How big of a tank do i need to keep a single Jack Dempsey cichlid?

[briang6]

I have a 35 gallon tank, would this be big enough?

[MCHRKiller]

It depends on the dimmensions of the tank. You will need at the very minimum of a 4ft tank for the fish that is atleast 12" wide. Standard 55G tanks are a good size, however you could also work with a 40G long which is just a shorter 55G. Gallons arnt as important as dimmensions, these fish grow to 9" they need room to move.

[m1aman]

I would imagine plenty of people have kept a JD in something smaller that a 4 ft tank with great success.

[sheamurai]

+ 1 on Jenn's advice.

Considering the entire life span of the fish, not just the next year or two, a tank that can accommodate the adult size of the fish makes for a healthier fish.

I just started a JD tank myself, and its a 4ft tank - and I'm looking at a 6ft tank down the road.

[MCHRKiller]

I would imagine plenty of people have kept a JD in something smaller that a 4 ft tank with great success.

Success is measured in terms of a decade or more with a healthy thriving fish, not 3-5 years of survival :22:

[m1aman]

I have no doubt a JD can live 10 healthy years in a 35 gallon tank.

[KatzeSlaugen]

i have no doubt they can live in a 35gal either, but healthy in a 35 is a different story that i just dont see working out great. idk what the demensions of you tank are but the only 35gals i can find are hexagon and corner tanks. assuming (from websites trying to see just how big a 35gal is) the tank is 30 inches long its kindof like living an 18sq foot room. relatively, thats less than half the size of a jail cell...

[flydustydawg]

I have no doubt a JD can live 10 healthy years in a 35 gallon tank.
Like I said in another post and I think it was to you. A person could live in a six foot square box their whole life but I dont think any one would want to. Also Im sure they would not live as long as the average human due to complications and lack of exercise.

We are already being selfish enough keeping any fish in a fish tank of any size, but there comes a point when the line is crossed between selfish and cruel. If you wanted to keep a JD in a 35 for a wile with plans to rehome it to a larger tank in the future that would be fine. Its whole life though? I think that falls on the cruel side of the line.

[dimdim]

i recently housed a 6 inch female in a 35 gallon for about 4 months no problems, she was immensly happy! as long as you give her what she wants to eat, keep a great balance in water quality, and i dont see a reason why it wouldnt live in a 35 gallon comfortably alone. i upgraded to a 95 custom built aquarium last month, and my JD has boomed to about 7 and a half inches, so the tank size of a 35 definately will stunt its growth if permanently kept in that tank.

[Lab_Rat]

i recently housed a 6 inch female in a 35 gallon for about 4 months no problems, she was immensly happy! as long as you give her what she wants to eat, keep a great balance in water quality, and i dont see a reason why it wouldnt live in a 35 gallon comfortably alone. i upgraded to a 95 custom built aquarium last month, and my JD has boomed to about 7 and a half inches, so the tank size of a 35 definately will stunt its growth if permanently kept in that tank.

How do you measure immensely happy in a fish? Do you give the fish a HAM-D rating scale to fill out?

Your post about the stunting shows exactly why a 35g is not appropriate permanent living quarters for a JD.

[Demjor19]

I wouldn't keep a JD in a 35 for life. I actually prefer 75 gallons or larger for any of the bigger CA/SA cichlids. That may just be me though...

[Jlorenzo]

Its just one of those things. You probibly could keep it in a 35 for awhile and be ok but would you really want to keep a sweet fish like that in a tank that small long term? I like to try and make my fishe's habitats as natural as possible to keep the fish healthy. I feel like keeping fish should take responsibility. I would want my fish to have more than enough room to move around. I change my plants and rocks around every month or so. I think about how much room a fish has to swim in the wild and then go for the biggest tank I can. In my opinion.

[Fisharefriends27]

I say 55 but like Demjor said a 75 would be best

Good Luck!

[Spidyman]

Ok first off your jd would do fine second if you like to make the fishs habitat as natural as possible you would need an aquarium like the zoos have. And you jd will do fine for a long time and if it goes south you may need to upgrade then again you learned that is doesn't work so you won't do it again. I have a jd green terror and a convict with a balla shark in a 40 and they are doing just fine and when they reach full grown size I may need to upgrade but untill then they will stay in my 40 gallon.

[Lab_Rat]

Ok first off your jd would do fine second if you like to make the fishs habitat as natural as possible you would need an aquarium like the zoos have. So quit being PETA. And you jd will do fine for a long time and if it goes south you may need to upgrade then again you learned that is doesn't work so you won't do it again. I have a jd green terror and a convict with a balla shark in a 40 and they are doing just fine and when they reach full grown size I may need to upgrade but untill then they will stay in my 40 gallon.

How do you expect them to reach full grown size in a small tank? Have you not heard of stunting?

[Lady Hobbs]

I have a jd green terror and a convict with a balla shark in a 40 and they are doing just fine and when they reach full grown size I may need to upgrade but untill then they will stay in my 40 gallon.

And you want to give others advice? You need not worry about your fish growing to full size. They will remain small and stunted and will not see 10 years.

Bala sharks are also schooling fish and like to be with several of their own.

[Spidyman]

They are all still juvinele and like I said when the grow larger I will upgrade.

[Lab_Rat]

This:
I have a jd green terror and a convict with a balla shark in a 40 and they are doing just fine and when they reach full grown size I may need to upgrade but untill then they will stay in my 40 gallon.
And then this:
They are all still juvinele and like I said when the grow larger I will upgrade so screw off PETA.
This is pretty funny. You say when they're full grown you may need to upgrade. A full grown bala is 12" or so. Not to mention they are schooling fish. GT should hit 11" as well. Lets see...a 40g breeder is 3' long, a 40g long is 4' long but only 12" wide. I'm not seeing how you expect these fish to grow properly in such a small tank for the size fish they are.

I'm loving the attitude you have too. It's so productive and makes me think you really want to help people.

[lngtall1]

Some people will not admit they are wrong and it doesn't matter, if you are a PHd in the field with decades in the trenches. They read something once and since it agreed with them they take this as proof.

As for the PETA remark they consider keeping fish in any aquarium cruel. If you must resort to name calling then you have proven you do not know the science and don't have a valid argument.

[Wild Turkey]

New Members: Name calling is not going to be accepted here, nor foul language. If you cant read and follow the rules you are going to get the ban hammer very quickly.

To our older members: Dont feed the trolls. If you must rebut them do so in a way that expresses your intelligence instead of your anger. You are just playing right into their hand by letting it bother you enough to post a heated response.

If someone is calling you names or something similar reporting it to us via the report button or pm is the best option.

This applies to everyone here at AC.

[Sandz]

I have a 35 gallon tank, would this be big enough?

I swear these things always get out of hand... back to the question at hand:

YES you CAN keep a JD in a 35 gallon tank. Is it appropriate to do so? NO.

By the comments of experience with housing a JD in a 35gal:

From Dim: "i recently housed a 6 inch female in a 35 gallon for about 4 months no problems (DIM FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE PROBLEM WAS STUNTING... THE FISH DID GET STUNTED IN THIS 4 MONTHS), she was immensly happy! as long as you give her what she wants to eat, keep a great balance in water quality, and i dont see a reason why it wouldnt live in a 35 gallon comfortably alone. i upgraded to a 95 custom built aquarium last month, and my JD has boomed to about 7 and a half inches, so the tank size of a 35 definately will stunt its growth if permanently kept in that tank."

The problem with Stunting briang6 is that while the fish doesnt get longer, the organs in the fish still develop and grow causing premature death. You could keep a JD in a 35 gal if it were a 1-2in baby and at 3.5in put it in a 55-75 gal but for a perminant house this would be horrible.

[Lady Hobbs]

I think this thread has probably been covered and the OP has had his question answered by numerous people. Actually, it was a thread from last month that got bumped up for even more of the same comments so if no one objects, I would like to close it to more current questions.

Thanks peeps.