female GT, mated pair of convicts, 3 pictus cats. Filter is Emperor 400.

The convict pair is what concerns me since the female claims quite a large portion of the tank when she is guarding eggs(which is virtually all the time). But would a dempsey work?

Thanks for the help!

 

[k0y0te]

IMO i dont think you have room for a Dempsey. They can be very aggressive. I think a 55 is the min for a dempsey with no other fish. However If you have a 75 you might be able to add in a jd with the stock you have.

 

[knifegill]

Adding anything to a tank with breeding cons is asking for trouble. You're lucky they've left the other fish alone so far. I wouldn't try it, stocking aside.

 

[Gruff Master]

Adding anything to a tank with breeding cons is asking for trouble. You're lucky they've left the other fish alone so far. I wouldn't try it, stocking aside.

+1 As the Cons mature and become larger so will their amount of eggs and the space claimed to raise their fry. With no where to go in a 55, all of the tankmates will be constantly attacked. Their will be fights until one of your fish is stressed or beaten to death. That could be either a tankmate or one of the Cons. A GT and a JD would not do well for long in a 55 together with a mated pair of Convicts, nor would most other large Cichlids.

 

[Vapor315]

You could get a signifcantly larger Dempsey and try that, but with the Cons mating constantly you will more then likely have to move them to a tank of themselves. In terms of having a community tank breeding is always bad unless you have a tank of tremendous proportions, that will allow everyone their space.

 

[PostalPenguin]

Thanks for the input. I'll hold off on the JD.

If the cons start to overly harass the other fish I will probably put the male into my 29g community tank. That will leave just female fish(besides the pictus) in my 55g.

 

[Vapor315]

Good call or you could keep the male in the 55 gallon get the JD and keep those three with the Cat.

 

[cichlidfish]

That tank would be over stocked for even a 75g, so I wouldn't get a JD. You will have aggression issues and will be doing a lot of water changes. 4' is 4' to a cichlid weather is a 55g or even a 90g.