Jack Dempsey compatibility

[delta]

I have 1 dempsey that is a monster - he ripped up three plecos and a large pink tailed chealceus that was about double he size - I would like to keep him with other fish (there is 1- 5 inch pleco with him) but I do not have room for another large central american cichlid - I was thinking about convicts or pike cichlids - I also would like to keep the tank with fish from only the Americas - thanks for any help.

[William]

How experinced are you. Pike cichlids are considerably more sensetive than convicts and dempseys.

You don't mention the size of your tank which is an important factor but i think i would recommend just convicts (and perhaps sajica cichlids) since you say you don't have room for another large cichlid.

[delta]

first - the tank is 55 gallons - second - would the convicts be too agressive twards the dempsey - I have heard that the can kill fish that are three times there size - would anything besides the convits work?

[William]

Convicts cichlids can be very aggressive. I have kept them with a lot of other cichlids of the same size such as blue acaras which is less robust than a dempsey without any problems but you never know for sure. If you gt aggressive convicts they might beat and even kill the dempsey.

Another option might be sajica cichlids.

[delta]

are these cichlids hard to find? - also what should I expect to pay for one.

one more thing - my dempsey is about 3.5 inches now and in a 25 gallon tank - which order should i add the anew fish - should i put the dempsey in first or the other fish? thanks very much

[Full3R]

I would put the lesst agressive and the one which is more subjectable to harassment so it can find hiding spots before the other fish can hurt it severly

[delta]

Ok - is the sajica cichlid verry agressive?

[Full3R]

No, its quite a peaceful fish, if it were me, id put the Sajica in first and leave it for a couple of days then put the Dempsey in

[William]

I agree. Sajica is not hard to find.

They are rather friendly but can stand their ground to large agressive fish.

[delta]

if i were going to get convict cichlid would i be better to get males or females or does it not matter? - or would 1 male and 2-3 females work? - thanks for your help

[William]

It is better to keep them in pairs rather than harems however it might be better to just keep one sex to prevent them from breeding to limit aggression.

[kirbyr]

my jack dempsey seems to be more aggressive than either of my convicts, they do tend to quarrel a lot but the convicts are usually the ones who retreat. they have been together for about a year and a half now so i don't think it's really a problem keeping them together